Choral Society - a great start!

To all who joined us last night for the Choral Society's first rehearsal, thank you.

I was delighted with the start we made and feel very excited about the season in store.

As promised here is a link to the Spotify playlist:

GALA 2012

For those new to Spotify, the link will take you either to your previously installed Spotify software, or to a link to the (free) software. Thereafter, the link will take you straight to the Poulenc!

The ChorusLine products I mentioned last night, which help you learn your part between rehearsals can be found here. Do make sure that you select your correct part in the choir, i.e. Soprano, Alto, Tenor or Bass.

I look forward to seeing you all again next week. I am still happy to welcome new singers if you have friends who might like to take part. The more the merrier!

WMB

Happy New Year!

A warm welcome back after Christmas!

I hope that all of our pupils and families were able to have a good and restful Christmas and feel fully recharged for the term ahead. Last term seemed longer and busier than ever and, after the hectic schedule of A Chorus Line, narrowly preceded by the Michaelmas Concert and quickly followed by the Carol Service, we look forward to a more measured period of rehearsal as we prepare for this term's concerts. For highlights of many of last term's performances, please check our recordings page.

Our focus at this stage is with the Choirs and Chamber Groups, who will be performing in What Sweeter Music, our annual feast of music and desserts, served up in the school chapel and dining hall respectively on Saturday 4th February at 7.30pm. Just 2 weeks later, the Chamber Choir will also be singing Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral, on Friday 17th February, at 5.30pm. I very much hope you will be able to support either or both of these events.

Later in the term, arguably our musical highlight of the year follows in the form of the Gala Concert in the Cathedral, on Thursday 17th March. This year sees the Symphony Orchestra tackle an ambitious programme including Brahms' Academic Festival Overture and Arnold's English Dances, while the Choral Society join forces with the Chapel Choir, Cathedral Choristers and Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Poulenc's Gloria. For this work we are joined by Tamsin Coombs (soprano) and guest players from the English Chamber Orchestra. Tickets are already on sale from the school office and there is still the opportunity to perform as a member of the Choral Society - please email music@stedmunds.org.uk for details.

Alongside our usual selection of informal lunchtime recitals, details of which can be found on the school website or latest edition of Counterpoint (see below), we also look forward to welcoming back the Concert and Big Bands from the University fo Kent, as they join forces with our own Big Band in Big Bands Cubed, on Wednesday 28th March. Tickets are on sale at £5, in aid of the Jacob Barnes Scholarship Trust.

Details of all of our events this term may be found in Counterpoint, our eNewsletter, published by email. To see the current edition and subscribe to further editions, please click here.

I look forward to seeing many of you over the course of the term.

WMB

English Chamber Orchestra coaching for the St Edmund's Symphony Orchestra.

Our excellent friendship with the English Chamber Orchestra remains something we're very proud of and grateful for. Last Friday, as members of the Junior School were battling it out in the Junior House Song Competition, members of our senior orchestra, the St Edmund's Symphony Orchestra, were enjoying three hours with Jeremy Isaac (violin), Kate Robinson (violin) and John Thurgood (horn), all members of the English Chamber Orchestra, joining us for an afternoon of coaching.
Since our orchestra began inviting payers from the wider community, it has grown significantly, now numbering over sixty players. The string section lies at the heart of any orchestra, and our large section benefited enormously from Jeremy and Kate. The second violins, in particular, were put through their paces as the tackled the Fugue from William Walton's Spitfire Prelude and Fugue, whilst Vaughan William's The Wasps Overture offered the chance to experiment with the extreme colours possible, including the glassy effects of the sul ponticello tremelo passages, and the huge dynamic contrasts necessary to really bring this insect to life.
The opening fanfare of the Walton offers a truly breathtaking moment for the brass section, and John Thurgood, principal horn with the ECO and Canterbury resident, brought great expertise to our section, offering everything from simple rehearsal and 'note-bashing' to top tips on how to tackle the passages that even give the pros something to worry about!
When we brought everyone back together for the final hour the progression was staggering. The orchestra played with a new confidence and authority, making light work of the repertoire and clearly enjoying themselves in the process! The next two weeks bring our final preparations for the Michaelmas Concert, when the Vaughan Williams and Walton will feature in the programme. This promises to be a great concert.
Do join us - tickets are available (without charge) from the school office.

