With just a few days left until the end of Queen Elizabeth’s School’s 450th anniversary year, a special film published today provides an exciting whistlestop tour of the highlights of 2023.
Professionally produced, the film is set to the soundtrack of QE’s Chamber Choir singing And Be It Known – the anniversary anthem commissioned by the School from international composer Howard Goodall, which was recorded in a special session last month.
Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I invite everyone to take a look at this video, which captures in just a few short minutes so much of what has made our anniversary celebrations so memorable, starting with the visit of HRH The Duke of Gloucester this time last year and including major events involving the whole School, such as our Westminster Abbey thanksgiving service in March and Founder’s Day in June.
“It’s a great watch, and with a super musical soundtrack: as we wrap up the celebrations and start to think about our exciting plans for 2024, I hope everyone will take a few moments to enjoy this memento and reflect on our fabulous year.”
The Chamber Choir was conducted by Director of Music Ruth Partington, with Music teachers Rebecca German and Jas Hutchinson-Bazely also closely involved in the recording session in The Friends’ Recital Hall. Miss German sang and Mr Hutchinson-Bazely played the School’s new electric organ.
Sound-recording was managed and produced by Year 13’s Indrajit Datta, with fellow pupil Abhinav Sandeep, of Year 10, operating the venue’s in-built camera to record the wide angles, alongside fellow Year 10 pupil Benjamin Newton. Indrajit, who is hoping to forge a career in this industry, used ten microphones, strategically placed, to record the different instruments and choir sections, including a feed directly from the organ.
The filming of the session was conducted by professional cameraman Andrew Litt, with video production by Dashing Duck. Stills photography is courtesy of Eleanor Bentall and Westminster Abbey.
The anthem was premiered at Westminster Abbey on 24th March, 450 years to the day since Queen Elizabeth I granted the charter for the establishment of the School. It was performed again on Founder’s Day, and the congregation will sing it at the end of the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in Chipping Barnet Parish Church on Wednesday this week, with all boys in Year 7 learning it in advance so they can contribute.
The video covers many of the more formal events of the year, but there have been numerous other anniversary-related events, from subject festivals, tree and bulb plantings, lecture assemblies, competitions, and even the unique experience of QE hosting a TV film crew for a food programme popular in Korea!
Anthem recording session performers
Conductor
Miss Ruth Partington, Director of Music
Chamber Choir
Year 7
Krish Bhatia
Year 8
Aarush Marti
Akein Athukoralage
Eshaan Anil
Sree Harsha Gullapali
Anirudh Premkumar
Aadi Chauhan
Mithun Madhu
Galinghan Balamurugan
Year 9
Adithya Ananthakrishnan
Parth Jain
Jamie Lam
Aayush Shukla
Akshay Shah
Kiran Wright
Joseph Donovan
Krishiv Karelia
Aatheethya Jeyanth
Arjun Anand
Nikhil Francine
Gyan Nadhavajhala
Krishna Gajendra
Kelvin Chen
Year 10
Keeyan Shah
Rishi Watsalya
Siddhant Pochalwar
Nafis Meah
Noah Morley
Year 11
Colin Copcea
Saahil Shah
Ram Chockalingam
William Joanes
Johnny Yassa
Simi Bloom
Adam Liang
Keon Robert
Year 12
Akshat Bajaj
Harrison Lee
Joel Swedensky
Nikhil Mark
Jason Tao
Year 13
Tharun Dhamodhran
Arjun Patel
Sena Lai-Fujiwara
Old Elizabethans
Mr George Raynor (2014–2021)
Mr Bhunit Santhiramoulesan (2016–2023)
Staff
Miss Rebecca German, Music teacher
Instrumentalists
Trumpets
Mr Peter Yarde Martin (OE 2002–2007)
Joel Swedensky, Year 12
Horn
Mr Eddie Morgan, QE peripatetic Music teacher
Trombones
Mr William Barnes McCallum
Mr Tom Scaife
Tuba
Mr Stuart Beard
Timpani
Mr Neil Rowland, QE peripatetic Music teacher
Organ
Mr Jas Hutchinson-Bazely, QE Music teacher