virtuoso final pdf
TRANSCRIPT
2011 T H E C O O P E R S ’ M U S I C D E P A R T M E N T N E W S L E T T E R SEPTEMBER
As happens every year at Coopers’, September 2010 was filled with appre-hension as the top musicians of the
previous year left for University and other ventures, leaving the younger years to fill the gaps that emerged.
Thankfully, the younger talents of the
school proved just as willing and as able as ever, filling the music teachers with joy as once again rehearsals began and
ensembles started to bloom.
The year progressed, and the depart-ment outshone itself as it was once again invited to play at Mansion House
and St Botolph’s Church.
The annual music festival yet again brought new talent to the attention of the school, with composers being given
a platform for the very first time.
Successes within the school’s top Or-chestra and Big Band led to two day
trips to Birmingham as the ensembles
journeyed to perform at their respec-tive finals of the national Music For Youth competition.
As the year drew to a close, excitement grew as the department’s tour to Tus-cany, Italy came ever closer.
After a hard-working year with many
triumphs for the department, I think all involved would agree that Italy was the perfect ending!
Written by Tom Bryant
A Year in the Life of the Music Department
WANT TO LEARN TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?We have bursaries for en-dangered species, like the oboe, french horn, bassoon, viola and double bass.See Mrs Bristow in the Mu-sic Block, telephone 01708 255472 or email [email protected] for more details.
MUSIC FOR YOUTH 2011 MUSIC TOUR TO TUSCANY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011
VIRTUOSO
After a competitive school heat on
18th March, the successful Big Band
and Gibson Orchestra gained the
opportunity to perform in Birming-
ham for the National Music For
Youth Festival.
And so, early on the morning of 6th
July, the tired members of Gibson
Orchestra boarded a coach to take
them all the way to Birmingham’s
Symphony Hall. After several hours
they arrived at the impressive venue
- able to seat over 2200 people - at
which they were to perform.
Under the direction of Mrs Jan Bris-
tow, they started with “Dance of the
Tumblers” by Rimsky-Korsakov, from
his opera Snow Maiden. This was
followed with “Una Donna A Quindici
Anni”, an aria from Mozart’s Cosi fan
Tutte, performed with soloist Jessica
Hope. This performance was com-
mended by the mentors. In a move
away from opera to give diversity to
the programme, Gibson concluded
with “Marche Slave” by Tchaikovsky.
This provided a chance for the
brass section to have some fun!
Buzzing from the performance, the
orchestra then split up into sections
for workshops with members and
tutors of the National Youth Or-
chestra, including John Miller for the
Brass players. During this they
worked on “Montagues and Capu-
lets” from Prokofiev’s Romeo and
Juliet (the well-known Apprentice
theme) which was exciting and in-
sightful for all.
Friday 8th July saw the smaller Big
Band travel to Birmingham, although
this time to play at the Adrian Bolt
Hall.
Big Band’s set, conducted by Mat-
thew Lorentzen, kicked off with the
chart “Cute”, followed with vocal
number “Ain’t That a Kick in the
Head”, featuring an energetic solo
from Connor Baldwin. “Here, There,
and Everywhere” contrasted with
the two previous numbers with its
slower tempo. Year 13 Louise Lee
performed the trombone solo.
To finish their set, Big Band re-
verted to an upbeat tune with a
playful performance of “Friend Like
Me” from the Disney film Aladdin.
An informative workshop on im-
provisation made the day complete,
with the likes of the National Youth
Jazz Collective imparting their
knowledge.
Both of these days were enjoyed
thoroughly by all members of Gib-
son Orchestra and Big Band, who
learnt new skills, as well as gaining
the opportunity to perform in dif-
ferent buildings and in front of new,
larger audiences.
Written by Jon Sheppard
Music For Youth 2011
VOCAL NUMBER “AIN’T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD”, FEATURING AN ENERGETIC SOLO FROM CONNOR BALDWIN.