WMB

Ex-Choristers' atmospheric recital in the Crypt

Back in April, I wrote on this blog about the contribution Choristers, past and present, bring to music at St Edmund's. Their impact could not have been more apparent last night, as seven former Choristers of Canterbury Cathedral conjured the most magical of atmospheres as they closed the celebrations of the 100th Re-union of the Canterbury Cathedral Old Choristers' Association with a recital in the Eastern Crypt of the Cathedral.
In order of their departure from the Cathedral Choir, Timothy Edlin (2006); Thomas Lowen and Alex Gibson (2007); George Inscoe, Matthew Barker, Joel Whitewood and Josh Best-Shaw (2008) now form the most elite of vocal ensembles, The Ex-Choristers. Not the most imaginative of titles (and do contact me with suggestions of a more suitable alternative), but this is where the apologies stop. This group of seven highly accomplished singers, all of whom have sung in the most prestigious of situations, create a highly professional blend: seamless phrasing, perfect intonation and the most natural sense of style came together in half on hour of sheer bliss. Arrangements included Tallis' If Ye Love Me, John Barry's Diamonds Are Forever and Billy Joel's Lullabye, all of which may be heard on the Recordings Page.
This is a group with huge potential, and a CD will be recorded this academic year.

Thank you, Gentlemen, for giving up your exeat Saturday and sharing your talents with this highly appreciative audience.

WMB

Eddie Daniels comes to Canterbury

Grammy award winning clarinettist Eddie Daniels will be the
very special guest at an event being held at St. Edmund’s School
Canterbury, on Saturday February 11th 2012. Eddie will be holding a
master class in the school theatre and appearing in the evening as a
soloist with The David Rees-Williams Trio.

This is a rare UK appearance from Eddie and, with tickets for the
master class and concert restricted, a sell out audience is expected.

St. Edmund’s has a strong musical tradition, being the home of the
Cathedral Choristers and the East Kent Children’s Orchestra, and
lists former BBC Young Musician of the Year Freddie Kempf among
its former pupils. The school has an on-going partnership with The
English Chamber Orchestra, holding master classes and workshops
throughout the academic year.

The day has been organised by CASS member Ian Swatman who is
Head of Instrumental Studies at St. Edmund’s. ‘Eddie doesn’t appear
in the UK very often and this is an amazing opportunity to see him
perform in the relatively intimate setting of our school theatre. It is
so exciting for the school and a chance see one of the world’s leading
musicians.’

Tickets will go on sale from mid-October and can be pre-ordered by
contacting Ian Swatman at

igs@stedmunds.org.uk

Great achievements this summer by St Edmund's organists

Today, St Edmund's Organ Scholar elect, George Inscoe, gave a joint organ recital at Our Lady and the English Martyrs RC church in Cambridge. This opportunity was awarded as a prize at the last year's Oundle Festival International Organ Course. Today's varied recital made full use of an organ which offers plenty of different colours, from the quiet reflective nature of Bach's Erbarm dich, mein Gott and Whitlock's Fidelis, to the fireworks of the Boellman and Mushel Toccatas. The small but enthusiastic audience showed their appreciation with rapturous applause and broad smiles.

At this year's course, Fifth Form Music Scholar Guy Steed was awarded the same award, whilst George Inscoe went on the earn the extremely prestigious solo recital at Queen's College, Oxford, an accolade only available to organists aged 16 and over; George has been 16 for ten days!

