Magnificent musicians shine at Music Festival

Friday 24th June 2022

The winners from the 2022 Music Festival

On 24th June, the amazingly talented musicians at SGS took part in the 2022 Music Festival and the day was full of fantastic instrumental and vocal solos and ensembles.

This was the first time we had been able to host this event since the pandemic and it was a brilliant success. The standard was incredibly high from pupils of all ages and they are all to be congratulated on their tremendous playing.

The festival featured different classes for pupils of all ages and a wide variety of musical styles, and it was enthusiastically supported by parents, pupils and staff throughout the day. The day contained over 75 performances, all of which reflected the great efforts of pupils in hours of thorough rehearsal and preparation.

This year’s Festival was adjudicated by Mr Aidan Bradley, Director of Music at Manchester High School For Girls, and was split into three sessions – morning, afternoon and evening.

The morning session saw performances from pupils from First to Third Year. The results were:

First Year Instrumental Solo – Winner: Nathan Hutchinson; Commended: Howard Kam,
Second Year Instrumental Solo – Winner: Clara Zelhof; Commended: James Caine,
Third Year Instrumental Solo – Winner: Brian Liu; Commended: Dan Wood,
Junior Vocal Solo – Winner: Rosie Moore; Commended: Maan Munir and Charlotte Sullivan,
Junior Ensemble – Winner: Zac Dow, Will Harvey and Dan Wood
Most Promising Lower School Musician – Dan Wood.

In the afternoon session, it was time for Fourth and Fifth Years to display their talent. The results were:

Fourth and Fifth Year Instrumental Solo – Winner: Anna Stevens; Commended: Jeya Belocura,
Fourth and Fifth Year Vocal Solo – Winner: Mia Krywonos; Commended: Lucy Smith and Tilly Wolstenholme
Intermediate Ensemble – Winner: Alfie Anderson, Marcus Foster, Thomas Mo, Gideon McDermott-Swann; Commended: Bea Downing, Yuna Kim and Anna Stevens.

The evening session saw the winners from earlier in the day return to play their successful pieces, as well as the Sixth Formers compete in their categories. The results were:

Sixth Form Instrumental Solo – Winner: Liv Dow; Commended: Dan Vincent, Oscar Williams and Ben Wood
Sixth Form Vocal Solo – Winner: Ella Moran; Commended: Nicholas Othen
Senior Ensemble – Winner: Dan Vincent and Oscar Williams; Commended: Clara and Talia Zelhof, Charlie Harrison and Ella Moran and Ben Wood, Jonathan Hyde, Talia Zelhof, Lily Amet and Liv Dow.

Other winners during the evening included:

Adjudicator’s Cup – Dan Vincent,
Brass Cup – Dan Vincent,
Pianoforte Cup – Brian Liu,
String Cup – Liv Dow,
Woodwind Cup – Ben Wood.

SGS Director of Music Mr Michael Dow said: “It was a fantastic event and it was great to be able to host it again after the disruption of the pandemic.

“The pupils sang and played magnificently throughout the entire day and the standard was phenomenally high. We were incredibly proud of all them all. Our thanks go to all pupils involved for their hard work in preparation and also to Mr Aidan Bradley, Director of Music at Manchester High School for Girls, for his excellent adjudication and encouraging feedback for all of the performers.”