Music

THE ARTS

MUSIC

ROUND-UP OF MUSIC

The Charterhouse Music Department is thrilled to be part of a wider national programme of events celebrating OC Vaughan Williams which kicked off in earnest up in Manchester with a concert given by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust is supporting the year-long series of events, in which our very own Charterhouse Concert Series is delighted to be involved. In the first of these events held at Charterhouse, Head of Academic Music, Dr Russell Millard, gave a fascinating talk on the repertoire, explaining the very many unknowns and misconceptions about one of our greatest and most eminent OCs. The concert opened to a wrapt audience, with the beautiful and haunting Romance and Pastorale for violin and piano, played exquisitely by Eddie Chai (R). The responsibility of opening this major Concert Series was in incredibly safe hands: Eddie played with real thought, musicianship and understanding, delivering this repertoire in the intimate setting of the Llewellyn Room in a way that completely captivated the audience. Dr Millard’s talk was then followed by a sextet of singers performing the ever-popular Truth Sent From Above, a flashback to Advent. To close proceedings, we welcomed back another OC, Henry Le Feber Robertson (S20), to play the Romance for viola and piano. Henry’s playing has gone from strength to strength and it was wonderful to hear his sonorous, resonant viola playing once more in this most gorgeous piece. Henry is currently studying Music at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where he plays with the leading student orchestras.

The second in our Concert Series was given by Head of Strings, Mr Rafael Bolivar, and piano beak Mr Daniel Hill, a truly superb concert showcasing the monumental Vaughan Williams Violin Sonata as well as works for piano by Ravel and Howells, composers with whom Vaughan Williams had very close affiliation. The Violin Sonata is rarely performed, partially for its difficulty, but perhaps mainly for the mammoth musical undertaking it requires. We were privileged to witness such a performance.

This year marks both the 150th anniversary of OC composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams and, indeed, the 150th anniversary of the School’s move from London to Godalming. In honour of such significant milestones, the RVW has been a hub of activity, with concerts, services, competitions, a Band Show and more all packed into this Quarter’s musical calendar.

Evening Recital

The start of Quarter saw Charterhouse host the Minerva Trio, who gave a superb concert of chamber music for violin, cello and piano. Fronted by Richard Birchall, former instrumental teacher at Charterhouse, the concert was a huge success and gave our pupils some wonderful insights into the art of professional chamber music. This was particularly apt given the upcoming Pro Corda competition, a national chamber music competition hosted this year at Charterhouse.

Lunchtime Concerts (formerly Quarter Concerts) are a chance for pupils to showcase repertoire in a much more informal setting whilst improving their abilities to perform and prepare for larger occasions. Accordingly, in preparation for Pro Corda, we heard three chamber groups perform. The trio of Claire Wang (Su), Jonathan To (L) and Adrian Choy (L) offered some Beethoven. For a group whose age range spans 4ths to 1YS, this was of the highest calibre. Claire Wang has already proved herself to be an astonishing talent, but the way in which Jonathan and Adrian raised their playing to reach an ensemble ability of the highest order was most gratifying and impressive to witness. Similarly, in a quite different repertoire (Shostakovich, to be exact), the musical understanding and maturity shown by Taki Ejima-Dalley (V), Thomas Byrne (g) and Eddie Chai was certainly to be marvelled at. The final group to perform was the senior quartet of Michael Huang (G), Kirstie Kwakye (Su), Lancelot Liu (S) and Sophie Ju (C). Again, the musicianship was first class, and the ensemble evinced a clear understanding of the music. It was therefore rather unsurprising that the adjudicator of Pro Corda was hugely impressed by their standards of playing. At the time of writing, all of our groups safely negotiated the Quarterfinals and are awaiting news on progression to the Semi-Finals.

More recently, we’ve had lovely performances by Matthew Balogun (G), Tianzong Chen (H), Freddie Halford (W), Eamon Lam (H), Jago Brazier (R), Ife Tejumola (g) and Tom Cowling (B), Hattie Palmer (F), Bridget Kent (F) and a host of others. The more formal Evening Recitals have also been another moment of excellence from our pupils this Quarter. Here, we enjoyed the beautiful playing of Timothy Tso (V), Christy Choy (F) and Luca Cheung (L), as well as Sophie Ju, who performed Beethoven’s Spring Sonata.

True to form, the Music Department hosted its regular array of performance prizes. Given the currently extraordinary talent of string players and the inspirational leadership shown by Head of Strings, Mr Bolivar, String Prizes was, in a word, astonishing. There were no weak performances and the adjudication by Emily Marsden (Head of Strings, Christ’s Hospital School) was almost impossible! With such a variety of repertoire on show, and despite being just short of a couple of hours, the time passed in the most pleasant and enjoyable of fashions. Bravo to all competitors, but prizes went to Timothy Tso in the Junior category, and jointly in the Seniors to Eddie Chan and Kirstie Kwakye. Woodwind Prizes were yet another resounding success. We were thrilled to welcome Professor Ian Wilson (Guildhall School of Music and Eton College) to Charterhouse to judge our annual Woodwind Competition. A huge number of pupils performed, and it was most encouraging to see how healthy this department is looking. Pupils played with great aplomb, with prizes being taken by Fraser Dobie (V) (Junior), Alex Weaver (S) (Intermediate) and Horace Choi (G) (Senior). Many thanks indeed to Head of Woodwind, Mr Corkin, but also the team of VMTs for preparing our pupils so successfully. This was a super afternoon of excellent playing.

