Programme
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
‘O magnum mysterium’ Naples Chamber Choir
George
Frederic
Handel
(1685 - 1759)
MESSIAH
Overture
Part 1
And the Glory
Thus saith the Lord (bass) - But who may abide? (soprano)
And he shall purify - For unto us a Child is born There were shepherds abiding in the fields*
Glory to God
Part 2
Surely, He hath borne our griefs How beautiful are the feet (soprano) - Why do the nations? (bass)
Hallelujah
Part 3
I know that my Redeemer liveth (soprano)
Since by man came death
The trumpet shall sound (bass)
Worthy is the lamb that was slain - Amen
Soloists
Serena Pulpito (soprano), Gabriele Bolletta (bass) and Margherita Ferrari*(soprano)
Directed by Martin Biggs
The April Concerts
When I first arrived at the Sir James Henderson School (to become the BSM many years later) in September 2000 I had no idea what adventures lay ahead of me. A few things I did know however: first and foremost that I would be inheriting the firmly-established tradition of the Carmine Carol concert and I knew there would be expectations. I had butterflies even walking in front of the church thinking about how I would cope. After a few weeks at school I realized that a major musical event in the second part of the year seemed to be missing and I decided to plan for such an event, very much like those I had experienced in my youth in London. A large-scale choral work would be the best fit for the wide range of ages and vocal forces I envisaged, and the idea was to bring the community together. The choice was a total risk: Mozart’s Requiem. As I scoured Milan for potential venues my first choice emerged and was, incredibly, where we are this evening; San Simpliciano. Years were to pass before establishing a firm rapport with this wonderful, historic basilica, but I am thrilled that my last April Concert is to be here. Over the years the planning of this special concert has always been both a joy and a challenge. Trying to give all the students a meaningful challenge and yet encompass a range of experiences for each generation is not easy. I always wanted the chosen work(s) to be of quality but also adventurous. I firmly believe that students should be exposed to the great masterpieces that they would not normally come to know, rather like Key Stage 3 students study Shakespeare. As well as the great choral works by Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Faure and Mendelssohn – which every aspiring choral singer should get to sing – we have also undertaken some rather unusual things on the way. These have included two ‘Nights at the Opera’, a ‘World Unity’ concert with music from around the world, two editions of ‘The Best of the Musicals’, a Performing Arts Festival and many more. Apart from the April Concert tradition (now in its 25th year) we have had choir tours, endless other concerts and of course fully staged musicals: Les Miserables, Guys and Dolls, Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar to name a few. Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is perhaps THE ultimate choral work: every singer really must experience it and the current generation of BSM students has never done it. I sincerely hope the singers tonight, but also those of the past, both young and old, will continue with their singing and performing. It’s a wonderful way to meet new people, enjoy collaborative projects and experience firsthand some of the most amazing music ever written. Every single performance and project over the years has been special to me as have all the individual singers who have participated.
Martin Biggs Director of Music
Tonight’s Performers
TH E ORCHESTRA
Violins: Dmitri Chichlov*, Frances Jones*, Marco Corsini, Bruno Tripoli, Cristina Morelli, Rodolfo Girelli, Ilze Circene,
Squarthi Silvana, Rossella Pirotta, Donatella Colombo, Gaspare Raul, Anna Fornoni, Angelica Braun* and Eve-Jolie Kerswell*
