Two QE musicians have been selected to perform at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Cadet Force movement.
Clarinettists Alex Liangas and Richard Collins, who are in Year 11, are among the 40 cadets chosen from the 131,000 current cadets in the UK to play in the band being assembled for the event, called Cadet 150.
The School’s Director of Music, Kieron Howe, said: “This is a great honour both for the School and for Alex and Richard. I know that both they and their families are thrilled.”
Queen Elizabeth’s School is one of the few state schools to have a Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Established in 1992, it is sponsored by the Corps of Royal Engineers, with support from the Regular Army in training and administration.
The boys have been attending monthly rehearsals with the Brigade of Guards at Wellington Barracks in central London since September and have shown the necessary quality to perform with cadets from across England and Wales.
The two QE boys will join their fellow band members on Saturday 3rd July for three days of rehearsals. They will perform for the In-Pensioners at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, on Monday 5th July in preparation for the Garden Party on the 6th July.
The programme at the Palace will feature a wide variety of music, from a selection of Abba’s songs to Mozart’s overture to The Impresario and the Dambusters March.