INSIDETHIS ISSUE
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OFFRONT PAGE
MUSIC FOR YOUTHPAGE 2
MUSIC TOURPAGE 3
DATES TO REMEMBERPAGE 3
MUSIC CAPTAINSPAGE 4
COOPERS’ MUSIC FESTIVALPAGE 4-5
SUMMER CONCERTSPAGE 6
YEAR 6 WORKSHOPPAGE 7
YEAR 13 LEAVERSPAGE 6-7
MUSIC CLUB TIMETABLEBACK PAGE
PAGE 2
The summer of 2011 saw the Music department pack up its instruments
to take its biennial tour, returning to Italy to play 4 outstanding concerts.
Gibson Singers, Symphonic Wind
Band, Gibson Orchestra, Take Four, Big Band, Piano Trio and Senior
Choir all enjoyed a week performing in Italy, even if it did rain once or
twice!
They played concerts on the Monday and Wednesday, and as the Tuesday
night concert had been cancelled, rushed to play two concerts back-
to-back on Thursday night!
The musicians played two church concerts in San Gimignano and Flor-
ence and two evening concerts; one in the Gambrinus Café, Montecatini
Terme, and one in Montecatini Alto.
All of the concerts were filled with brilliant musical talent!
The Monday and Wednesday con-certs were of a classical nature and
were per formed in s tunn ing
churches. These concerts showcased the Gibson Orchestra (Music for
Youth National Festival finalist 2011) as well as the Piano Trio, Gibson
Singers and Senior Choir. The sound
of music drew in a crowd!
The Thursday night concerts high-
lighted Symphonic Wind Band, Take Four, Senior Choir and Big Band
(Music for Youth National Festival
finalist 2011).
Thursday night was a chaotic evening
but who else would be better to pull it off than a group of budding young
musicians?
The musicians were a credit to the school and worked extremely hard
throughout the week. They also spent perhaps too much of their free
time plotting against Mr Cornish!
Tour wasn’t without its old tradition, Peach Moment, where the person
who managed to embarrass them-selves the most each day was
crowned Peach and left with a smelly
tour shirt to wear!
Tom Bryant managed to win twice
this year, being accused first of inap-propriate use of a Bidet on the
Monday and managing to fall over
the double bass after claiming that “all his peach moments had been
counteracted” on the Wednesday.
Hollie Haddon won the top on the
Tuesday for getting changed in front
of an open window whilst at the church concert, and Mr Cornish
won it on the Thursday for asking a random group of Italians if they
wanted their bags carrying, thinking
they were the tour guides we were following!
The final award for Peach Moment went to Katie Miller, who had the
pleasure of wearing the t-shirt for
the 25 hour journey home. Having tidied and emptied her room, she
managed to pack her room key!
All in all it was an extremely enjoy-
able trip for all involved, and I’m sure
that it will stay a fond memory for a long time to come.
Written by Hannah Walker
Tour to Tuscany, Italy
THE MUSICIANS WERE A CREDIT TO THE SCHOOL AND WORKED EXTREMELY HARD THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
DATES TOREMEMBER
REUNION WEEKENDSEPTEMBER 17TH/18TH
OPEN EVENINGSEPTEMBER 28TH
RICHARD MEYRICK P IANO MASTERCLASSSEPTEMBER 29TH
MR L’S BIRTHDAYSEPTEMBER 29TH
MISS W’S BIRTHDAYOCTOBER 10TH
CLOKER SERVICEOCTOBER 12TH
LOWER & UPPER SCHOOL PRIZEGIVINGOCTOBER 20TH
ABRSM THEORY EXAMSNOVEMBER 2ND
LODGE HILLNOVEMBER 14TH-16TH
CHRISTMAS CONCERTSDECEMBER 6TH/7TH
PRIZEGIVINGDECEMBER 9TH
ST LAURENCE’S CAROL CONCERTDECEMBER 14TH
ST BOTOLPH’S CAROL SERVICEDECEMBER 15TH
PAGE 3
2011 saw no exception for the
huge amount of talent from the
students of Coopers’.
