Autumn Concert: A Spectacular Showcase of Talent

Over the last few weeks, King’s St Alban’s has been regularly resounding with music as our choirs and ensembles have met for their weekly rehearsals. For the music staff, September is always a nervous time as we re-form the groups for the new school year. It is a joy to welcome new musicians into the fold and it is incredibly rewarding to see how quickly they progress, stepping up into new, more demanding roles.

With that in mind, there was a real buzz of excitement and anticipation in College Hall, as parents, grandparents, teachers, and pupils gathered for our Prep School Autumn Concert. The children have been working very hard for this event throughout the term, and they really did themselves proud. The variety of music on offer was impressive, and there was something for everyone. Orchestra’s lively performance of ‘Wallace and Gromit’ was played with great gusto, Junior Choir enthralled the audience with two contrasting pieces of storytelling: ‘Silver Moon’ and ‘The Wizard’. Guitar Group got everyone’s toes tapping with ‘Seven Nation Army’, and congratulations must go to Will B for his fabulous lead guitar and vocals. Chamber Choir have only had a few weeks to prepare for this concert, following their appearance with the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir in September.

Undeterred, they wowed the audience with the beautiful ‘For the beauty of the earth’, by John Rutter. String Group is made up of our youngest string players, many of whom are new to ensemble playing, but their inexperience definitely didn’t show in their confident performance of ‘City Lights’ and ‘Travelling Slow’. It is clear that the future of string playing at KSA is in safe hands. Wind Band also contains lots of new members this year, and they really pulled out the stops with their spirited rendition of ‘Movie Buster’, followed by an enthusiastic performance of the ‘James Bond Theme’. Senior Choir provided the finale with two fabulous songs: Adiemus – complete with meditative low lighting, and then a rousing rendition of ‘With a little help from my friends’, to finish the concert in style.

Our four soloists gave poised and accomplished performances. It is no mean feat to perform to such a large audience and although I am sure they were nervous, they took to the stage like seasoned professionals. Zara (voice) nearly brought the house down with her energetic ‘Speechless’ and Greta (violin) brought a tear to our eyes playing the haunting ‘Ashoken Farewell’. George (trumpet) gave an impressive and commanding performance of ‘The Imperial March -Darth Vader’s Theme’ and Skye took us to a quiet and beautiful place with her soothing playing of ‘Cloudscapes’. This was a really super concert, and an excellent start to a year of choral and ensemble performances. It was a memorable evening. Well done everyone!