Arts Report

THE ARTS

The Arts at Wellington continue to thrive, despite COVID doing its best to disrupt plans throughout the year, with inevitable isolations, lockdowns and the inconvenience of Year Group bubbles. However, the show must go on and so it has been a year of collaboration like no other, and one in which all areas have developed through individual year group and House-based activities. Dance produced some beautiful, innovative, and expressive performances, joining forces with Drama for the affectionately named “House Drance”, as well as rounding-off the year with a bang with the wonderful musical Company. The spectacular December Dance Show streamed a fun-filled journey through Charlie’s Chocolate Adventure. The Third and Fourth Form produced fun, expressive, highly articulate and meaningful pieces in the Summer Term’s Choreographic Challenge.

In Drama, (along with music) the first event was a student-led evening of Musical Theatre raising money for Autistica and the Ruth Strauss Foundation. It was wonderful to see live performances in front of an audience again. In November, a talented Sixth Form ensemble cast performed Love and Information by Caryl Churchill to a streamed audience. As we went into our second lockdown in January, a cast drawn from Third Form to Upper Sixth gave us some light relief with Whose Line Is It Welly Way? Rehearsals for Sondheim’s Company moved online, as did rehearsals for the Fourth Form production of Buckets. When school reopened, we were delighted to return to ‘in person’ rehearsals and rediscover the magic of a rehearsal room, where stories come alive and skills are refined. More than anything, we were pleased to reconnect as a creative community. The moving and powerful production of Adam Barnard’s Buckets was allowed a small audience at the start of May and parents of cast members celebrated the success and talents of the Third and Fourth Form in The School of Musical Theatre later in the month. Mr Dahl opened his gardens to a live (and streamed) audience of Shakespeare in the Master’s Garden, where we witnessed some truly outstanding pieces that showcased the fantastic work that goes on in the LAMDA school. The year finished with a real bang. The musical Company was expertly realised, with phenomenal singing and mature performances from the Fifth and Sixth Form cast: it was exciting to see the Annenberg come alive again.

With music the opportunities seemed to far outshine the challenges, with numerous year group activities and a total of six choirs. Recitals and Monday concerts all happened in the first half of the Michaelmas Term but by the second half we further developed the possibilities of streamed events and gradually got used to performing to camera. With Matilda’s A Celebration of Romantic Song and remote masterclasses becoming the norm (flautist Ian Clark and baritone Roderick Williams for example), even our carol services were re-recorded and filmed. Our Gala Concert for example featured a number of venues around the school where we could move the camera from one performance to another. Despite not having a House Singing Competition, we did manage a successful House Ensemble Event. The Spring Concert and Minibus Concert both happened on-line but it was wonderful to highlight the work of the year group ensembles and showcase the variety of talent in the school. The Montgomery Competitions were live events streamed to parents and the standard and confidence in our students was outstanding, from the seniors, won by Catherine to the singers, won by Matilda to the Junior competition won by Yi-Ann. In the Summer Term we were able to have some live masterclasses, with the Ossian ensemble (for composition) and Remus Azoitei (for violin) and despite the late cancellation of Speech Day due to another COVID restriction, we were at least able to finish the year with the excitement of musical and dramatic Year Group Assembly performances.

In Art, we marked the start of the new year with a range of workshops, projects and enrichment for all ages with visiting artists and designers. We welcomed Scottish Street artist Fraser Gray and Theatrical costume designer

With music the opportunities seemed to far outshine the challenges

Emily Staar to inspire our students, sharing their experiences and influencing many of the students’ work, particularly seen in examination material.

Despite the obstacles lockdown brought to our students, we have been astonished and thrilled by the ambitious flair for creativity which continued to flourish under the strangest of circumstances. Canvases, paints, textiles and so much more were posted, or hand delivered, to our exam groups, allowing teaching and the development of coursework to continue. Looms were made from cardboard packaging with students establishing makeshift studios in bedrooms and at dining room tables.

The outcomes remained as aspiring and driven as ever and we look forward to celebrating the work in our exhibition calendar next year. Our enrichment programme continued with Third Form workshops in Fine Art, Textiles and Photography, as well as virtual life drawing and portrait masterclasses. The launch of our student-produced Zine garnered enthusiastic engagement, bridging Art History with contemporary creative practices. Indeed, in Art History, the Arts Fest in the Michaelmas Term kick-started with an inspiring talk from the renowned Art Historian, Andrew Graham Dixon. The popular Kenneth Clark society saw the L6th and U6th student leaders put on an interesting array of talks, including a collaboration with the Economics Society about the future of cryptocurrency and digital art. In the Summer Term, we welcomed Nick Ross, the director of Art History Abroad who delivered a fascinating talk about the power dynamics at play behind great works of art.

Congratulations to all of our leavers in the Arts and particularly to those that go on to study our subjects, whether in drama school, at conservatoire or Oxbridge as well as courses at many universities up and down the country. Thank you also to all staff who have inspired and enthused about their subjects and coped with the ever-changing plans this year. The Wellington College Arts Fund

Established in 2019, the Wellington College Arts Fund (WCAF) aims to raise money from ticket sales of College performances. The fund is available for Arts Education projects involving students of school age, and particularly for school-based projects. The Arts Fund has just had its most successful year to date, bringing the total number of awards granted to fifteen, and having awarded £10,000 to projects which are helping to cultivate the arts in our local community. This term, we were able to award grants towards the purchase of digital cameras for a primary school; the construction of an outdoor stage for a junior school; the purchase of a samba kit; and the purchase of a drama studio sound system to name but a few.

Simon Williamson Director of Arts & Music July 2021

Despite the obstacles lockdown brought to our students, we have been astonished and thrilled by the ambitious flair for creativity which continued to flourish under the strangest of circumstances.