Professional musicians provided
inspiration for all as they took on
the tough task of judging each of
the music festival’s whole school
and lower school categories. Al-
though only a select few pupils made it through to the final of the
competition, the standard of
music-making was incredibly high,
and every performer gained
unique valuable guidance from the
professionals.
This year saw the introduction of a
new category of the competition -
a composition class. This gave the
opportunity for all of the students in the school to get an opinion of
their work. Many A-level students
and GCSE students took up this
priceless opportunity to get valu-
able feedback from another per-
spective, along with lower school
students who had just finished
their songwriting project.
The final was held at the end of
the two week festival. The evening
was a great event for both the
audience and the participants. All
of the performers played fabu-
lously and the adjudicator was
very impressed with the level of
musicianship at the school.
After a long wait, the winner of Coopers’ Young Musician of the
Year 2011 was announced as Tara
Gulrajani and the Junior Young Mu-
sician of the Year, Evangeline Tang.
Written by Jon Sheppard
Coopers' Music Festival 2011THIS YEAR’S
MUSIC C APTAINS
ALEXANDER BOTTOMS
CHARLOTTE ROBINSON
JONATHAN SHEPPARD
HANNAH WALKER
THE ADJUDICATOR WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE LEVEL OF MUSICIANSHIP AT THE SCHOOL.
PAGE 4
PHOTOS
LEFT, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:- GIBSON SINGERS, ENSEMBLE CLASS WINNERS- TARA GULRAJANI RECEIVING THE MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD- ALL OF THE CLASS WINNERS
RIGHT, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:- TARA GULRAJANI, YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR- EVANGELINE TANG RECEIVING THE YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
PAGE 5
Last July in the middle of the Music
Department’s busy schedule, the
annual summer concerts were per-
formed in the school theatre. For
the first time ever, a musical inter-
lude was enjoyed in the canteen
while refreshments were being
served, which was warmly wel-
comed by yet another large audi-
ence.
Gibson Orchestra had a chance to
“warm up” for their performance at
the Symphony Hall in Birmingham
while Symphonic Wind Band, Big
Band, Jazz Quartet, Senior Choir
and Gibson Singers all had a chance
to perform their respective reper-
toires before going on the Music
Tour to Tuscany.
Over the two concerts we heard a
number of soloists perform, includ-
ing solo and ensemble perform-
ances from year 10 and 11 GCSE
classes which were very well re-
ceived, the hard work and commit-
ment of the students paying off as
all the performances were a great
success.
A big thank you to all of the sixth
formers who helped make these
concerts run smoothly and the
Senior Concert was an emotional
farewell to all of the year 13 leavers
whose contributions to concerts
over the years have been greatly
appreciated.
Written by Alex Bottoms
The Summer Concerts 2011
THE HARD WORK AND COMMITMENT OF THE STU-DENTS PAID OFF AS ALL OF THE PERFORMANCES WERE A GREAT SUCCESS.
YEAR 13LEAVERS
FAITH ADAMSONTAKING A GAP YEAR TO TEACH IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
DANIEL BHATTACHARYASTUDYING CLASSICAL CIVILI-SATION AND ENGLISH LIT-ERATURE AT ROEHAMPTON UNIVERSITY
SARAH BERRYSTUDYING ANIMAL BEHAV-IOUR AND WELFARE AT HARPER ADAMS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
ALICE BRYANTSTUDYING HISTORY AT CAR-DIFF UNIVERSITY
JESS DAVISONSTUDYING MUSIC AT CAN-TERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY
BILLY ELLIOTTSTUDYING MUSIC PRODUC-TION FOR MEDIA AT RAVENS-BOURNE UNIVERSITY
ANDY GUPTADOING AN APPRENTICESHIP IN ENGINEERING
JESS HOPESTUDYING MUSIC THEATRE AT ‘ARTS EDUCATION’
CHRISTIANNE KNOWLESSTUDYING MEDICINE AT ST. ANDREWS
LOUISE LEESTUDYING PSYCHOLOGY AT WARWICK UNIVERSITY
PAGE 6
COME TO THE MUSIC BLOCK AND SEE IF YOU CAN FIND OUR TURTLE
MASCOT, WAYNE!
