Close
On Thursday 16 June the Junior Concert returned to Great School, featuring over 40 musicians from the Third and Fourth Forms.
The concert opened with Sinfonia’s galloping rendition of Shackelford Banks (Tale of Wild Mustangs), evoking the sandstone landscape of Monument Valley. This was followed by Three Ayres from Gloucestershire in which a spritely opening movement was contrasted with a slow and lyrical second movement, displaying some close-knit ensemble playing. The third piece was Purcell’s Rondeau from Abdelazer. Sinfonia worked hard throughout the term to make this performance as ‘historically informed’ as possible, creating instrumental contrasts between the sections along with developing characteristic phrasing, resulting in a stylish performance. The final item, Eye of the Tiger, was punchy and slick – a firm favourite with both performers and audience alike!
The second part of the concert consisted of 25 solo performances, spanning a range of instruments and styles as well as two student compositions. A highlight of the evening was Kelly N’s performance of April by John Ireland in which she achieved a remarkably light tone quality, evoking the spring-like nature of the piece. This was contrasted by Michelin C’s Mozart But I Got Distracted in which he took the audience on a journey from Mozart to If I Had a Chicken via Rick Astley – a remarkably unique and memorable performance. Grace S rounded up the string section of the evening with a virtuosic performance of Beethoven’s Spring Sonata showing impressive technical command of the violin. The final section of the evening was A Little Music for Voice in which a tremendous range of musical styles were presented, from What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line sung by Piper S, to Hugo Wolf’s Das verlassene Mägdlein sung by Kiara N.
The Junior Concert was a fantastic showcase of the array of talent present amongst the Third and Fourth Form musicians. Lancing’s musical future certainly looks very bright!
Emilie Harlow, Teacher of Music