Viewing archives for Music

QE’s Music teachers and pupils have been reflecting in a podcast for the Royal College of Organists on a year that has seen the organ take centre-stage at the School.

The academic year began with the arrival of a Viscount Chorum 40-S digital organ, supplied to QE under a Royal College initiative to locate organs within state schools.

Since then, as well as an organ club being established at the School, there was the launch last term of a new partnership with Barnet Parish Church, with sixth-former Joel Swedensky and Year 10’s Noah Morley named as the partnership’s first Organ Scholars.

More recently, QE pupils enjoyed a special day at St Paul’s Cathedral, where they were able to play the organs, receive a masterclass from the cathedral’s Organ Education Lead, Jeremiah Stephenson, and enjoy a privileged view of evensong. While St Paul’s sometimes hosts primary schools, QE’s was the first such visit by a secondary school.

Director of Music Ruth Partington told The Organ Podcast why the School joined the RCO scheme and she explained the impact of the organ since it arrived in The Friends’ Recital Hall in the autumn. “At Queen Elizabeth’s, we have a very rich heritage and that includes a very formal Service of Nine Lessons and Carols every Christmas and, again, a very formal Founder’s Day service in June: the organ is an important part of both these services. So along with my mission to expand our orchestral instrument range and our ability to provide piano lessons and singing lessons, the organ seemed to me the next logical step.

“I think it’s made a big difference, and certainly when it arrived, there was this real buzz – ‘Ooh, what is this amazing machine that’s suddenly appeared?’ – and we had quite a few pupils coming to ask to play.”

She also outlined the additional possibilities for higher education that encouraging boys to learn the organ opens up. “Many pupils every year apply to Oxbridge to study a whole range of subjects and, again, it seems a natural progression that we encourage them not only to read Medicine, English and Music, but also to apply for choral scholarships and organ scholarships.”

The partnership with St John the Baptist Church offers the Organ Scholars rich opportunities to play regularly and gain expertise with church music. However, peripatetic organ teacher Adam Hope told the podcast that having an organ at the School brings with it additional opportunities to “interact with other genres and traditions of music that they couldn’t do in a church – it makes the organ relevant”.

The day at St Paul’s Cathedral was led by Mr Stephenson, a prize-winning graduate of Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music.

It started with a demonstration of the Grand Organ (one of the largest in the country, built by Henry Willis in 1872), and the opportunity for all boys to play pieces they had prepared.

The group then visited two other instruments on the cathedral floor before going to the crypt to play another organ built in a historical style by William Drake, which is particularly suited to composers such as JS Bach – a new experience for QE’s organists.

After lunch, the group headed up to a newly installed practice organ, hidden away in the triforium (upper-level interior gallery), which is not generally accessible to the public. On their way, they saw the historic Dean’s Library, experienced a spectacular view of the cathedral from high above the West Doors, and saw Christopher Wren’s 1:25 wooden scale model of the cathedral. Mr Stephenson then gave them a masterclass on matters of technique and improvisation.

Music teacher Jas Hutchinson-Bazely said: “This was an inspiring day, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the boys. We are very grateful to everyone at St Paul’s for their generosity.”

Organ Scholar Joel added: “I really enjoyed discovering the variety of organs there, and especially getting access to see some of the inner workings of the Royal Trumpets, high above the West Doors. It was insightful learning about some of the sound physics from Mr Stephenson.”

The eight boys attending also included Joel’s fellow Organ Scholar, Noah, as well as Akein Abeysinghe, of Year 9; Adithya Ananthakrishnan, of Year 9; Kevin Mao, of Year 8; Hasan Gul, of Year 8; Zach Fernandes, of Year 8; and Gabriel Ward, of Year 7.

Four Year 12 students – Nikhil Mark, Jason Tao, Akshat Bajaj, and Harrison Lee – joined the group to attend evensong. St Paul’s had reserved seating for the QE group near to the choir, and they were given a special welcome at the beginning of the service.

• You can listen to the podcast here. The QE segment starts at around 30 minutes. The podcast is also available on all podcasting platforms, including Apple, Spotify and Amazon Music.

A Sixth Form musician’s composition is to be performed at the world’s longest-running music festival, after he won a place on a highly regarded programme for young composers.

Harrison Lee’s piece, Ego Flos Campi, will be sung by the acclaimed ORA Singers amid the medieval magnificence of Worcester Cathedral as part of the famous Three Choirs Festival.

