Music
MUSIC TOUR to the Rhine and Moselle - July 2011.
The Autumn term is always extremely busy with concerts and continuing academic studies. There were many opportunities for musicians to perform as soloists in small informal settings and to experience being part of larger and more formal concerts. A Chamber Music Evening took place in October and this very popular event contained thirty performances by pupils from Year 4 to Year 13. The Wind Ensemble led the Service of Remembrance at the Lytham Cenotaph, and this year the Chamber Choir sang during the laying of wreaths. Our annual Club Day Concert was extremely successful and a packed St. John's Church enjoyed the delights of the KEQMSingers, Chamber Choir, Concert Band, Year 7 choir and soloists. The term ended with our traditional Service of Lessons and Carols, which took place at St. Cuthbert's Parish Church, Lytham. Mr Hills' arrangement of the Three Kings featuring soloists, Tim Edmundson, Alex Cooper and Peter Mackay, was particularly memorable, as too was the final rousing ‘Hallelujah Chorus'. This was performed as part of the BBC's nationwide event ‘Sing Hallelujah' to raise money for Children in Need. 2009 ended with a pleasing surprise when the school choir won the Blackpool Gazette ‘Christmas Choir' competition with its rendition of Jingle Bells.
In February, the school choir, chamber choir and wind ensemble led the worship at Lytham Methodist Church as part of the Education Sunday celebrations. Following the success of the House Music Competition last year, the event was held again in April. Former pupil Keith Alyward, the editor of the MMA (Music Masters and Mistresses Association), returned to KEQMS to adjudicate the event. He was clearly very comfortable with adjudicating both classical and popular repertoire and offered valuable advice to all Houses in their quest for the trophy. Talbot house retained its title and the award of best performance of the evening was shared by Lana Crawforth and Jessica Hoyle.
The KEQMSingers and musicians from GCSE and A level music classes gave a concert at Freckleton Methodist Church as part of their centenary celebrations. In addition to developing links with the local community, the concert also gave pupils an opportunity to perform their chosen examination pieces in front of an appreciative audience.
To mark the visit of Kim Phuc, Sarah Lenney performed a song specially composed by Mr Lyndon Hills to words written by Lydia Bower. The song was recorded professionally in a Manchester Studio and the first live performance was given at the KEQMS Ball at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. The song dwells on the suffering of children affected by war and the way in which the determination of one person to bring them relief can have a global impact.
Our charity concert this year was in aid of St. Anne's Lifeboat. The School Hall was transformed into a large concert platform as the joint choirs, containing over 100 voices, performed Haydn's ‘Nelson Mass' with professional soloists and orchestra. The programme had a nautical theme and featured the Year 7 choir performing sea shanties under the leadership of Mr Horan, as well as contributions from the Barbershop, Swing Band, Wind Ensemble and Chamber Choir.
After a whole term of rigorous rehearsing, the Lower School musical, ‘Dracula Spectacula' scared the living daylights out of all who dared to get a ticket. Zombies were not hard to find from the large cohort who auditioned to take part. The show's Producer, Mrs Elaine Bennett, worked hard to get the very best out of the cast, almost to the point of drawing blood! Drama featured again in the Summer Drama and Music Evening. This gave performance opportunities to some of our younger pupils from the Infant and Junior Schools interspersed with musicians from the Senior School.
With the examination season running longer and later than previous years, we held an informal soloists' evening in the YMCA bar in lieu of a summer concert. This informal gathering was the perfect way to enjoy music, socialise with pupils and parents and to say a fond farewell to some of our most devoted musicians who were soon to leave to further their studies.
At the end of the Summer term, the KEQMSingers performed with Fylde Synfonia led by old boy Peter Buckley. The Singers, who rehearse every Wednesday Evening, is a popular choir consisting of parents, staff, friends of KEQMS. This community choir supports a number of school events as well as undertaking its own concert programme. They perform a wide range of music, and in this recent concert they excelled themselves with their fantastic performance of Beethoven's 9th ‘Choral' Symphony, a challenging work by any standards.
Concerts play an important part in displaying and developing the talents of our students. This is an important area of the curriculum for the general development of our music students, but yet most, if not all of this work and preparation, is undertaken outside the classroom timetable. Thanks and praise must go to all members of the music department who organise rehearsals and train our young musicians. Such vital opportunities and musical experiences would not take place without their continuing support. There are a number of other teaching and support staff who regularly support the musical activities of the school. They too make an important contribution towards ensuring the quality of music at the school. I would like to thank Mrs Pippa Kirk for all her hard work in leading the Swing Band. A new addition to our ensemble groups emerged during 2010, namely, Matthew Clare's ‘Soul Patrol'. This small and polished group is a credit to Lower Sixth pupil Matthew, who has put in many hours of work, organising, arranging and rehearsing this popular group to a very high standard.
Public examination results were excellent. Our seven GCSE candidates all achieved A or A*s. A level results were also very good, with pupils gaining their predicted grades in line with their ability. At both levels, the performance modules gained the highest marks closely followed by composition. The listening and historical elements results were overall better than in previous years. At both GCSE and A Level, Mr Hills has proved to be a great asset in the delivery of composition.
