The Music Department have been incredibly busy over the last term, organising a range of fabulous concerts. On Sunday 2 April, Director of Music Mr Richard Curran, along with Mr Paul Jones, accompanied four ensembles to the world’s largest Youth Music Festival. Thank you to Mr Curran for the following report:
‘On Sunday, the Music Department took no less than four of its ensembles to perform at the Music for Youth festival; the biggest festival of its kind. Stranded, Big Band, Rare Groove and The First Eight set the stage alight at the festival’s regional round at Oxfordshire’s Centre for Music. The First Eight were first up with a confident performance of Michael Jackson's Man In The Mirror. The ensemble was commended for its handling of the complex vocal lines and the energy with which it delivered the song. The Big Band then gave a rousing performance of Green Onions by Booker T. The adjudicators loved the piece, commenting on how tight the ensemble was and how they can now work on building on their success by continuing to feature soloists. Rare Groove gave the audience a sizzling rendition of Luther Vandross' Never Too Much. The verbal feedback was full of praise for Ben Atkin, who played with a maturity and complexity on style and was never overbearing. Marcus Bagshawe and Will Mandondo were also singled out for their technical control and the way they commanded the stage. Last to grace the stage was Stranded, who performed with finesse and exquisite vocal definition. Freddie Fricker was mentioned by the adjudicators for driving the piece forward and not being overbearing.
It was a very successful outing for all of the pupils, who will be performing at the Spring Concert this evening, Tuesday 4 April, from 7.30pm in the Sports Hall. We hope to see as many families and friends of Shiplake at the performance as possible! More information is here.’