The A-level Music student was one of only ten successful applicants to have secured a place on the ORA Singers Young Composers scheme.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “We are thrilled that Harrison gained a place on this prestigious scheme, and that all the hard work he puts into his composition has been rewarded.

“We have already performed one piece by Harrison this academic year and look forward to the next one!”

Ego Flos Campi will be heard at a showcase concert on 2^nd August 2024 held as part of the festival, which rotates between the cathedral cities of Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester. The title of the piece is taken from the Latin first words of the Song of Solomon in the Bible, meaning ‘I am a flower of the field’.

As part of the programme, and in preparation for the concert, Harrison has  been receiving ten hours of mentoring from Kemal Yusuf, a young British composer who has composed more than 150 works for various ensembles, films, dance productions, and solo performances.

Harrison’s piece has already been the subject of a workshop by the ORA Singers, with guest composer Oliver Tarney, best known for his work with filmmakers Ridley Scott and Paul Greengrass. The award-winning vocal ensemble, which is also a world-leading commissioner of choral music, is directed by Suzi Digby, Baroness Eatwell OBE, who is a choral conductor,  music educator and visiting professor at the University of Southern California.

After the concert, each of the ten successful young composers will receive detailed feedback from the panel, along with a video-recording of their piece, which is provided for them to use to kick-start their musical portfolios. The concert will also feature a prize-giving ceremony.

Harrison, who is in Year 12, said: “It’s such a great opportunity to be working with singers of this calibre, and I think it has helped me to develop my composition skills a lot more. I have learned a lot from this programme and it will definitely help me with my ambitions of being a composer.”

Last term, his Magnificat was one of the highlights of QE’s Chamber, Choral and Composition Concert. Performed by a full orchestra and the Chamber Choir, and conducted by Harrison himself, it filled the The Friends’ Recital Hall with sound (pictured top).

Having previously won Senior Music Colours, Harrison this year had a bar added to those colours for his exceptional contribution to music at the School: Headmaster Neil Enright presented it to him in March. Harrison was also the winner of this year’s Music (academic) prize for Year 12 at the School’s Senior Awards ceremony.

QE’s Chamber Choir relished the opportunity to sing evensong at King’s College Chapel – one of the world’s most famous venues for church choral music.

Singing alongside the King’s Voices – the college’s mixed-voice choir – in only their fourth-ever evensong, the QE boys not only enjoyed the chance to sing in an inspiring setting, but also to sample the life of a university Choral Scholar.

The historic event also proved to be a draw for Old Elizabethans, with two singing with the choir and other alumni joining the congregation.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It is a tremendous honour to be invited to sing at King’s College Chapel. This was, therefore, an historic occasion for our School, and one that will live long in the memory.

“I know our boys really enjoyed the chance to sing amid the soaring Gothic architecture of King’s College Chapel. Musically, it was a great success, with the boys attentive and sounding superb in their rendering of Dyson’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D major and Wood’s choral setting of Bramley’s O Thou the Central Orb.

“It was also a pleasure to see alumni turning out to support the current boys – my colleagues and I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with them afterwards.”

Renowned for its choral tradition, including its Christmas Eve Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which is broadcast worldwide, King’s College Chapel welcomes members of the university, local residents and tourists to its services.

As well as taking part in afternoon rehearsals, the QE Chamber Choir spent time looking around Cambridge, visiting the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences and touring a number of colleges with OEs Raphael Herberg (2015–2022) and Jao-Yong Tsai (2016–2023), who are studying Music at Cambridge and who rejoined QE’s choir for the occasion.

At St John’s College, they had a Q and A session with the current Director of Music, Christopher Gray, where the boys found out more about choral scholarships and asked questions about the application process.

For the evensong back at King’s College, the Chamber Choir were directed by the Interim Assistant Director of Music, Ralph Woodward, who is also the current Director of King’s Voices.

Music teacher Rebecca German said: “We were extremely fortunate to be given the chance to sing evensong at King’s College Chapel; it gave the boys a taster of what life would be like as an Oxbridge Choral Scholar. We hope that a large number of them will go on to apply in the future.”

Current Year 13 student Arjun Patel has won a Choral Scholarship from Merton College, Oxford.

Hovan Sarkissian, of Year 8, said: “It was greatly enjoyable to explore the beautiful sights of Cambridge with my fellow choir members. Even so, nothing could top the truly unforgettable experience of singing with my peers and the King’s College Chapel Choir in such a historic and remarkable place.”

• Click on the thumbnails below to view more photos.

