Music Events

The Spring Term has seen a flurry of activity in the Music Department, with two major events already delivered.

26 April saw the Spring Concert in the Wathen Hall, showcasing our senior instrumental ensembles. Baroque Ensemble opened with a performance of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 (featuring soloist Jude on flute). This was followed by a sequence of works by the two senior orchestras that took the listener on a journey through the Austro-German musical tradition from Bach to Webern. Haolin led the Chamber Orchestra in riveting performances of Webern’s arrangements of Bach’s Ricercar from The Musical Offering, as well as Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 2 (also requiring great concentration from conductor, Dr Evans!). The Symphony Orchestra (led by David) then performed Webern’s graduation piece, The Passacaglia before rounding the concert off with Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture. The concert was a fitting swansong for our Upper Eighth leaving musicians, who have given a huge amount to the programme over their five years.

Hard on its heels, the Music Competition Finals on Wednesday 3 May were a showcase of talent on a more individual level. Two musicians, Nayan and Haolin, had managed to secure a spot via two classes won in the Heats, with Haolin emerging victorious in the Senior category. However, the real competitive interest came in a hotly-contested Junior final. All finalists brought a real sense of professionalism to their performances, whether it was Faris’s laid-back Gershwin or Dara’s impassioned Elgar. Nayan’s advocates could choose whether they preferred hearing him on trumpet or flute and Justin’s classy Chopin was another performance to savour. But it was the captivating and somewhat athletic performance on Marimba by Tolga that was eventually the winner. As a recital alone, this event was a real treat to those who were there but arguably deserved a wider audience. After all, who needs the Wigmore Hall when you can hear performances like this at St Paul’s?