Music

THE MUSICAL YEAR IN REVIEW

MDW

With very few exceptions, the mantra of this year’s music-making has been “business as usual.” There has been a palpable energy throughout the year from Paulines, ensemble leaders, and music staff alike as the opportunity to make music together again in mixed year groups was seized upon gleefully. Full orchestras, choirs, and larger jazz ensembles were back, and back with a bang!

The idea of a Joint Concert in 2020, when pupils were unable to mix outside of their own year group, let alone with another school (and especially one that was rendered all but inaccessible by a closed Hammersmith Bridge…), was unthinkable. In September 2021, on the first Sunday of the term, a newly formed choir and orchestra started to go through the painful process of learning how to make music together again. I will never forget the first 30 minutes of the orchestral rehearsal on Brahms’s First Symphony – it was awful! After that first half an hour, though, intonation became more secure, players began to listen to each other properly, and the confidence started to come back. Despite the mountain being a little steeper to climb than usual, the Joint Concert – hosted this year in the Wathen Hall – was a great success. It was a joy to see Paulines and Paulinas working together again so positively, side by side in the shared endeavour of delivering quality performances. In addition to the Brahms, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms was conducted with usual aplomb by Leigh O’Hara and the delightful Cantique de Jean Racine by Fauré (directed by Heidi Pegler) made a charming concert opener. Special mention should be made to Calvin Leung for leading the Brahms, and to Jago Cahill-Patten and Oscar Pavey, who sang vocal solos in the Bernstein.

One event that was able to proceed largely unscathed (albeit online) last year, was the Piano Concert just before the main Autumn Remedy. A classy set of performances graced the Wathen Hall’s splendid Steinway D, including a crisp Bach Prelude and Fugue from Samyak Raja, Gershwin from Jonathan Foo and an improvisation from James Lawson. The usual diet of Chopin, Debussy, and Liszt prevailed from players across all year groups, and it was a delight to see a number of talented pianists take the opportunity to showcase their musicianship. Thanks must go to Mr Fairbairn for organising and encouraging the pupils involved. Our 6th form GCSE pupils had their first compositions performed just after Remedy, in a concert that is always heartening for the respect that Paulines show for each others’ work, as well as performing it to the best of their ability. The first Ensembles Concert since 2019, held in midNovember, showed that some groups were still rebuilding and reconnecting, but still presented a full range of items: a memorably tight Mendelssohn Piano Trio movement from Calvin Leung, Cameron Soo, and Robert Simmons, a full set from a reunited St Paul’s Voices, and entertaining numbers from both String and Wind Orchestras. The whole thing was opened by a barnstorming performance from the Drum Line, and special mention must go to Dara Daneshvar, who seemed to be in everything.

As we edged towards December, the Winter Concert brought some much ➦

needed light to the increasing gloom of the shortening days. Opening with a re-arranged Cantique de Jean Racine from the Chapel Choir, the audience was treated to a Tom Evans world première – his Three Meditations, which were based on piano improvisations he had recorded after long days at work to unwind. The orchestrated versions were a real treat for the Chamber Orchestra that he knows so well, with star moments given to specific players, whether it was a tricky solo for Eashan Shah on trumpet, or a subsonic rumble from Kyle Hunt on contrabassoon! The Chamber Orchestra was then put through its paces in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 – a riotously youthful work which the players clearly enjoyed. After the interval, the Symphony Orchestra brought further sunshine with Dvořák’s spring-like Symphony No. 8. From the opening graceful cello melody to the coruscating trumpet fanfare of the ending, this was played with real verve and confidence. In the final couple of weeks of the long term, our jazz musicians gave an afternoon set in the Wathen Hall and the Chapel Choir delivered our first Carol Service in the new Chapel shortly before the end of term, which included a beautiful new arrangement of Away in a Manger by Mr Fairbairn. The choir was also joined by “one or two” enthusiastic volunteers as they sang carols on the last morning of term in Founder’s Court.

