Friday, October 7, 2016

Michaelmas Term 2016 Review


The Music Department has been a hive of activity this term once again with many pupils taking full advantage of the varied musical opportunities at the School. We began the year with a record number of boys taking Music at GCSE in the Third Form and with Mr Jackson’s exciting new music curriculum coming into full force. I hope that the boys have enjoyed their Lower School music lessons this term. We were also very pleased to reflect on some outstanding exam results in the Summer where the Music Department was once again among the very highest achieving aspects of the School at all levels. There’s more going on than just concerts on the top floor!

But there have been plenty of concert opportunities as well with a few events standing out. In October we welcomed the National Youth Jazz Orchestra to the School for a joint concert with our Big Band. What an amazing evening it was. Here is a clip - Henry Wolcott in the Fourth Form is the tenor soloist.


The Big Band also made a return visit to the Bull’s Head in Barnes, as well as performing for the Senior Citizens Christmas Party and also playing at the National Concert Band Festival London Heat, which was held once again at the Vaughan early in December. It was our Concert Band that shone that particular day though, winning a Gold Award  - congratulations to them and to Miss Wilby who directs the Concert Band with great skill and commitment.Here they are, playing in the St Cecilia Concert in November. 


Miss Wilby also arranged the two very lovely Early Evening Recitals we held this term – one for the younger boys and a second one for the older students who are taking GCSE and A Level. There was some very encouraging playing in both concerts. 



This might be an opportune moment to thank the instrumental teachers for their work – what a sterling job they do week after week. We were all very sorry to learn that Adam Wright, who has taught the trumpet at the Vaughan for 15 years, was no longer able to make the teaching fit around his young family and would therefore be leaving at the end of this term. Adam has been a first-class trumpet teacher and a delightful colleague and we will all miss his greatly professional presence very much.

Someone else who left early this term was our Administrator, Mr Brennan. Dominic, an Old Vaughanian, had been with us for three years and in that time done a great deal of lovely work for the Department. Dominic was always a real pleasure to work with and we all wish him the very best for the future as he begins a new career in the world of wine. I was very pleased to appoint Thomas Marshall to cover in the period up until Christmas – he has been a delight – and in January we welcome our new Music Administrator, Tanya Watkins. Tanya has great experience in the role having been the Music Administrator at Kingston Grammar School for the past eight years. We all look forward very much to seeing what she brings to the Department and to working with her in the years ahead.

The St Cecilia Concert in November was very well attended and the large audience of parents and friends were treated to an evening of English music (other than Second Orchestra who performed Brahms and Dvorak!). Highlights included Handel from Senior Strings 9pictured below), lots of lovely Eric Coates and some beautiful Vaughan Williams from the School Choir with two superb solo contributions from Filippo Turkheimer and Luciano Cuscack. 






The St Cecilia Concert also saw a performance from Sixth Form Choir (pictured above), which has gone from strength to strength this year. Numbering at one point over 100 it has now settled to a more manageable fifty or so and they have been busy, singing for an Evensong at Selwyn College, Cambridge and also for the Vigil Mass at Westminster Cathedral late in November. This was the first time that the Sixth Form girls have sung at Westminster Cathedral and it was very lovely to hear them in that most famous of spaces for choral music (see picture below). This is a very exciting time to be in the Sixth Form Choir, under the super direction of Mr Jackson and I hope that those involved will work just as hard next term so that they can build on the momentum achieved this term. 


The Schola Cantorum has been very busy as always, aided by the introduction of some very talented new First Form boys in September. Seventeen boys sang in English National Opera’s spectacular production of Tosca across the term (more photos HERE).


Other highlights include an Evensong at Winchester Cathedral in September (pictures below) and a beautiful service at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square for Remembrance Sunday. The Schola gave a concert for the Army Benevolent Fund at Haileybury School in October and sang the Duruflé Requiem for our own Remembrance Mass in November. The Schola sang twice at Westminster Cathedral during the term and also led the singing at a Mass to celebrate Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor’s fiftieth anniversary of joining the Priesthood. 




Time at the end of term was spent learning Handel’s Messiah for a concert performance given at St Gabriel’s, Pimlico in December. This was a memorable evening with the solos sung by the boys of the choir (sixteen of them) as well as the choruses. In preparation for this we welcomed internationally renowned conductor Paul McCreesh to the School to take the boys through their paces. 