Musicians throughout the School celebrated the contributions of this year’s leavers at a special concert, with the Year 13s themselves enjoying one last chance to show what they can do.

The Leavers’ Concert paid full tribute to the final-year students, several of whom play in as many as seven ensembles.

The programme for the event in the Shearly Hall spanned many centuries and many musical genres, taking the audience from Mozart to Britney Spears.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This was a musically spectacular evening, and it was heart-warming to hear not only the quality of musicianship, but also to see the gratitude the younger boys have towards the senior students who help direct, conduct and rehearse ensembles.

“The leavers themselves have made an immense contribution to music at the School, both through playing and through making time to conduct and direct other musicians. It should be remembered that they have done so while also participating in other aspects of School life: those performing at the concert included pupils holding offers from Oxbridge or to study medicine next year, demonstrating that high academic achievement and full extra-curricular involvement really can go hand in hand.”

Paying her own tribute, Director of Music Ruth Partington told the audience she and her colleagues were left wondering how they will manage without the Year 13 musicians next year!

The Jazz Bands and Senior Winds got everyone in the groove with pieces such as I Got Rhythm, Superstition and Sing, Sing, Sing, while the School Choir, supported by a pupil backing band, gave a foot-tapping performance of Elton John’s I’m Still Standing.

Highlights of the concert included performances by the Indian Ensemble. Year 13’s Isher Jagdev explained that the final piece, Tarana – Raag Basant, was a conversation and, with the help of Year 11’s Vase Pardeepan, went on to demonstrate that everything you can say can be played on tabla!

Miss Partington said: “It is great to see this ensemble growing in numbers, with new recruit Param Jani, of Year 7, showing wonderful vocal ability. Isher leaves it in great shape.”

The Electric Guitar Ensemble’s aptly chosen piece, Europe’s The Final Countdown, directed by leaver Shubh Rathod, opened the second half of  the concert.

Performed 40 years after it famously served as the accompaniment to Torvill and Dean’s figure-skating gold medal at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, Ravel’s Boléro showcased many soloists and sections as it built towards its conclusion, even featuring the three Assistant Heads (Crispin Bonham-Carter, James Kane and Sarah Westcott) on percussion.

There was then a pause in proceedings for the Headmaster’s presentation of Music Colours and Bars. Among the nine boys awarded Colours, Noah Morley, of Year 10, received Senior Colours a year early, recognising his exceptional contribution to music at QE. Bars went to Harrison Lee and Nikhil Mark, both of Year 12.

Year 13 leavers then made their own presentation to the three music teachers – Director Miss Partington and Music teachers Rebecca German and Jas Hutchinson-Bazely – praising their guidance and support.

The Orchestra’s performance of Britney Spears’ hit, Toxic, delivered fun aplenty. Not only did this feature both tabla and an electronic remix by Year 13’s Indrajit Datta, but the appearance of glow sticks brought some rave vibes to the Shearly Hall – a QE first.

After wearing a white shirt and School tie along with his peers as he performed in multiple ensembles during the concert, Year 13’s Arjun Patel deftly made the change into black tie to conduct the Orchestra in Leavers’ Waltz, the final piece of the evening, which he had composed himself.

• Click on the thumbnails below to view photos from the concert.

Two QE ensembles reached the national final of the only nationwide chamber music festival for schools.

The two groups – both in the U19 category – had been among no fewer than 12 QE ensembles to have reached the semi-finals of the 2024 Pro Corda Festival.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “The Pro Corda Festival is the only national festival to exclusively promote and celebrate chamber music within schools. It is a prestigious and vibrant celebration of chamber music education in the UK – and 2024’s was the biggest-ever. We were delighted to be able to host both one of the qualifying rounds and one of the semi-finals in The Friends’ Recital Hall here at QE.

“The standard was incredibly high, with students showing real musical understanding and maturity. While neither of our ensembles in the final was named among the winners, it was a great achievement to reach that stage and it was a wonderful and stretching musical experience for all involved.”

Entry in the festival is available to all instrumental ensembles of between three and nine players, who can be of any age from Year 7 to Year 13.

Seventeen ensembles from the School entered the qualifying round on 29^th January. They included ensembles exclusively for piano, violin, trumpet and classical guitar, as well as those for a mix of instruments. Several of QE’s entrants were from mixed year groups, with younger and older musicians working together.

Their repertoire was varied, featuring the work of musical giants from different eras, including Beethoven and Irving Berlin, as well as of less well-known composers, such as Moszkowski, a German-Polish composer who wrote for piano.