The Spring Term brought back reminders of just how intense it can be with a full programme of events and, in addition to the Chamber Choir’s evensong in Cambridge (about which more elsewhere), it sang in St Paul’s Cathedral, giving a much-appreciated evensong for the Old Paulines Feast Service. Before Remedy, the Chamber Music Concert brought together a range of smaller ensembles for this most intimate form of music-making, featuring a rarely-heard Aidan Ferrand on horn alongside Bart Weil and Ben Law in a movement from the Brahms Horn Trio and a host of string quartets and piano trios. The final item was a real treat: the first movement of Bruch’s Octet, with Paulines playing alongside the Alkyona Quartet. The Quartet (which includes St Paul’s Visiting Teacher of Cello, Jobine Siekman) had given the masterclass earlier that day and, after hearing them perform from the Ravel String Quartet, it was a privilege to hear them working alongside pupils in a resounding finale to the concert. Following the theme of events celebrating a specialised form of music-making, the A Cappella Concert in early March brought together contributions from St Paul’s Voices, Consort, Motley Croon, and the Morning Breakers (a new group formed by St Paul’s Visiting Teacher of Singing, Mike Steffan). The audience was treated to everything from Byrd to Bernstein, a Seal Lullaby, and a Creole Love-Call, and tenor Charlie Kenny seemed to be in just about every item. In the final week of the Spring Term, the second Ensembles Concert offered up another delectable smorgasbord of items, including a performance of Haolin Zhao’s Piano Quintet (written for and performed by his peer group chamber ensemble) and a delightful set from the Guitar Ensemble. Another highlight was the Baroque Ensemble’s performance of Telemann’s Recorder Concerto in C.

Chamber Concert Bruch

The Chamber Orchestra was then put through its paces in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 – a riotously youthful work which the players clearly enjoyed.

Wathen Hall; regulars will know soloist Jude Carter primarily on flute and piccolo, but this was an opportunity for him to show what he can do on his first instrument. The final Wind Orchestra item, How to Train Your Dragon, featured a bevy of guest players, including unforgettable and likely never-to-be-repeated turns by Calvin Leung on vibraphone and Robert Simmons on suspended cymbal.

Throughout the Spring Term, the two senior orchestras prepare for the Spring Concert to coincide with the anticipation of study leave for our Sixth and Upper Eighth formers. This time, they were joined by the Baroque Ensemble in a particularly classy set of movements from Rameau’s dramatic works, all directed skilfully from the harpsichord by Mr Fairbairn. The audience was completely sold on the rarely-heard Symphony No. 2 by Kurt Weill, and Dr Evans’s programme note made the compelling case for this to be heard more often. His own enthusiasm for the piece had clearly been communicated to the orchestra, just as it was to the audience when, at one climactic moment, he completely left the ground in preparing for a crucial downbeat! The concert ended with a thrilling performance of Sibelius’s Symphony No.5 – a piece I have always wanted to conduct but have had to wait for a very special orchestra to be able to pull it off. This year’s players, especially those in the Upper Eighth in some crucial positions, meant that it was time to try it, and I will be ever grateful to many individuals who put in long hours preparing some very difficult parts. In particular, Arjun Rajkumar on bassoon, Aiken Lau on flute, Ynon Weiss and Noah Whale on French horn showed their mettle, and in that concert the two Cui twins (Leo and Danny) tackled two of the hardest timpani parts in the repertoire between them across the Weill and the Sibelius.

Apposition and the long-delayed Consecration of the Chapel gave further opportunities for the Chapel Choir and, with the Upper Eighth and sixth form wished well on their odyssey through public exams, the 4th, 5th and Lower Eighth forms all joined forces to put on a highly varied and entertaining Charity Concert in aid of the Otakar Kraus Music Trust towards the end of June. Featuring an exciting turn by 4th Form Voices, some stunning jazz from our Swing Band and Lower Eighth combo, chamber music and an elegant Mozartian finish from a scratch ensemble of top musicians from all three years, this was a lovely occasion and a great opportunity to support a local charity transforming lives through music therapy.

Amongst these events, the department has also trialled some more informal lunchtime “Pop-Up Performances” in the Atrium, which have proved enormously successful. These included two jazz sets (one by our Upper Eighth quintet and one by Jez Laing’s two ensembles from the Charity Concert) and a guitar-based set featuring songwriters, instrumentals and covers. These are likely to become a firm fixture next year.

The way music has been able to bounce back after the enforced hiatus has been truly astonishing and enormously heartening. I am grateful to the hard work and dedication of all of our pupil musicians, but must pay special tribute to our leaving crew of Upper Eighths, who have been a stellar group and have contributed richly to all we have done. Many had a chance to take a final turn at our Leavers and OP Concert (of which more elsewhere), but they deserve special mention here: Eddie Atkinson (Sax), Tommaso Bailo (Double Bass, Piano, Composition), Omar Burhanuddin (Violin), George Davies (Sax, Voice), Aidan Ferrand (Viola, Horn), Laith Gordon (Bass Guitar), Charlie Hunt (Voice, Trumpet), Thomas Jensen (Oboe), Ben Law (Piano, Organ, Oboe), James Lawson (Piano, Composition), Calvin Leung (Piano, Violin, Vibraphone), Eashan Shah (Trumpet), Robert Simmons (Cello, Suspended Cymbal and, latterly, Tenor Soloist), Cameron Soo (Violin, Organ), Ansh Tandon (Drums), Toby Thorogood (Voice, Trumpet), Harry Turner (Trumpet). Our profound thanks and fond wishes go to them all. ❚

