On Wednesday night in the penultimate week of term, over 200 students participated in the Winter Concert, a musical extravaganza raising money in aid of this year’s chosen charities, Lives Not Knives and Mind. A jam-packed programme was performed to a packed-out hall, and the delight of students, teachers, family and friends was palpable throughout the evening.
The programme featured ensembles both familiar and new. Indeed, two ensembles made their concert debut. Our Percussion Ensemble, directed by Mr French, opened the second half of the programme, summoning audience members back to their seats as they beat out the rousing rhythms on their battery of drums. The student-led Carnatic Society grew out of a GCSE Music Ensemble Performance from last year’s cohort and they brought a musical tradition to the stage of the John Jenkins Hall for the first time in recent memory. For their inaugural performance, Shravan in Year 12 led senior members of the group, three singers, two mridangam players, and a violinist, played a piece by Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), one of the Trinity of Carnatic Music.
Many of our well-established ensembles performed famous melodies from the movies. The Barbershop gave a jazzed-up rendition of the theme tune from Spiderman, the Middle School and Senior Wind Bands gave energetic performances of the Mission: Impossible theme, tunes from John Williams’ film scores and a medley of sea shanties and fanfares from Pirates of the Caribbean. The concert culminated with the Wilson’s School Symphony Orchestra performing an epic suite of cues from Lord of the Rings, featuring Richie in Year 7 as the vocal soloist for “In Dreams.”
Such well-known melodies from the movies were nestled alongside some original arrangements by Mr Kramer for the Odyssey Big Band and by the players in Skiaull, our recently formed folk group. Throughout the evening, various ensembles performed a range of classical music, including two pieces by English composers—William Walton’s ever-popular march Crown Imperial, performed by Chamber Wind, and Senior Strings played the last movement of Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony, a piece dedicated to the composer’s childhood viola teacher. Amongst all this, there were a few festive favourites thrown in for good measure!
With so many students contributing to this wonderful musical event, there are inevitably many people involved in making it a success. Our heartfelt thanks to the many students who were involved in supporting the concert, including Rohan and Euan in the lighting booth, Senior Prefects and Sixth Form students on the door and the green rooms, and various extra pairs of hands helping to ensure that the concert sounds wonderful. Thank you to Mrs Straw for working so hard to ensure that the details were perfect, and thank you to the site staff for helping to set up the hall and staying late for us this evening. Thank you to the Clerk to the Governors, for sending out very many letters, Mrs Sodha in Finance for managing the ticket sales, and to the Heads of Year for their assistance in communicating the details of the concert to all corners of our school community. Thank you to the hugely talented and seemingly indefatigable ensemble leaders for inspiring our students. Thank you to all those who came to the concert and supported the students—we hope that you enjoyed the show as much as we enjoyed performing for you.
And finally, thank you to the students. Without them, these ensembles simply wouldn’t exist. Thankfully, they do! And we just can’t wait to see what next term will bring.
For more photos, videos, and further information about musical activities at Wilson’s, please check out our department website.