Ensembles shine on the stage at the Summer Concert
The school’s musicians shone brightly as six ensembles entertained an excited crowd at the 2024 Summer Concert.
Intermediate Percussion were the first to take to the stage and they delivered wonderfully energetic performances of Camila Cabello’s hit ‘Havana’ and Mr Landon’s arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Toccata in D Minor’.
Tom Parker’s arrangement of ‘Young Amadeus’ kicked off Brass Ensemble’s trio of songs. Upper Sixth student Sam Burrows delivered a sensational solo during Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Stardust’ before the ensemble’s set finished with ‘Cantina Band’ from ‘Star Wars’ by John Williams.
More perfect percussion playing rounded off the first half with Eric Rath’s ‘Escape Artist’ and ‘Jai Ho’ by A. R. Rahman expertly played by Senior Percussion.
Michael Sweeney’s arrangement of Walk The Moon’s smash-hit ‘Shut Up and Dance’ was the perfect way to start the second half and Concert Band gave a nod to the Music Department’s trip to Paris in June with a performance of ‘Vive La France’ (arr. Stuart Johnson). They completed their set with The Beatles track ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club’.
Second Orchestra were the penultimate ensemble to perform and they thrilled the audience with a trio of songs: ‘Mairi’s Wedding’ by Hugh Robertson, Antonio Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ from ‘The Four Seasons’ and ‘Themes’ from ‘Capriccio Italien’ by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Big Band brought the evening to a close with rousing renditions of Neal Hefti’s ‘Flight Of The Foo Bird’, ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight’ by James Taylor and worldwide hit ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ by John Berry.
It is not long until the next music concert. On Friday 26th April the Leavers’ Concert takes place in the Dining Hall and it will feature performances from First Orchestra, Jazz Bands, VOX, String Orchestra, Wind Orchestra and the Leavers’ Ensemble.
