Senior School Recital Class 2022
Posted on: November 8th 2022School News
Well done to everyone who performed in the Senior School Recital Class which saw eleven pupils from years 11-13 play a wide range of pieces on various instruments.
There were: four vocal performers who sang songs from Footloose, Miss Saigon and Dear Evan Hansen; three clarinet performers with pieces by Mozart, Robert Schumann and Darius Milhaud; trumpet and piano performances by year 13 pupil Will R; one violin performer; songs on the drumkit including That's What You Get by Paramore; acoustic guitar pieces including Tango en Skai.
Mr Martin Wallington was the adjudicator for the evening which provided a great opportunity for pupils to receive personal feedback for each performance. Martin studied the viola at Chetham's School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music before being a member of the BBC Philharmonic for 36 years, playing in major concert venues all over the world, as well as broadcasting up to 80 concerts a year from the orchestra's studio in Media City, Salford.
Congratulations to year 12 pupil Yoonjae who was the overall winner of the Cup, performing Sonata for Violin and Piano in F op.24, "Spring" by Beethoven and Danse Espagnole by Falla/Kreisler.
Yoonjae spoke about his experiences of performing: "This recital was massively enjoyable, listening to so many talented musicians in MGS performing. Each performance was incredible, and I am very grateful to have been given the prize. I performed the 1st movement from Beethoven's Spring Sonata, and Kreisler's arrangement of De Falla's Danse Espagnole, with Mr Francis' amazing piano accompaniment. Both pieces have challenged me in many ways throughout the last few months, and it was very enjoyable to have to performed it in such a welcoming and pleasant setting. The Beethoven, although a Violin sonata, was more so a duet between the violin and piano. Such nature of the piece is especially shown in the many moments where the violin is no longer the focus, but rather the piano; in those areas of the piece, I was able to appreciate Mr Francis' fantastic playing, and it was extremely satisfying as a performer to have such collaboration with another musician. The Kreisler/de Falla Danse Espagnole was quite a contrast to Beethoven in terms of atmosphere, structure, and the techniques it required. I found it truly challenging many times while learning the piece, and even up to connecting it with Mr Francis - but it paid off for an extremely enjoyable experience of performing. The feedback given from Mr Wallington was very comprehensive and encouraging, and his detailed constructive criticism has provided me with much motivation and a clear understanding of what I need to work on from now. Both pieces were 2 of 4 pieces I have chosen for my ABRSM diploma programme which I hope to conclude sometime this academic year. In terms of its length both were appropriate for the setting, and the contrast the 2 pieces provided allowed for an interesting programme for the listener. Both pieces also allowed frequent showcase of variety of skills of being a musician, from technique to stage presence.
He added: "I started playing violin when I was 6, and I have continued it as a hobby since then. It was most definitely a steep learning curve, and it still is. However, it has shown me many lessons about perseverance, discipline, and dedication. Being able to practise developing myself in those areas helped massively in everything I have committed myself to do, such as my studies. After upon joining MGS in year 7, I have played in the MGS orchestra, Stravaganza, and the Stockport Youth Orchestra and the Halle Youth Orchestra. Being part of such large musical groups such as the HYO allowed me to be participate in substantial musical pieces and make many good passionate friends through them. Plus, outside of performing, music at MGS allowed me to begin an interest in composition, which I was able to practice regularly over the last few years through GCSE, and further develop my own interests and ideas in music production".
Director of Music, Mr Rob Carey, commented: "The Senior Recital Class took place on Tuesday 8 November and featured a record number of entries this year with 11 boys performing a programme of approximately 10 minutes each. The standard of each entry was certainly of post grade 8 and the audience in the Memorial Hall were treated to a range of instruments and vocalists.
He added: "The four singers (Jinesh, Oliver, Toby and Thomas) performed songs from a range of music theatre traditions as well as composers ranging from Gluck to Vaughan-Williams all demonstrating great communication and technique. There were three entries from clarinettists (Jake, Bowen and Marc) featuring virtuosic performances of music by Mozart, Schuman, Arnold and Milhaud. Will excelled on both piano (Chopin) and trumpet (Hansen), Luca gave performances of huge energy and rhythmic on the drum kit featuring, amongst other things, songs by the Arctic Monkeys and Vibhav’s performance on the Guitar featuring music by Dowland, Dyens and Tarrega was simply spellbinding!
"The class was won by Yoonjae who gave a brilliant rendition of Beethoven’s Spring Sonata and Kreisler’s arrangement of Danse Espagnole. Our adjudicator, Martin Wallington, commented that it was a “true partnership” between violin and piano. The class was expertly accompanied by David Francis and Ben Beer."
Well done everyone!
