The members of the Music Department at Wilson’s are feeling very lucky. In the last year, not only did they move into their brand new, purpose-built home, the Britton Centre, but they also became the proud owners of myriad new instruments. From a four-strong set of timpani and a professional standard bass drum to a pair of grand pianos ripe for virtuosic duets and a pair of marimbas that bring a magical quality to any orchestral performance, the Britton Centre is teeming with feats of musical engineering. Perhaps most spectacular and most unusual, however, is our harpsichord.

Donated by the father of an Old Wilsonian, Ryan Court, our harpsichord was originally built from a kit produced by the Frank Hubbard Workshops in Massachusetts, USA. These kits were produced for many years and at the time generally regarded as the best of their type. This example was completed very competently by an academic in the UK, who it is understood played it for many years. It was purchased by Andrew Wooderson in 2011 with the intention of rebuilding the instrument to modern standards for future use as a rental instrument.

The recent very extensive overhaul of the instrument has included the provision of a brand new keyboard, stand, music desk and wooden jacks, replacing the original plastic jacks. The harpsichord has been converted to allow transposition between A415 and A440 pitches, has been completely re-strung, re-voiced and regulated and then completely redecorated in a typical Flemish 17th century style. And on Wednesday, 6 March, our harpsichord will be inaugurated at Wilson’s as part of our Chamber Concert.

In a specially crafted programme, a number of our Year 10 GCSE musicians will give solo and duet performances on the harpsichord alongside performances by various of our smaller ensembles. Performing in our Chamber Concert will be the Barbershop, the Cello Trio, the Clarinet Quintet, the Double Reed Ensemble, and the Guitar Ensemble, and our string quartet will make its debut.

Our beautiful harpsichord will also feature in our Spring Concert in a performance of Vivaldi’s Double Cello Concerto with the String Sinfonia. In preparation for this performance, the members of the String Sinfonia attended a workshop with Baroque violinist Naomi Burrell. Students learned about the differences between Baroque and modern string instruments, Baroque bowing technique and the preferred use of vibrato, and the original material used for the strings of string instruments (not for the faint hearted!). The ensemble was sounding convincingly 17th century by the end of the session, with Dr Clayden at the keys of the harpsichord alongside our string players, and the confidence of the students has been soaring in our rehearsals since the workshop.

Our heartfelt thanks to Mr Jason Court for his hugely generous contribution to the musical vitality of Wilson’s, and to Ms Naomi Burrell for helping to bring our wonderful new harpsichord to life.

The Chamber Concert will take place on Wednesday, 6 March at 7pm in the Recital Room. Tickets are £4 and available from Monday, 26 February via ParentPay.

The Spring Concert will take place on Wednesday, 24 April at 7pm in the John Jenkins Hall. Tickets will be available nearer the time via ParentPay. This concert will feature the majority of our ensembles, including Wilson’s School Symphony Orchestra, Wilson’s Sinfonietta, String Sinfonia, Senior Wind Band, Middle School Wind Band, Chamber Wind, Odyssey Big Band, and the Wilson’s School Choir, as well as many of our smaller and instrument-specific ensembles.

In addition, we have two further upcoming concerts, which are unticketed. If you’d like to come, we’d be happy to see you there:

Young Musician of the Year: Thursday, 14 March, 7pm in the Recital Room, Britton Centre
Senior Vocal Evening: Wednesday, 27 March, 7pm in the Recital Room, Britton Centre