Chamber Music, String Days OP & Leavers concert

Chamber Music Competition Winners

It was a great joy to be able to enter a chamber group to the Southeast Schools’ Chamber Music Competition for the first time since 2019. Despite grand plans of entering three groups, in the end the pressures of Upper Eighth mock exams and a case of COVID in the 4th Form prevented two of the three groups competing. However, the 6th form quintet of Haolin Zhao (piano), Moxuan Liu (violin), Charlie Shaw (viola), Altan Mardin (cello), and Will Palmer (double bass) more than made up for any absences. Their performance of the scherzo from Schubert’s glorious ‘Trout’ Quintet was stylish, elegant, very quick, and effortless-sounding, and Michael Dussek (professor at the Royal Academy of Music) was highly impressed, both in the preliminary round on a sunny Sunday morning at Harrow School, and in the Finals in March, at Handel’s church, St George’s Hanover Square. Despite being up against a particularly impressive rendition of the last movement of Mendelssohn’s Octet from Dame Alice Owen’s, in what must have been a very difficult decision for the judges, St Paul’s came out on top as winners of the Intermediate category! A superb achievement, and particular thanks to Mr Mardin for delivering Altan’s cello to the church on time, and to Altan for hotfooting it to the church from a fencing tournament! Well done to all five boys for their inspiring musicianship and indefatigable commitment to chamber music this year.

Strings Days x 3

We were once again able to run a full programme of Strings Days this academic year. The final Saturday afternoon of October half-term saw a very popular event with 58 local string players from around 20 different schools, boys and girls from 8-15 years old working on repertoire including Mack the Knife by Weill and a Handel Concerto Grosso. This was the largest contingent for many years; particular thanks to James Greenfield (then Visiting Music Teacher at SPJ) for directing the younger group. Long may this event prove popular; it is a great way to enable young local string players to get an experience of what the music department has to offer.

It was also very musically rewarding to be able to reinstate our String Days with St Paul’s Girls’ School. In February, Hilary Sturt (Head of Strings at SPGS) directed a particularly ambitious repertoire choice, Michael Tippett’s Fantasia Concertante on a theme of Corelli. This work, which divides the string group into two separate orchestras, and also features three soloists, cleverly reimagines a Baroque concerto grosso in an English Twentieth-Century style, a sort of elaborate remix. Personally, it was a great treat to play this piece for the first time, and the players did brilliantly to approach this repertoire so convincingly; particular well done to Richard Eichhorst for sight-reading some of the solo parts on the day extremely well.

In June, the return fixture in the Wathen Hall gave us an opportunity to delve into a similarly exciting piece, Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony. This is actually an arrangement of his iconic String Quartet No 8, an autobiographical work which includes a recurring theme representing the letters D-S-C-H, (D)imitri (Sch)ostakovich in the German spelling of his name, and was composed at a particularly bleak time in the composer’s life. A truly devastating piece, it is nonetheless great fun to play, and all participants did valiantly, particularly in the furious and frantic second movement. Very well done to Tolga Mardin for leading the orchestra so fearlessly, and also David Xu who experienced the work uniquely this year both analytically as an A level student and as a performer.

OP/Leavers’ Concert

It is always fitting to round off the musical year with the OP/Leavers’ Concert which allows musical Old Paulines to return and perform alongside talented leavers in the Upper Eighth. Looking back, 2018 was the last time we were able to do this on this scale, and it was wonderful to welcome back nine OPs to perform with us this year alongside what was undoubtedly a particularly musical Upper Eighth year. Highlights from the concert this year on Sunday 3 July included hearing Tommaso Bailo’s accomplished original Prelude for piano played beautifully by Visiting Music Teacher Florian Mitrea, a superb rendition of Marcello’s Oboe Concerto by Ben Law, Cameron Soo giving a barnstorming performance on the organ, Calvin Leung’s brilliant leading of a Mendelssohn string quartet, some sensational saxophone playing from captain of school George Davies, and unbelievably virtuosic jazz piano playing from the irrepressible James Lawson. The highlight for me though, was hearing fifteen Upper Eighth musicians singing together in an arrangement of Sibelius’ Finlandia, ‘Be Still my Soul’, entirely self-rehearsed and organized by Toby Thorogood, featuring a vocal solo by Robert Simmons (what a lovely voice!). Call me an old sentimentalist, but I know that I wasn’t the only one in the house welling up; it was a truly beautiful moment. We always say that we will miss the leaving musicians, but this year we mean it even more than we usually do – what an amazingly talented bunch you are – and we hope to welcome you back again as Old Paulines before too long. ❚

Jazz Set at the Six

MDW

Chelsea’s 606 Club is rightly an iconic venue for the jazz aficionado – underground, something of a speakeasy vibe, a stage and facilities tailor-made for intimate jazz performances. It is no surprise that our first outing there in 2019 was a huge success, nor that being able to go again this year led to a fiercely fought waiting list to get in (even after the High Master had to reluctantly relinquish her table due to illness). Those who were able to go were not disappointed.