Following the success of last year’s
Year 6 Workshop, Thursday 2nd
June saw around 50 Year 6 pupils, all
ready to join Coopers’ come Sep-
tember, join together in the Music
Theatre for a fun-filled three hours
of music making.
After a few minutes of making
friends, the orchestra was set up
and a vocal warm-up had started -
the well known “Oh When The
Saints” 3-part round.
Then the orchestra, consisting of
the usual orchestral sections of
Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Per-
cussion, joined with some electric
guitar, acoustic guitar and keyboard
players to play some well-known
tunes, including “Oom-Pah-Pah” from
Oliver, the Star Wars theme and
“Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter.
The pupils were able to perform all
three pieces in an informal concert
to their parents, after only a few
hours rehearsal - though this was
not the only performance given as
throughout the break we were
treated to several lovely piano per-
formances, some by pupils not even
playing with the orchestra!
Overall it was a pleasant experience
for all involved, and we look for-
ward not only to the Music De-
partment being graced by the pres-
ence of these promising students
throughout their time at Coopers’,
but to a 3rd Workshop next year!
Written by Charlotte Robinson
Year 6 Workshop
WELL-KNOWN TUNES INCLUD-ING “OOM-PAH-PAH” FROM OLIVER, THE STAR WARS THEME AND “HEDWIG’S THEME” FROM HARRY POTTER.
YEAR 13LEAVERS
ALEX MILLERSTUDYING PRIMARY TEACH-ING WITH SPANISH AT EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY
GEORGE MILLERSTUDYING COMPUTER SCI-ENCE AT GREENWICH UNI-VERSITY
TIM ROGERSSTUDYING EUROPEAN SO-CIAL AND POLITICAL STUD-IES AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
ADAM SELLSTUDYING THEATRE PRO-DUCTION AT BATH SPA UNI-VERSITY
CHLOE SIMSSTUDYING CIVIL ENGINEER-ING SURVEYING AT UNIVER-SITY OF EAST LONDON
JESS STARESSTUDYING MEDIA AT CAN-TERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY
NATHAN WESTONSTUDYING COMPUTER GAMES DEVELOPMENT AT SUSSEX UNIVERSITY
EMMA WILLIAMSSTUDYING ART AT HAVERING COLLEGE
JESS WILSONSTUDYING MUSIC AT CAN-TERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY
Good luck f rom ever yone in
the mus ic depar tment in
the future , and thanks for ever y th ing you ’ve done!
PAGE 7
Music Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular Clubs
Day Club Years Time Room
Monday Contemporary Vocal Ensemble All 13:30 G1
Year 7 Band 7 13:30 Music Theatre
GCSE Music Help 10/11 13:30 M2
Wind Quintet Invite Only 13:30 G2
Percussion Ensemble All 15:45 Music Theatre
Tuesday Senior Choir 10+ 13:30 G1
Ratcliffe Wind Band Grade 1+ 13:30 Music Theatre
Gibson Orchestra Invite by Audition 15:45 Music Theatre
Wednesday Coopers’ Singers 10+ (Male) 8:00 Music Theatre
Coborn Singers 9+ (Female) 13:30 G2
Brass Band All 13:30 Music Theatre
Symphonic Wind Band Grade 6+ 15:45 Music Theatre
Music Theory All 15:45 G2
Thursday Palmer Orchestra 7-11, Grades 1-6 13:30 Music Theatre
Senior Choir 10+ 13:30 G1
Big Band Grade 5+ 15:45 Music Theatre
Brass Ensemble Invite Only 16:45 Music Theatre
Piano Trio Invite Only 15:45 G1
Aural Training Grade 5-8 15:45 G2
Friday Junior Choir 7-9 13:30 G1
Little Band 7-11 13:30 Music Theatre
Music Tech Club 10+ 13:30 M2
Come and talk to anyone in the music block to find out more about any clubs!
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