Carols and charity for Christmas 2015

QE’s season of goodwill got under way in festive style with two popular events combining music and charity.

The Shearly Hall reverberated to yuletide music of every kind at the Christmas Concert, which was held in association with Barnet Rotary Club. The eclectic seasonal mix ranged from the Camerata’s performance of Corelli’s Christmas Concerto to the Barbershop singing an arrangement of the Beach Boys’ Little Saint Nick. Proceeds from the evening help fund Rotary Club activities at home and abroad, including giving lonely, elderly people in Barnet a happy and enjoyable Christmas Day.

On the same day, 26 boys headed off to the Spires shopping centre to sing carols and raise money for Cherry Lodge Cancer Care. The party comprised boys drawn from Years 8–13, including selected members of the Chamber Choir and some instrumentalists.

The final week of term saw all boys and staff enjoying a Christmas lunch, with all the trimmings, in the Dining Hall.

The traditional Service of Nine Lessons & Carols was held at the Chipping Barnet Parish Church. In addition to the congregational singing, the service included contributions from the Chamber Choir and School Choir. The choirs performed to an extremely high standard – pieces included the Chamber Choir’s performance of an Introit by the Renaissance composer of sacred music, Palestrina, and a stirring rendition in many parts of the Carol of the Bells by the massed School Choir.

There were readings by pupils of all ages and by staff, with the Headmaster giving the final reading, the famous opening of John’s gospel, before all joined in singing Hark the herald angels sing! to the familiar strains of Mendelssohn’s music.