Pauline musicians get an extra buzz from plying their wares outside of the Music School, and our jazz musicians do this more than most. From the opening wah-wah salvos of Swing Band’s rendition of the theme from Shaft, through the punchy blues of Tom Smith’s Sax Group (in an original tune, “Toast”, penned for the group), to the inevitable Big Band rendition of “The Chicken” to wrap up, this was St Paul’s jazz firmly announcing its return to these hallowed walls and the jazz club’s owner, Steve, was even moved to admit, during a James Lawson solo, “yeah – he can play”! A special feature of the set was the Upper Eighth quintet’s set, honed over nearly two years of rehearsal (not many St Paul’s groups can say that this year) under the watchful ear of Gareth Hunt. George Davies, Eashan Shah, James Lawson, Laith Gordon, and Ansh Tandon have been huge contributors to jazz in their last two years and it was wonderfully satisfying to see that hard work come to fruition one last time, with all of them having cruelly missed out on the last two years’ opportunities here.

My grateful thanks go to Jez Laing, Gareth Hunt and Tom Smith for their tireless support and dedication to St Paul’s jazz, and for passing on their own enthusiasm and skills to our pupils. ❚

The Music Competition

This year saw the first return of full-format SPS Music Competition since March 2020. Following a full round of competition heats on Sunday 1st March, the competition had to be completed virtually. The following year, we were in a full national lockdown. Triumphantly, this competition returned this year with a record number of solo entrants, across six instrumental categories!

On the morning of Sunday 6 of March 2022 the Wathen Hall and its Foyer burst into musical life with the sound of a range of musical soloists from all year groups offering highly polished performances. The pianists kicked off first in the wathen hall, adjudicated by clarinettist, teacher and animateur Christopher Potts, whilst the strings could be heard down the corridor in the foyer, accompanied by Mr Fairbairn, and adjudicated by renowned Tenor William Balkwill. These were won by Calvin Leung (Upper Eighth) won the senior prizes in each of these instrumental categories, while Haolin Zhao and Altan Mardin (both 6th) won the junior piano and string prizes respectively.

The afternoon saw some stunning vocal and woodwind performances, and Mr Corrigan from SPJ was kind enough to share some of the accompanimental workload here! Ravishing songs were heard, and challenging woodwind sonatas were dispatched with aplomb, Ryan Rundstrom (Lower Eighth) and Raphael Hibou (5th) were rewarded for the exploits in the Wind Category, while Kyle Hunt’s (5th) stylish song-writing, and Oscar Pavey’s (Upper Eighth) authoritative Handel performance impressed adjudicator Balkill enough for them to take home the prizes for Voice.

The brass category saw the competition veteran Eashan Shah wow adjudicator Balkwill (himself an NYO trumpeter in his youth!) with some stylish jazzy numbers, while new-kidon-the-block Zach Tydeman (5th) demonstrated that the future of trumpet virtuoso music at SPS is bright. The percussionists were the last in the day to battle it out, with adjudicator Potts visibly hesitant at the prospect of choosing overall winners: Nimal Kirithiran (Lower Eighth) and Tolga Mardin (4th) victorious on the day.

All of these winners went through to a grand final back on the Wednesday evening of 4 May, and Scott Price, Director of Music at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School was kind enough to give up his evening to come and adjudicate. He provided some sage advice and pearls of wisdom for all, and ended up choosing two worthy overall winners in Altan Mardin (junior) and Calvin Leung (senior). Altan’s devastatingly beautiful performance of Après un Rêve, by Fauré, and Calvin’s ruthless Transcendental Étude No.8 by Liszt will live long in the memory here in the Music Department. Well done to all! ❚

