school life
WORKSHOP TAKING PLACE IN THE LOVEKYN CHAPEL
Maggini Workshops K
GS’s Music Scholars and other talented musicians enjoyed an afternoon of chamber music coaching with two members of the Maggini Quartet, David Angel and Michal Kaznowski. It is always a pleasure to be able to explore the finer detail of ensemble playing, and these workshops were a chance to look carefully at some charming works. With David Angel in the Lovekyn Chapel, Alborz Farahati, Nonny Jones and Nora Bajwa explored the sometimes extraordinary harmonies of Faure’s Sicilienne in detail, looking at the effect of posture upon ensemble and sound, as well as understanding and refining the magical ‘sound world’ created. The String Trio of Shayma Al Saraf, Emilia Hazel and Emily Sprackling focused upon the hierarchy of bowing - learning that “there is no democracy in bowing” - and, together with working on balance, giving the cello line more prominence. Enjoying the suspensions, they created a sound which had substantially more character, more light and shade. They also enjoyed thinking of the Mozart from a dancer’s viewpoint! The Piano Trio of Vivek Haria, Lucy Roberts and Mr Tierney rounded off the Lovekyn Chapel workshop, ambitiously playing the first movement of the Debussy Piano Trio with considerable attention to detail; 6
they investigated the expressive possibilities of different fingerings and bow placement, as well as the ebb and flow and sharing of melodies between the instruments. After the second workshop, Michal Kaznowski commented that the flute trio of Penny Cairney-Leeming, Zoe Mason and Juliet Gray played with excellent ensemble, and he particularly enjoyed the Brass Ensemble of Aoife Parr, Anna le Huray, William Everitt and Kevin Liu, with their bravura Handel.
We now look forward to the next Workshop Afternoon with the Maggini Quartet, on Tuesday 9th February, and the culmination of the Maggini Chamber Music Project on the evening of Friday 26th February, where the KGS Chamber Groups will share a concert with the Maggini Quartet; this is shaping up to be an excellent concert, so do put the date in your diary! ● Miss P Hyde January 2016 ∙ KGS Newsletter