In both the qualifying round and semi-final, the ensembles received expert feedback and tuition from an adjudicator in a short workshop after initially performing their pieces. They were then asked to respond to that feedback live, replaying sections of their music.

The following qualified for the semi-final: U19 Trumpet Ensemble; U19 Saxophone Ensemble; U19 Piano Trio A; U19 Saxophone Quintet; U19 Senior Piano Quartet; U19 Piano Trio B; U16 Violin Piano Trio B; U16 Piano Trio A; U16 Junior String Quartet; U16 Violin Trio B; U14 Junior Brass Ensemble A; and U16 Ensemble X.

QE’s top two ensembles then headed to Central Foundation Boys’ School in Shoreditch, London, for the national final. They are pictured here during their semi-final performances. They comprise:

• U19 Violin Piano Trio A – violinists Jason Tao, of Year 12, and Ryuki Watanabe, of Year 11, with Year 10 pianist Noah Morley
• U19 Saxophone Quintet – final-year students Arjun Patel and Nathan Woodcock playing alto sax, together with Tharun Dhamodharan (baritone, Year 13), Nikhil Mark (tenor, Year 12) and Leo Sellis (soprano, Year 11).

QE and the host school were the only state schools to reach the national final. On the day, all participants had the opportunity to meet and mingle with their peers from across the country.

Afterwards, Pro Corda’s CEO, Andrew Quartermain, championed the importance of chamber music for schools. Playing in chamber music ensembles provides “a pivotal and life-long musical and artistic training”, he said, praising the “sparky unique characters, the warm collaboration [and] the individuality in equal measure to the togetherness” seen during the festival.

The five Chamber Champion Ensembles named as winners at the national final were from: King’s High School, Warwick; Ipswich School; Eltham College, south London; Woldingham School, Surrey; and Portsmouth Grammar School.

QE’s young composers demonstrated both their creativity and their virtuosity in a special concert showcasing their work.

The Chamber, Choral and Composition Concert featured pupils’ own compositions for their GCSE and A-level courses, which accounted for ten of the 16 pieces in the programme.

The breadth of style and genre was huge, from, for example, sixth-former Indrajit Datta’s opening piece, Sonata for Live Piano and Electronics, which introduced technology in a way not seen at QE before, to A Slave-Driven Fishing Trawler, by Ryuki Watanabe, of Year 11, who combined influences from heavy rock and sea shanties.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Some of the concepts may perhaps sound  a little unusual, but there was wonderful variety, and what was striking was that the pieces were crafted with accomplishment, demonstrating real musical understanding and allowing the boys to playfully inject their personalities.

“Furthermore, it is remarkable not only that students can compose such inspiring, evocative and professional-sounding pieces, but that other boys (often in different year groups) have the skill to perform them so expertly. To invest time and care in learning and performing another student’s composition demonstrates the supportive culture that exists within QE’s musical community: the mutual respect was evident.”

The evening featured:

• Final-year student Isher Jagdev’s Chardikala – a word which in Sikhism denotes a state of eternal optimism. This piece was inspired by the eternal hope of the warrior in the face of battle;
• Revenge is a Virtue, by Tharun Dhamodharan, of Year 13, which continued the battle theme and featured a fast-moving narrative involving Leonardo di Caprio and Darth Vader in a lively action caper;
• A Jazzy Slapstick Comedy, by Aarav Agarwal, of Year 11, which evoked the era of the silent movie;
• Themes and Variations in B-Flat Major written for violin by Year 11’s Leo Sellis – one of a number of pieces that the boys wrote for instruments they do not themselves play.

There were also contributions from some of the younger ensembles taking part in this year’s Pro Corda competition, as well as a pair of well-known songs from the Barbershop and, as a rousing finale, Zadok the Priest, Handel’s coronation anthem played last year at the crowning of King Charles.

“Every composition performed was very strong, and many staggeringly so, but a special mention for [Year 12 pupil] Harrison Lee’s Magnificat, which was performed by a full orchestra and Chamber Choir,” the Headmaster added. “It was incredibly powerful, filling The Friends’ Recital Hall with sound. Like a number of other boys who composed for ensembles, he conducted the piece himself.

“Overall, the evening was a great credit to the pupils and the Music department. The musical output of the students seems to go from strength to strength. Across a significant stylistic range, the music was at a very high level, confidently introduced, produced and performed.”

Click on the thumbnails below to view photos from the concert.