Singers Shine in Worcester Cathedral Concert
Last Saturday evening saw forty RGS singers perform in a high-profile concert in Worcester Cathedral, providing the culmination of an eighteen-month project with other local singers. Arthur Hasling and Denis Goodwillie-Green, two tenors in Year Nine, reflect on the whole ‘Mass in Blue’ project:
“At the start of the Mass in Blue project, the RGS singers, along with the singers from other Worcester secondary schools, participated in an amazing singing workshop with the brilliant Aga Serugo-Lugo back in October 2022. The morning began with several vocal exercises, after which Aga taught us some of his very own improvisations. The session concluded with Aga and us filling Perrins Hall with some incredible performances of soul and blues songs such as ‘Wade in the Water’ and – this one was very memorable – ‘I Need a Dollar’, where we experimented with different sounds (mimicking double-basses, guitars, pianos) and found ways to turn them into a very creative rendition of the song.
The next step in the project was to start learning the score of ‘Mass in Blue’, which is a brilliantly written Latin mass with a jazzy spin. Everyone loved learning the complex parts of the six movements. Our personal favourite was Benedictus which was really fun to sing. We met five times on a Saturday morning in Perrins Hall between April 2023 and April 2024, and our Saturday rehearsals were led by our amazing conductor Neil Ferris (who leads the BBC Symphony Chorus and who had to catch an extremely early train from London each Saturday). Along with weekly sessions in school led by Miss Spencer, we were able to learn the really hard music and take our performing to the next level.
The day of the concert arrived last Saturday. We arrived at Worcester Cathedral at 12.30pm and had 4 hours of rehearsal. During this time, we learnt a new piece composed by Aga called ‘the Enigma of Arrival’ which even involved audience participation! We also solidified our performance of the ‘Mass in Blue’. After this, we were finally ready for the big concert. At 7.30pm, the concert began, with Aga’s composition a performance of ‘Amazing Grace’ with the Will Todd Trio, with soprano saxophone, played by Jess Gillam and us. After the interval, it was finally time for the long-awaited ‘Mass in Blue’, accompanied by a fantastic big band, which rounded off a fantastic concert and an amazing year of rehearsals.”
The 170-strong choir for the concert comprised of students from local schools as well the visiting choir from Vermont who sang in our ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ concert last week. To complete the day, young professional saxophonist Jess Gillam (MBE), who played in the first half of the evening concert, gave a masterclass during the afternoon in the Henry Sandon Hall. Jai Sanehi in Year Ten was one of five fortunate students from local schools who got to work with Jess, playing a piece in front of her and the audience and then receiving feedback and tips which he worked on with everyone watching. We congratulate Jai, and all the singers, for their hard work on Saturday and throughout this exciting Worcestershire project. Thank you also to Mr Soman, Director of Music, for his commitment to the ‘Mass in Blue’ project which enabled RGS pupils to be involved and enabled the whole event to be a great success.
