On Tuesday we had our first formal concert of the academic year in the Arundel Centre. The concert actually formed part of the Y11 GCSE Music group’s performance examination with each candidate playing a solo piece on their main instrument. WIth a ‘bumper crop’ of 28 students this was promising to be a special event indeed!

It certainly got off to a superb start with the flawless and mesmerising performance of Handel’s ‘Where’er you walk’ sung by Bela R, followed by two more baroque pieces - Telemann’s ‘Vivace’ played on the violin by Alexa L-B and Scarlatti’s Sonata in A played on the piano by Amber J. Then followed a beautiful rendition of the famous slow movement of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto played flawlessly by Anna R-B. A well known Chopin Nocturne came next played with real expression by Bella A.

The witty Dvorak ‘Humoresque’ was then played on the violin by Jessica L with a touching performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Douce Reverie’ played on the piano by Emily G. Staying with the piano, Tabitha W played ‘Calm du Soir’ by Moszkowski and then Kira S played the mesmerising ‘Granada’ from Albeniz’s Spanish Suite. Squire’s ‘Danse Rustique’ was rattled off superbly on the cello by Flora G and contrasted completely with Bella K’s soothing vocal performance of Vaughan-Willliams’ ‘Silent Noon’.

‘Summertime’ was beautifully played on the trombone by Eleanor R followed by that classic song ‘Dream a little dream of me’ sung by Beatrice McN. Staying with the jazz idiom, Tal M played a delightful arrangement of ‘My funny valentine’ on the piano. Then two engaging miniatures by Hartmann were played with real poise on the piano by Yutao W.

Now that the chronological programme had firmly reached into the twentieth century the rest of our performers bar one were all singers. Juliet B sang the gorgeous ‘Cry me a river’ classic, followed by another timeless classic from West Side Story - ‘Tonight’ sung by Winnie D. Emily S then gave a lovely rendition of ‘Love look away’, and Amara P gave a hypnotic performance of ‘Losing my Mind’. We were reminded of last year’s production by Delilah B’s stylistic performance of ‘All that jazz’ and then a classic song from Grease - ‘There are worse things I could do’ sung by Ellie W. The Abba song ‘Slipping through my fingers’ was then sung convincingly by Estelle B with Chloe L following with ‘I dreamed a dream from Les Miserables. Nadia Z’s ‘How could I ever know’ from Secret garden was haunting and beautiful.

Allegra L then really spiced things up with a stunning performance of Radiohead’s ‘Just’ on the electric guitar. Then two songs from Waitress, firstly, Stevie B with a mesmerising performance of ‘When he sees me’ and then a heartrending rendition of ‘She used to be mine’ by Martha R. Maya C closed the evening with Hamilton’s ‘That would be enough’. A really stunning set of performances from a very talented group of musicians. The very appreciative audience of parents, friends and siblings gave rapturous applause as all participants gathered on the stage at the end for a final bow. Do watch the concert HERE.