Issue 50 Summer 2014
ST
ALBANS
Highlights
SCHOOL
YOUNGSTERS SHINE IN JOINT CONCERT Both soloists and massed forces were on impressive form in this year’s Joint Schools’ Concert. The new venue, St Saviour’s Church, proved more intimate than the Abbey, though there was some difficulty in fitting the combined choirs of St Albans School and St Albans High School on the stage. They produced a great sound, however, in the opening choral pieces by Bruckner, Lotti and Purcell. The Joint Schools’ Orchestra gave a lustrous performance of Albinoni’s famous Adagio. The soloist in the 2nd movement of Ravel’s Piano Concerto was Fourth Former Thomas Dilley, who led the piece with calm poise, supported by a rich string tone from the orchestra. The centrepiece of the evening was perhaps the opening movement of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto, featuring the School’s cello teacher Joely Koos, principal cellist with the London Chamber Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia. The surging cello led the jagged strings and martial brass breathlessly through the piece. The evening finished with the combined forces of choir and orchestra in Vaughan Williams’ complex Serenade to Music, which gave a number of young singers opportunities for solos. The piece was shaped to its exquisite last note, rounding off a tremendous evening’s music.
Dramas Explore the Mind
Joely Koos was a dramatic performer in Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto (above) while Thomas Dilley played Ravel’s Piano Concerto with calm poise (below)
A key feature of the A2 Drama performances was the quality of the ensemble work, blending stylisation and naturalism. The students had devised two original and compelling dramas, taking inspiration from a source text. The psychological aspects of Poe’s gothic tale The Black Cat were the focus for the first group, which targeted a growing mental obsession, culminating in brutality. There was also brutality in Peter Pan, but more in the spirit of a children’s story book (above). Movement and lighting were used imaginatively with cleverly-choreographed sequences to create the dramatic story-telling.
AS Drama students gave a thrillingly fast paced performance of Davey Anderson’s 2012 play, The Static, which explores the mental world of a troubled teenager. The performance (above) was an ingenious mix of movement, physicality and dialogue, each member of the cast taking on the central role at different times.
Mental Maths A special Maths Day at the University of Hertfordshire enthralled Fourth form students, as they learned how Barcelona FC’s tactics, flashing fireflies and traffic jams can be understood through the concept of mathematical complexity. They were also taught how to make quick computations and the best tactics for success in Monopoly. The entertaining talks opened up the wider applications of mathematical understanding.