The Oundle Festival International Organ Courses are probably the most well-known and highly regarded summer schools for young organists. Canterbury Cathedral Organist Dr David Flood said "To win such a prestigious recital is a great achievement at any student level, but remarkable for someone of George’s age. We are very proud of his success and delighted with all that he is achieving. I am also delighted that Guy Steed has won a recital award, at an even younger age! "

In addition to regular playing for school services, both pupils hold positions outside school as organists. George is the Organ Scholar at St. Mary's Church, Dover, whilst Guy will begin in a role of Assistant Organist for Ashford parish church this autumn. This succession of talented ex-chorister organists is a great triumph.

How Choristers change things ...

Upon my first association with St Edmund’s, some 3 years before taking up the post of Director of Music, it was clear to me that the identity of music at the school lends a great deal to the rich heritage provided by both Choristers in the Junior School, and ex-Choristers in the Senior School. In a fairly unique set-up, where the Choristers are educated in the comparatively ‘normal’ backdrop of a prep-school, already established as a non-specialist school before the boys moved up the hill in 1972, it is possible for the school as a whole to really benefit from, and expand upon, the presence of 25 very talented musicians. A domino effect is inevitable and for many years St Edmund’s Junior School has enjoyed a flourishing reputation for music, in part thanks to the presence of these highly driven boys, but also through the significant momentum that their skills contribute to fuel the music making of those around them.

But, were the Choristers not at St Edmund’s, what would be left for music in the Junior School? Going back to my observations before joining as a member of staff, I was invited to adjudicate the Junior School music festival in the summer before joining as Director of Music in 2009 and was thankful for the opportunity to meet and hear so many young musicians. However, the day was dominated by Choristers and this was an issue that I felt needed addressing. It concerned me that, in particular, girls were reluctant to participate, and there were no non-Choristers boys singing at all. Given the heavy demands on Choristers and the many subsequent absences, a music department that relies too heavily upon this group of pupils is bound to struggle on occasions. The resulting initiatives, all with the common objective to broaden music at St Edmund’s have included ‘Pay as you go’ instrumental lessons for the younger pupils, boys’ (non-Chorister) and girls’ seperate choirs, and a 60 pupil strong community initiative in the form of the East Kent Children’s Orchestra, all of which have gone on to not only balance the musical participation across all parties at the school, but have also re-energised music making in general and further enhanced opportunities for the choristers themselves.

The particular success of the East Kent Children’s Orchestra (EKCO), the junior school orchestra re-launched with community participation in January 2010, provides the school with an orchestra that achieves significant success musically, and far beyond what would be reasonably expected of a school so small. Indeed, the community aspect of this project, which invites any child from the area to join (for a modest termly subscription) has not only helped us to build the size and standard of the group, but has also attracted the interest of the English Chamber Orchestra, who have ‘joined forces’ with us in a partnership entitled ‘Creative Connections’. This on-going relationship brings members of this international ensemble to the school on a regular basis to work with our pupils and to join our outreach into local schools via EKCO. The benefit to our pupils is wide and far reaching, from playing alongside top professionals in one of our orchestras (across junior and senior schools), to hearing their own compositions realised in workshops or listening to the ECO perform in one of our trips to hear them in London.

As the boys approach the end of their Choristerships, the impact of the ex-Choristers on senior school music is also open to scrutiny and their input is no less significant. For me, the yardstick of any senior school music department is the quality of its Chapel Choir and our choir, which represents our flagship ensemble, includes some 25% of senior school pupils, amongst whom many former choristers continue to develop as singers and contribute a huge amount to the quality of the group. But the Choristers have another significant effect on senior school music: their presence, both as Choristers in the junior school and ex-Choristers in the senior school does such good for our reputation in the wider community that the attraction of St Edmund’s to musicians at 11+, 13+ and 16+ puts us in an excellent position when recruiting music scholars in an area rich with talented instrumentalists.

The result is an irresistible combination: a small, intimate and relaxed environment which nurtures more than its fair share of stars which, in a city with three independent schools within close proximity of each other, is something that we will always be grateful for and proud of.

WMB