School_Matters_Issue_35

17

Many congratulations to everyone who participated in this year's competition. It was a privilege to witness the outstanding musicianship on display. Thanks are extended to our esteemed adjudicator Miss Arkwright and to the brilliant accompanist Mr Oliver Chesser. The winners in each category appear in emboldened type: Mr James Bartlett, Director of Music

CLASSICAL MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

Voice Veronica Boyle, UVI Brooks Finkel, S9 Scarlett McKittrick, PVI Piano Sofia Caironi, S9 Claudia Murray Cors, UVI Emily Zhou, S8

Overall Winner Thomas Boyle, PVI

Wind/Brass Matilda Allard, S9 (flute) Thomas Boyle, PVI (flute) Charlotte Sanderson, S10 (saxophone)

Congratulations to Charlotte Sanderson, S10 who was successful in gaining a place in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra – on her second instrument!

Strings Luke Martin, UVI (cello) Miranda Sim, UVI (violin) Emily Zhou, S8 (double bass)

Matilda Allard, S9

Bella Mallet, S8 treated us to some very stylish Gershwin in Paul Cott’s bespoke arrangement of Summertime. Bella sang sensitively and with real finesse, including a delicately floated top B at the conclusion of the piece. Emily Zhou, S8 tackled Capuzzi’s Double Bass Concerto and emerged as the comprehensive winner, demonstrating an agility and energy seldom seen on such an unwieldy instrument. Amelie White, LVI presented the closing movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, a ‘theme and variations’ in which the clarinet weaves daintily in and out of the string textures, Amelie’s mature tone more than a match for these seasoned professionals. Esme Perry, S9 was the evening’s second recorder player, taking us back to the Baroque era with a Handel Adagio and Allegro. After a brief rearranging of the stage, Sofia Caironi, S9 performed the opening of Bach’s Keyboard Concerto No.5 in F minor, wringing every last drop of fire and intensity out of Bach’s spiralling and intricate textures. Ethan Auger, S8 completed our sojourn in the Baroque era with Tessarini’s Allegro on the violin, a moto perpetuo which Ethan rendered entirely securely. Skye Bishop, S8 was unique in that she presented an original composition, A Place to Play, arranged here for orchestra. Whilst we have heard her perform the piece before, the Berkeley Ensemble drew out new colours with the rumbling low strings lending a rich foundation to Skye’s voice. Lottie Sanderson, S10 closed the concert with Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, a dramatic and fluid piece whose changes of tempo and idiosyncratic rhythms kept the ensemble on their toes. Lottie, as ever, navigated the musical challenges with total poise and panache. Mr James Bartlett, Director of Music

MUSIC SCHOLARS’ SUTHERLAND CONCERT

We were delighted to welcome back our Ensemble in Residence, The Berkeley Ensemble, to perform alongside our Music Scholars. Each had the opportunity to present a concerto movement accompanied by this renowned and elite group of musicians. Having been unable to take place last year, this concert bore a special poignancy. After a day of rehearsals, our Scholars took to the stage, with a modest audience in the room supplemented by legions of loyal fans ‘tuning in’ via the live stream. Matilda Allard, S9 opened the evening with a limpid and sparkling first movement from Sammartini’s Recorder Concerto, with energetic but elegant phrasework carrying over the orchestra. S7 Zephany Coleman’s Dance Caprice on the cello was a total change of atmosphere, catapulting the ensemble into a twentieth- century idiom, with the soloist navigating the complex harmony and rhythm with aplomb.