The short video below shows a few moments of video from the evening whilst the second film is a collection of photos cut together with a longer selection of moments from the performance. 





The term ended with the Annual Carol Service, which included the first performance of a new Carol by Ben Parry commissioned for the evening, who among other things directs the National Youth Choir.  The video below contains photographs taken on the evening along with a short selection from the carols which include music by Handel, Howells, Gardener and Cornelius as well as a snippet from the first performance of Ben Parry's Quem Pastores Laudavere.



Next term has lots to keep us busy – these events include the Big Band Evening in early February, a concert by the Schola at the Temple Church in March, the Annual Music Competition and the Easter Concert which this year is being held at St John’s, Smith Square and is a performance of Vaughan Williams’s remarkable Sea Symphony. I hope you will be able to join us at some of the many events that will fill the weeks between now and Easter. In the meantime, thanks to all who have supported the Music this term and best wishes to everyone for Christmas and the New Year!


Music Department Brochure of Events for 2016-17

The Music Department has published a Brochure of Events for the academic year 2016-17.

The brochure, which gives details of all our concerts, competitions and recitals this school year, plus other information besides, can be viewed online by clocking on the front cover below.


https://issuu.com/cardinalvaughan/docs/cvms_music_brochure_16-17_v2/1



Sunday, September 4, 2016

Looking ahead to 2016-17


The year ahead promises to be another very exciting one for the musicians at the Vaughan.

Pupils are to perform at a whole host of different venues across London and beyond including St John’s, Smith Square, The London Coliseum, Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Winchester Cathedral (pictured) and alongside groups as varied as early music specialists His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts to the amazing National Youth Jazz Orchestra.




Choral highlights include a performance by the Schola Cantorum of Handel’s Messiah in December and of Vaughan Williams’ colossal Sea Symphony by the School Choir in April. The Schola will sing a concert of Venetian polychoral music in the glorious setting of Temple Church (pictured) with His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts in March whilst Sixth Form Choir sing Evensong at Selwyn College, Cambridge in November. Boys will sing in English National Opera’s production of Tosca during the Michaelmas Term and in Turandot at the Royal Opera House in July. The Carol Service will include the first performance of a new carol by Ben Parry, director of the National Youth Choir.



Orchestral music will include Brahms Symphony No 4 alongside our orchestral partners, Southbank Sinfonia in March whilst the Big Band are to play at The Bull’s Head, Barnes and the Half-Moon, Putney as well as working with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in October.



There will be all the usual events as well of course, including the St Cecilia Concert in November, the Vaughan Carol Service at Christmas, the Spring Instrumental Concert in March, Early Evening Recitals and the Annual Music Competition. The year will end with the ever-popular musical production, which this year is to be Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece, Sweeney Todd.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Schola Tour to Rome, July 2016

This article on the Schola's Tour to Rome is to appear in the Vaughan Magazine at the start of this term. 


The Schola’s Tour To Rome, July 2016

The Schola visits Rome at least once every seven years – the idea being that any boy who sings in the choir throughout his time in the School will be guaranteed to go there once. And so it was time for the choir to return once again to the Eternal City which it did for four days at the end of June and early July this year.

46 boys traveled on a Thursday evening, accompanied by Mr Price, Mr Evans, Mr Jackson, Miss Wilby and School Chaplain, Father Dominic. Our flight out was delayed somewhat by new British Airways check-in systems but we finally arrived. Only on landing did we discover that the pilot was an Old Vaughanian and some of the boys got to go into the cockpit. After a late dinner we retired as we had an early start. The reason for getting up at the crack of dawn was that it had been arranged for the choir to take a private tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. What an experience this was, in particular the Sistine Chapel which the boys were able to enjoy at their leisure and also benefit from the tremendous learning of our guide. We also spent time at the Vatican’s new Carriage Museum, which includes many fascinating vehicles that have transported Popes over the years, including the jeep in which John Paul II was shot in 1981. 