Chapel Choir continues to go from strength to strength. Regular Evensongs and performances in Chapel are becoming increasingly natural to this wonderful group of singers, and a recent highlight was their performance of Allegri’s seminal Miserere Mei in the Evensong for Ash Wednesday. Tasked with the responsibility of the soaring ‘top C’, Aomi Hiroi (Su) soared with beauty and excellence. Aomi has been a real star since joining Charterhouse, singing in just about every ensemble going! Mention must also go to her quartet partners – Hattie Palmer, Rosie-May Kennedy (N), and Thomas Byrne, all who supplied an ethereal complement to the efforts of the main Chapel Choir in a performance that created a serene sense of contemplative calm, not just to mark the start of Lent, but also amidst the heightening situation in Ukraine. Chapel services, talks and even a ringing of the Carillon bells by Mark Gorman (B) has helped the Charterhouse community show our support and solidarity at this time.

It is testament to the importance of music at Charterhouse that the Music Department has been involved in a wide range of events throughout the Quarter from the School’s production of Fame: The Musical to Confirmation ceremonies. We welcomed the Bishop of Dorking, the Right Reverend Jo Bailey Wells, to oversee the Confirmation of seven candidates. Chapel Choir provided some beautiful music to accompany proceedings, and it was lovely to see so many supportive friends and family present.

BAND SHOW 2022

Let’s start with a cliché that happens to be true: this was without a doubt the best Band Show in the past twenty years. Led brilliantly by Head of Woodwind, Mr Corkin, the band boasted some outstanding and inspirational performers who fronted a unified and enthusiastic team. There was a super balance of band, singers, comedy sketches and – for the first time – DANCE! What a refreshing and uplifting experience the whole evening proved to be, beautifully lit and with the audience seated at cocktail tables. The only thing missing, thanks to the curse of Covid, were the cocktails themselves, but next year…

There was a super balance of band, singers, comedy sketches and – for the first time – DANCE!

Taki Ejima-Dalley (V) gave us phenomenal jazz piano throughout, brilliantly underpinned on bass by DJ Clapcott (W). Sadly, the Trio that set the pre-show mood couldn’t be completed by Justin Wang (L), who was unwell, but Mr Morley kindly stepped in, playing beautifully, of course. Autumn Leaves set the tone, bursting across the stage in pacy and energetic fashion. Aomi Hiroi (Su) was the first singer on with a vibrant ‘S Wonderful before Will Taylor (V), Horace Choi (G) and Tim Colin (B) gave us colourful solos during In The Mood, backed by a lush trumpet choir. Jamie Hume (H) stepped up with a mellow trombone solo in Girl from Ipanema and then Lauren Stewart (C) gave us a really focussed Blue Skies. Taki Ejima-Dalley’s riffs on Bye Bye Blackbird showed both his phenomenal invention and keyboard fluency, giving credence to the aforementioned cliché. Blue Moon gave Isabella Beling (N) the vehicle to show off her rich mezzo voice. Bashful Tom Byrne (g) introduced himself with typical modesty and then gave a fabulous performance of Mack the Knife, skilfully exploiting both tenor and baritone registers. The evening finished with Sing, Sing, Sing and (a first for Carthusian Band Shows) a simply delightful dance routine. Two hilarious sketches added to the array of entertainment, skilfully performed by Tom Byrne, Guy Ellis (W), Felicia Freeman (Su) and Emma Horner-Long (F).

If you couldn’t make this year’s show, be sure to book early for the next one. I predict it will be sensational.

Mr Mark Shepherd

BRITTON SINFONIA CONCERT

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, with the celebrations across the country culminating in a special feature in the Summer Proms series at the Albert Hall.

Oxford Elegy narrator, Lachlan Mackinnon (G74)

One of the most magical moments of the evening was the world-class encore of a Bach Sarabande played by Alexander Sitkovetsky who followed his achingly beautiful performance by taking his place amongst the second violinists.

As one of our most illustrious alumni, we’ve wanted to mark the event here and a colourful series of concerts throughout the year have been planned. The collaboration between Charterhouse musicians and the Britten Sinfonia in March saw a wonderful and unique programme that included the world premier of a really convincing arrangement for orchestra and solo violin by David Matthews of RVW’s little-known Romance and Pastorale for violin and piano.

Carthusian musicians started the concert with a lively rendition of RVW’s arrangement of the Old 100th with brass fanfares and choral solos. The choir joined the orchestra for An Oxford Elegy giving a confident and persuasive narrative of the colourful tale. Later they preceded the Tallis Fantasia for Strings with two motets, the latter introducing the theme that RVW employs in his Fantasia. The orchestra welcomed and nurtured eight of our top string playing pupils, and the evening thus proved to be, not only a happy celebration of our most famous OC, but a wonderful collaboration between one of our great national orchestras and our pupils and staff.

One of the most magical moments of the evening was the world-class encore of a Bach Sarabande played by Alexander Sitkovetsky who followed his achingly beautiful performance by taking his place amongst the second violinists to fill the place vacated by an indisposed Carthusian violinist; a gesture that embodies at lease three of our School Values!

School Archivist, Catherine Smith, curated a wonderful exhibition of RVW memorabilia and Russell Millard gave an illuminating pre-concert lecture.

Charterhouse created a collaboration and wide-ranging celebration that one hopes RVW would have approved.