School_Matters_Issue_34

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PVI PERFORMERS’ PLATFORM

The first virtual concert of the Spring Term featured a typical mélange of musical genres, with classical staples sitting alongside the likes of rock legends Led Zeppelin. Emma Atkinson’s punchy and syncopated Steely Wheel on saxophone opened the

Kimee Mansour, PVI

Aden Hingorani, PVI

IGCSE PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP PVI IGCSE Musicians took part in a performance workshop in the Ballroom. This was an opportunity for pupils to share the pieces they had been learning most recently and to offer each other constructive feedback. Choice of pieces varied from Yueyang Wang’s traditional Chinese song played on the violin to staples of the rock repertoire from guitarists Casper Martin, Joseph Lee, Aden Hingorani and Kimee Mansour. Matthew Greenway played and sang at the piano; Emma Atkinson performed a gospel/funk- inspired saxophone piece; Thomas Boyle played a Bach flute study; and Edie Clemo Gibbins and Farida Hassan played their most recently learnt piano pieces by Richard Rodney Bennett and Einaudi, respectively. Well done to all. ABRSM SUCCESS ABRSM visited School to examine a bumper crop of 30 candidates. Of this cohort, 5 pupils achieved a Distinction and 14 pupils achieved Merit. Special mention goes to Senior 9 Music Scholars Esme Perry and Matilda Allard, with Esme taking the highest mark of all candidates for her Grade 5 singing, and Matilda earning a Merit for her Grade 5 piano, which she took up as a lockdown project. We also learned that Emily Zhou, S8 had achieved a Distinction at Grade 8 Piano, while Sofia Caironi, S9 gained a Merit. We have also been delighted to hear of Distinctions for Leo Arya, S8 and Benny Foss-Pederson, S7 in their Drum examinations. These successes were complemented by Merits for Ethan Auger, S8 and Poppy Turner, S9 at Grade 6 Violin and Grade 5 Singing, respectively. A huge amount of hard work from pupils, teachers and accompanists clearly paid off. Congratulations, all!

evening followed by Kimee Mansour on the piano playing a short Latin-American style vignette by Federico Ruiz, evoking the port of Santa Marta in Colombia. Joe Lee and Aden Hingorani, both playing Led Zeppelin (Stairway to Heaven and Heartbreaker respectively), bookended Matthew Greenway’s partly improvised cover of Blue Skies. Farida Hassan presented Einaudi’s plaintive piano piece Le Onde in contrast to Yueyang Wang’s folky violin playing, the energetic Czardas by Monti. Edie Clemo played the beautiful Rosemary’s Waltz by Richard Rodney Bennett with tasteful rubato. The programme closed with Casper Martin’s stylish rendering of John Mayer’s Neon on guitar, finishing with another appearance from Kimee Mansour, on guitar this time, with Jill Scott’s laid-back The Way, replete with vibrato. The pupils responded brilliantly to the challenge of home-recording and we congratulate them on their virtual performances.

Claudia Murray Cors, UVI

PRE-U PERFORMERS’ PLATFORM Five Pre-U Musicians took to the airwaves to present extracts from their final recitals. An audience of approximately 70 from across the IPS community tuned in to watch. As always with an IPS concert, a fantastic range of genres was in evidence, with Veronica Boyle’s Rossini aria followed by Zeke Aylin’s heavy metal drumming. Mr Bartlett’s favourite juxtaposition of the concert – perhaps of all time, he thinks! –was Luke Martin’s Bach Cello prelude segueing into Max Eastland-Park’s rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog. Claudia Murray Cors rounded out the evening by making the most of her live-in accompanist and presenting a Parisotti aria before booting brother Scott (OI, 2020) off the piano stool to treat us to some Beethoven. Bravo the UVIs!

Emily Zhou, S8