Music

Summer Term has seen hundreds of students across the Senior School sharing music-making together, with singing and samba taking centre stage in the spectacular Summer Concert.

The pounding sound of the surdo drums heralded the entrance of a massed L4 Samba Band, marching and dancing their way in to the Prevett Hall, accompanied by instrumentalists and vocalist, Tama in a fantastic performance of ‘Coisinho do Pai’.

The whole of L4 went on to sing together as a massed choir, in a programme which also featured brilliant performances from Trombone Ensemble, Flute Ensemble, Cantabile, Clarinet Ensemble and Concert Orchestra. Nyla (L4 Ansuz) and Raiya (M5 Aleph) were the featured soloists in an accomplished performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto in A minor for two violins.

Bringing everyone in the concert together for a massed Finale performance of ‘The Climb’ brought the evening to a fitting close, with a wonderful reception from the audience of parents, families and friends.

Singing together continues to grow at the heart of our musical community at Habs, and we are delighted to have had the opportunity for a number of singing assemblies with the Lower School this term. The whole of L5, who have been studying Film Music, learned ‘Skyfall’ as a year group song at the start of term and showcased their vocal skills in performing and recording this together, accompanied by Music department staff.

The prestigious Margaret Watts Music Essay Prize offers students the opportunity to produce an in-depth piece of academic writing, and this year’s submissions were of an excellent quality. Congratulations to the overall winner, Francesca (U5 Ansuz) for her analysis on the musical theatre style of ‘La La Land’.

In June, we were delighted to take ten of our advanced string players to The Royal Masonic School for Girls for a day of performance masterclasses with Dr Tasmin Little, the multi-award winning international solo concert violinist. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to benefit from her experience and expertise in performing and coaching sessions.

The summer samba theme continued with a spectacular opening to this year’s Sports Day, featuring L4 students from the Girls’ School and Boys’ School processing and performing together.

The House Music Festival brought this term to a close and was a day full of performances from many different instrumentalists, singers and chamber ensembles. The enthusiasm and excitement of the event was reflected not just in the variety of the music performed but also in the large number of house points won by students from across the whole school.

Congratulations to all the students who have performed this term and who continue to make such a wonderful contribution to the musical life of the school. Thanks also to all the Music department staff and visiting music teachers for their ongoing support, encouragement and musical expertise.