After a pizza lunch we spent a little time resting at the hotel before going to the Venerable English College where we had kindly been allowed to rehearse for an hour. Dinner was then followed by the rehearsal at our first concert venue, Sant Eustachio, which was luckily just around the corner from our hotel. Following the rehearsal the boys returned to the hotel to put on their cassocks and then rather proudly walked through the Roman streets dressed in their finery to many admiring and perhaps bemused onlookers. The concert was well attended (not least by the many parents who had flown out to join us) and had some very fine singing in a programme that included the Fauré Requiem.






Saturday saw us turn left out of the hotel rather than right and therefore head down to the Roman Forum and eventually the Colosseum. It was very hot and so staying in the shade was very important, not easy to do in the Colosseum but the boys enjoyed their time there and perhaps even more the pizza lunch that followed. Our plans to explore the Church of San Clemente (which contains the original Schola Cantorum – an area set aside for the choir) were scuppered by the Roman siesta (which given the heat, we could all understand the need for) but we spent a happy few minutes exploring St John Lateran, the Pope’s church in Rome, before going to the Scala Sancta. Brought from Jerusalem to Rome in the Fourth Century by St Helena, the Scala Sancta are the stairs that Christ climbed to be taken before Pontius Pilate. The boys were given a guided tour and then, in a rare opportunity indeed, were allowed to enter the chapel at the top of the stairs, the Sancta Sanctorum (the Holy of Holies) which was the original Papal Chapel (prior to the building of the Sistine Chapel) and where many relics are preserved. The boys then sang for a beautiful short service led by Father Dominic.



Crossing back across the road to St John Lateran, one of Rome’s four Papal Basilicas, we prepared to sing for Mass. We spent the conventional twenty minutes or so working out how to turn the organ on before rehearsing. The boys then sang for Mass, singing four motets very beautifully. Dinner followed at the wonderful Polese restaurant on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele (highly recommended!) where the atmosphere was heightened by the fact that Italy were playing Germany in the European Championships (hoping to get as far as Wales had already done). The waiters had great fun scaring the boys with car horns and generally getting them as excited as possible before we had to leave for what I had hoped would be an early night  - a penalty shoot out put an end to that. 


The following morning was to be the highlight of the trip as we were to sing for the Capitular Latin Mass at St Peter’s Basilica. This is the main mass of Sunday, attended by the Chapter of St Peter’s and therefore involving around sixty priests and on this occasion three bishops. The Schola would sing alongside the Cappella Giulia, the choir of St Peter’s Basilica, alternating with them in the chant setting of the Mass the Creed. The Capella Giulia had invited the Schola to join them when they heard the choir at its last visit to St Peters in 2010. Any thoughts that we might rehearse together were somewhat wishful thinking but the boys were more than capable of rising to the challenge and sang with great confidence in the chant and in the four motets they sang on their own. The Mass concluded with the boys singing Tu Es Petrus by Palestrina, the text being the same as that written around the dome of St Peters in letters that are thirty feet high. This was quite a moment and a wonderful conclusion to what was a truly memorable occasion in the history of the choir.




A very happy lunch followed where the boys were entertained by local musicians before we returned to the hotel for a little quiet time as there was still the challenge of the evening concert ahead. This concert was to be given at Sant’Ignazio, Rome’s most prestigious church concert venue. The church is famous for many things, not least the false dome that is painted onto the flat ceiling. It also possesses a wonderful acoustic for singing and the choir sounded very beautiful in the building. The concert consisted of music associated with Rome, including the famous Allegri Miserere, some English music and also the German composer Rheinberger’s wonderful Cantus Missa in E flat for double choir. A standing ovation greeted the Schola at the end of the Balfour Gardiner Evening Hymn which closed the concert and the boys could feel rightly proud of their efforts at the end of what had been a very long but wonderful day. 




The following morning we visited Castel Sant’Angelo, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, built in the Second Century. Amongst many claims to fame, the roof terrace of the castle serves as the location for the final act of Puccini’s opera Tosca, which opens with a famous boy treble solo (the Shepherd Boy). There are three boys in the Schola who have sung this solo at Covent Garden in recent years and so we tweeted to the Royal Opera them a picture of the three Shepherds (no reply as yet). 


Half the Schola then proceeded to get lost in the castle but once they had been recovered we went to do some last-minute shopping before a final lunch, some kind gifts for the teachers, and a bus journey to the airport, stopping for quick look around St Paul’s Outside the Walls on the way. 