Violas: Franco Formenti, Elena Allevi and Tania Camargo Guarneri
Cellos: Annamaria Bernadette Cristian*, Francesco Dessy, Christine Cullen and Paolo Tomasini
Double basses: Marco Mistrangelo* and Andres Lucas Fonseca
Flute: Elena Nataf*
Oboes: Marino Bedetti and Carlo Arbia
Bassoons: Caterina Carrier Ragazzi and Carla De Vito
Trumpets: Gioacchino Sabbadini and Andrea Terzi
Timpani: Luca Gusella
Harpsichord continuo: Giovanni Passera*
* Member of the BSM
CORE CHOIR
Sopranos Reina Cho, Uma Sessa, Margherita Ferrari, Laurentia Rimbotti, Beatrice Contaldi, Anna Manzoni, Emilia Ceresa, Xinwei Li, Yoonha Hwang, Emily Novati, Sahana Ramesh, Lara Jurcic, Celeste Shou, Ms Braithwaite and Ms Mace
Altos Clementina Taylor, Sofia Tsarenkova, Bruna Jurcic, Ginevra Zapperi, Noemi Gerli, Olwyn Blackston, Cecilia Raimondo, Matilde Castellani, Keiko Ciravegna, Beatrice Barbieri, Isabel Rivaro, Ms Walker, Ms Evans, Mrs Thompson, Ms Kershaw and Ms Bernal
Tenors Ginevra Bracchi, Giacinta Astolfi, Flora Bu, Xinyue Zhang, Hanna Smoczynska, Niccolò Buganza, Aurora Miccoli, Beatrice Formenton, Ms Ferguson, Ms Mc Aleer, Ms Keene and Ms Lipka
Basses Niccolò Castellani, Niccolò Villa, Tommaso di Carpegna, Andrea Dapri, Louis Mills, Lars Ormoneit, Fitzgerald Taylor, Jiarui Liu, Riccardo Catella, Mr Amy, Mr Clancy and Mr Murgatroyd
YEARS 5 - 7 CHOIR
Year 5
Nina Jurcic, Virginia Gaviraghi, Pietro Cremascoli, (Aurora) Yinuo Zhu, Renna Koga, Vasudha Thareja, Lweji Manuel, Hillary Hu, Sara Vlad, Giulia Della Bella, Chiara Corbino, Céline Bay, Maddalena Picchio, Bianca Gobbetti, Maddalena Volpi
Year 6
Elisabetta Del Bigio, Bianca Di Gregorio, Iris Collette, Ludovico Doria, Francesco Del Vescovo, Sofia Papaleo, Mira Sreerambhatla, Luisa Podda, Alix Zammito
Year 7
Hedda Maly Arignovong Opshaug, Penelope Cora, Mariacarla Mascari, Stella D’Ovidio, Vlada Callot, Juliet Pagano, Ettore Celupica and Daniel Novati
FULL CHOIR
Years 8 - 13 and Staff
Nicola Contaldi, Felice Yang, Costanza Mongelli, Deianira Pappalardo, Irene Tonoli, Emma Celupica, Saanvi Koolwal, Violet Tommasiello, Luce Passera, Ran Hayashi, Cecilia Papaleo, Stella Yang, Rebecca Gesess, Ms Butterworth and Miss Merrill
FRIENDS AND PARENTS CHOIR
Sopranos Elisa Barbieri, Barbara Borra, Isabella Branca, Silvana Delle Cave, Barbara Kusa, Arianna Mazzotti, Giulia Prizzon, Ulla Gomez, Ping Li, Eunice Cho and Candy Weston
Altos Angelica Hug Braun, Maddalena Ferrari, Helen Field, Alessandra Rotelli, Maria Vittoria Gentili, Cornelia Ormoneit, Saija Seidenfaden, Geraldine Williams, Willemijn Zandt, Felicity Harty, Kelly Russell, Francesca Candia and Fiona Formenton Tenor/Bass Suzan Jannsen, Guido Bucchi and Julian Waltho
ALUMNI CHOIR
Matilde Piovella, Serena Girardelli, Elena Bersanini, Mattia Rappa, Stefano Serapian, Germano Girardelli, Emanuel Geromin and Antony Pinchin
The Music Department
Martin Biggs Director of Music
Amy Ferguson Head of Academic Music
Frances Jones Head of Primary School Music
Sonia Maranzano Primary School Music
Instrumental Teaching Staff
Piano Mr Danilo Manto, Mr Stefano Cimminiello, Ms Giovanna Berna, Mr Giovanni Falascone
Wind Ms Martina Arampi (flute), Mr Edoardo Lega (clarinet/sax),
Strings Mr Dmitri Chichlov, Mr Alessandro Mingrone (violin), Ms Annamaria Cristian (cello), Mr Sandro Di Pisa (modern guitar), Mr Tommaso Lega (classical guitar), Mr Marco Mistrangelo (electric bass, double bass)
Others Ms Akiko Sawayama, Mr Nicola Ciulla (voice), Mr Luigi Gungui (drum kit), Mr Luca Ballabio (all brass)
Special thanks
Don Gianni, Don Giuseppe and Tiziana Girelli from San Simpliciano for their kind hospitality.
Amy Ferguson, Frances Jones and Sonia Maranzano for helping out with the rehearsing.
Tammy Sawyer, Wendy Tooze, Valentina Baez Rizzi, Nyssa Bernal, Isabella Branca, Julie Walker, Alex Green and many others for all their help behind the scenes.
The Principal, Mr Simon Lockyer, and the Board of Governors for supporting the event.
