Easter Music Round Up
This has been an exciting half term for Headington musicians, with a fantastic range of concerts and events taking place across the Senior School as part of the ongoing Festival of Creativity.
March began with a memorable Celebration of Percussion evening, showcasing skillful solo and ensemble pieces from our talented drummers and orchestral percussionists.
This was followed a few days later by two Scholars’ Concerts – a real highlight in the term, in which scholars were able to perform music of their choice in the Britten recital room. As ever, the standard was incredibly high and warmly received by family and friends attending.
On 15th March, some of the senior musicians took part in a conducting workshop with visiting musician, Enyi Okpara – an inspiring event in which girls learnt basic conducting skills and then volunteered to direct the rest of the group.
Later in March, the audience packed out the Music School for a lunchtime concert, with pupils from every year group performing pieces in preparation for upcoming exams. Two days later, we were treated to an evening of contemporary music with our termly Jazz Cakes event. There was an impressive evening of solo songs and jazz standards, as well as trios, band items and, in one piece, full audience participation!
There was also the opportunity to showcase the work of some of Headington’s Music Technology students, who composed original electronic pieces for the catwalk at a fashion show in the Hive. Each piece was coordinated with a particular costume and theme, and had to be timed exactly.
The term culminated in a joyful Spring Concert on Friday 1st April, in which senior ensembles and choirs performed an exciting choice of repertoire, from orchestral classics through to contemporary band items.
The concert also included the final of the Headington Concerto Competition – a new venture, in which students competed in a first round of heats to gain a place to perform alongside the school’s first orchestra. The three finalists, Imogen, Victoria and Lynette, performed highly virtuosic and expressive movements by Shostakovich, Mendelssohn and Marcello, with Victoria de Melo from L4 winning the competition overall with the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Thanks go to Michael Stinton, Director of Music from Abingdon School, for adjudicating the competition during the evening. Huge congratulations to all three soloists, and to Victoria for coming first!
Director of Performing Arts Mrs Aimee Jamison said: “We are truly grateful to all our musicians, staff and accompanists for their tireless work throughout the term and for producing another series of stand-out concerts.
“We also want to wish good luck to all those who have taken instrumental and singing exams over the last few days.”