Evensong in Cambridge

WF

5 February 2022

What a delight it was to sing an Oxbridge evensong again after two years’ silence in this regard. The Chapel Choir, well-drilled and in fine voice, mustered in the opulent surroundings of St. Catharine’s on Saturday lunchtime. On the race card was somewhat of a Charles Wood Fest; we sang his second setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in E flat Major, and his perennially loved album ‘O Thou the Central Orb’. The responses were plainsong. Voluntaries before the service were given by Ban Law and Cameron Soo (Upper Eighth), while Mr Fairbairn performed the rakish Finale from Widor’s Symphony VIII after the service. Conductor Mr Wilderspin and the Chaplain were unable to recall an evensong for which the rehearsal had run as smoothly, and the service itself performed with such verve! Everyone deserved to relish in this fine performance, but this period of bliss was short lived! Train faults delayed returning students and staff alike, and many had to seek shelter in the array of eateries and drinks spots that Cambridge has to offer until the trains had returned to normal again. Still, the experience of the day was highly positive, and left us in great shape to reprise the evensong for the OP Feast service at St Paul’s Cathedral two days later. ❚

Colet Choral Society

MDW

March 2020 was the last time Colet Choral Society had rehearsed, its projected performance of Mozart’s Requiem cancelled and its members scattered as the national lockdowns loomed large.

It was therefore with a great sense of joy that the school’s community choir, run jointly with St Paul’s Girls’ School, began to reconnect in September, with the Mozart back on the cards. Personnel was slightly different: some members were understandably cautious, and we had also picked up some new talent along the way (including Abby Henry and Katy Waterfield to bolster the Alto section). Mozart’s Requiem soon came back into the muscle memory and in November 2021, some 18 months late, the Choral Society finally put on a performance of this staple of the choral repertoire with professional soloists and the St Paul’s Camerata (including the cream of Pauline string players, led by Calvin Leung) in the Wathen Hall. Alongside it was Haydn’s Insanae et vanae curae, arranged for the orchestral forces available.

In the Spring Term, Roger Paul took back the reins of the choir to prepare for a performance of Handel’s Samson. This is one of Handel’s more popular oratorios but is dramatically quite turgid in its unedited form, so it is unsurprising that, like many directors of this work, Roger was liberal with the pruning shears in shaping the final version presented. Bolstered by similar stellar guest soloists and orchestra, Samson was put on in the Great Hall of SPGS and received enthusiastically.

Thanks are due to Gabbi Freemantle of SPGS who manages the choral society, and to all who have supported the enterprise at various stages. The Colet Choral Society is open to anyone with a connection to the St Paul’s Schools, or is resident in either of the communities around them. Anyone who wants to give themselves the gift of communal singing on a Thursday evening should make contact with Gabbi via musicadmin@spgs.org ❚

Back to Barnes

MDW

2022 finally enabled St Paul’s to reconnect with its local music festival and it was a joy to combine this with another fruitful collaboration with

SPGS. Choirs from both schools united for the opening night concert, supported by professional soloists and orchestra under the expert baton of Festival Director James Day. The concert opened with the Tallis theme on which the famous Vaughan Williams Fantasia is constructed, sung chorally from the back of a packed St Mary’s Church in Barnes. This led seamlessly into the orchestra’s rendition of the Vaughan Williams and was a cunning piece of programming. After the interval, the choir were on stage at the front to sing Howard Goodall’s Requiem, Eternal Light. Goodall is a local composer and one who will be familiar to many for his catchy TV theme tunes and enlightening shows about classical music on the BBC, but Eternal Light is a tricky piece to negotiate with its many memorable melodies. Later in the Festival, Tommaso Bailo’s piano music was workshopped in a Piano Composition showcase overseen by veteran British composer Edwin Roxburgh, and Paulines were also in action in one or other of the competitive instrumental workshops scattered around Barnes and its environs.

As has been the case in previous years, St Paul’s also hosted the Schools’ Concert on behalf of the Festival. This was a partnership project between St Paul’s, the Festival, the Rodolfus Foundation, SPGS, and five primary schools. Creative workshops were given by me in each of the partner primary schools in November, which introduced the project’s theme of Hammersmith Bridge and its plight and history. The final concert saw the première of my piece Let’s Build a Bridge, which used creative ideas from the children and brought together all performers, supported by a select group of St Paul’s musicians (Richard Eichhorst, Tolga Mardin, Dara Daneshvar, Jude Carter, Raphael Hibou, Dr Evans and Mr Fairbairn) – all conducted by James Day. We were especially blessed to have Mr Pirrie (Head of the Creatives Faculty) to act as narrator for the final piece, which sat alongside such bangers as the Seal Lullaby and Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Having the opportunity to work closely with a community project like this, and to work together with partners across sectors as well as familiar friends from SPGS is a great privilege and, however much the toil in getting these projects off the ground, the end result is always hugely enriching for all concerned. I am proud of the part music plays in the diverse and impressive Partnerships programme at St Paul’s – long may it continue. ❚