Queen Elizabeth’s School concluded its Summer Concert with a huge joint performance featuring both its own musicians and those from its German partner school.
The Big Band from the Friedrich von Bogelschwingh Gymnasium (grammar school) in Bielefeld joined QE’s Big Band, Training Band and Junior Strings to play Herbie Hancock’s jazz standard, Watermelon Man.
Welcoming the German school’s musicians, Director of Music Kieron Howe congratulated them on their performance the previous weekend to a ‘large and appreciative audience’ at the East Barnet Festival.
The Summer Concert in the Shearly Hall also featured another partner school, Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School. For three weeks prior to the concert, three girls worked with nine composers from QE’s AS Music group on an innovative creative project inspired by poetry and pieces of art. The 12 were divided into three groups, each comprising three QE composers and one choreographer from the girls’ school. The concert programme was thus punctuated by three ensemble performances, with each piece danced by all three girls.
There was original work too from a group of Year 9 pupils who have recently been studying the genre of minimalism. “The group you are going to hear tonight were so innovative and musical and creative with their arrangement we thought it a shame to leave it in the classroom and thought it should be shared with you tonight,” wrote Director of Music Kieron Howe in his programme notes.
Other elements of the programme included:
- The Year 7 String Quartet – S. Hanson’s Fiddlers’ Contest
- The Junior Indian Music Ensemble – works by Thyagaraja and Annamacharya
- Junior Strings – pieces by Handel and S. Bulla
- The Training Band – The Simpsons TV theme tune and an African-American spiritual
- Summer Strings – four pieces, ranging from Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring to Singin’ in the Rain.