It opened with a piano duet by Monet and Oliver playing 'The arrival of the Queen of Sheeba':
quite an astounding opening and the audience were suitably appreciative. Actually that's an understatement as the audience were WOWED by their playing! It was rhythmic, fast and accurate - terrific start and a very difficult piece.
From Handel to Cassills, with the reflective vocal solo, 'She's like a swallow' sung most beautifully by Lucy.
The Year 8 Wind Quintet followed with an equally reflective arrangement of the Chopin Prelude in C minor: haunting in its delivery.
The Senior Strings were joined next by The Jorgensen Trio, in an arrangement of the Celtic piece 'Ashokan Farewell' with the violin solo played exquisitely by one of new Music Scholars, Arabella:
The strings resonated throughout the beautiful acoustics of Walnut: spell bounding and easy to see why Benenden chose to award Arabella with a Music Scholarship.
Another spell bounding performance followed by Emily with a trumpet solo, playing a modern take on the English classic 'Greensleeves'. Be honest: who received a chill down their spine as she blasted that crescendo to reach the high note...? More than one of us I expect!
What came next was quite extraordinary and brought about by the generosity of Matthew Ferrey, a Brambletye parent and Patron at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Matthew very kindly arranged for a string trio from London to come down, assist our children in a performance and then entertain the audience with a piece themselves. The Jorgensen Trio (www.olgajorgensen.com) were quite possibly the best trio I have ever heard as they performed 'Winter' from Piazzolla's 'Four Seasons'. If you don't know this piece, please have a look on You Tube as it is hugely exciting! Olga, Antonia and Cecilia were entertaining, professional and even endured Jonty's card tricks over school supper...no mean feat! Ladies: please come back and see us again soon!
Two solos followed next. Firstly Thomas, on the clarinet who played the first movement from Tartini's Concertino: he produced a lovely, mellow sound, which sang around the room.
This was followed by Oliver, our other newest Music Scholar, who played the first movement of Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in A minor. It was a beautiful, articulated performance and easy to see why he won a Music Scholarship to Brighton College.
A rare treat followed next in the form of the Flute Choir: 9 flautists ranging in age from 7 - 13, produced the most gorgeous sound. They worked as a team and it was a delight to hear them.
A harp duet followed next, which was a treat indeed. To have one harpist in a prep school is a delight, to have two is a rare luxury and how beautifully Millie and Alice performed so well together:
Rowan followed this with a tear jerking rendition of Morricone's piece 'Gabriel's Oboe: the high notes flowed and sang beautifully. Simply lovely.
The penultimate performer was Monet, who amazed the audience with her performance of Chopin's Waltz in B minor: she made it sound easy. What a talent that girl has!
The final ensemble was the Junior Chapel Choir, who belted out two songs: Take these wings and Songs of a Starry night. They sang with confidence, style, paid attention to dynamics and clearly had a lot of fun, especially with the last song!
It is quite difficult to believe that Trio notwithstanding, the age range of the performers were from 7-13. They all performed in a highly professional manner, conducted themselves accordingly, played and sang to an exceptionally high standard and all up, punched well above their weight. If this is the future of the Brambletye music department, then it is in very safe hands. Already planning another Chamber Concert and given the expected number of performers and size of audience, we may well have to hire a larger venue...!!!
Thanks to everyone who supported the concert, to Matthew Ferrey and the Jorgensen Trio who entered into the wilds of Sussex from central London!
PS: For those of you with Facebook, please look at the Jorgensen Trio's page to see the special gifts, which were presented to them at the end of the concert......
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jørgensen-Trio/1376315805940746
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