British Airways had seemingly not fixed their systems as check-in at Fiumicino was dreadfully slow. The plane had to be held for us (we were half of it) and further delays in the air and with a lost bag on the ground meant that we returned a couple of hours late but nonetheless happy and satisfied with our short trip to Rome. The boys can be very proud indeed of the way that they sang and the ambassadors that there were for the School. Many thanks to them for being such great company and to the staff who made the trip possible. All roads lead to Rome of course and I am sure that in seven year’s time, if not before, we will be back in the Eternal City. 

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Schola Cantorum Review of the Year 2015-16


This article will appear in the Vaughan School Magazine to be published at the start of this term. Here is a sneak preview!

The Schola Cantorum 2015-16

This has been very eventful year for the Schola and the choir has sung a vast repertoire of music in all sorts of different settings and styles. As always, the heart of our work continues to be the singing each week at the Lower School Mass. We have also this year been able to lead the School’s worship at several visits to Our Lady of Victories Church, for a Remembrance Mass in November, for Ash Wednesday in February, for the Feast of the Holy Martyrs in May and for the Feast of St Peter and Paul in June. The Schola has continued its close relationship with Westminster Cathedral and has sung there on six occasions including Foundation Day Mass in September. We were also fortunate to sing Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral in April and also a service for Remembrance Sunday in November at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square. The annual Carol Service at Our Lady of Victories remains as popular as ever and this year saw some very fine singing, including a new carol composed for us by Mychael Danna, composer of the Oscar winning score for Life of Pi which featured the boys voices. 

The year began with the Schola competing in the finals of the London International Acapella Festival, a prestigious competition which we were delighted to have been invited to participate, the only youth choir in an otherwise all adult choir field. As part of the festival, the Schola took part in a workshop with Peter Philips, the founder of the famous Tallis Scholars and also gave a lunchtime recital, singing an hour of acapella music. We then competed in the evening, singing music by Gabriel Jackson, the resident composer of the festival, amongst other works. The choir received some very complimentary comments from the judges, not least from Peter Philips who wrote about the Schola in his column in the Spectator magazine. We did not make it through to the final but it was interesting to see that the competition has been given a different shape for next year and will contain a class for youth choirs.


This has been a busy year for opera work for the trebles and we have been involved in four professional productions. In October boys sang in La Bohéme at English National Opera and in December we provided the boys for the Royal Opera’s production of the double bill Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci.  This was filmed and broadcast later in the year on BBC Four. We returned to the Royal Opera in May for a production of Enescu’s Oedipe and ended the year on more familiar territory, singing in La Bohéme at Opera Holland Park. 


There have been some notable concert performance also during the course of the year. In October the choir sang a performance of Mozart’s Requiem at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square. The Lent Term focused on the preparation of JS Bach’s St John Passion, which was performed twice, at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square on Thursday 17 March and then again at Douai Abbey in Berkshire on Saturday 19 March. This is a monumental work and was a major achievement by the Schola to learn it, in German. As well as singing the choruses, the boys also sang the arias and smaller solo roles. We were joined by leading Evangelist Nicholas Mulroy and by Old Vaughnian Jerome Knox who sang the part of Christ. The Schola also sang a concert as part of the Brandenburg Festival in April and another concert in the Marylebone Festival in June (where they were conducted by Sue Perkins!).

The Schola recorded a new CD, of the Fauré Requiem, in November, recording for the first time with an orchestra, our friends in the Belgravia Chamber Orchestra. The results were very pleasing and the CD is now available from the School. In addition boys were involved in lots of different commercial recordings including several film soundtracks and even the music for a fashion show. There was an enquiry about the boys singing on the latest U2 album but at the time of writing that has not yet happened! One of the most exciting events of the year was not a recording but a live performance at the Royal Albert Hall in December of the music of the film Alice In Wonderland, sung with a huge orchestra whilst the film was shown on a giant screen. 


As I write, the Schola are preparing to travel to Rome for a short tour which will include singing for the Capitular Sunday Mass at St Peter’s Basilica. There will be news of this no doubt on the Music Department Blog and the Schola’s website, www.scholacantorum.co.uk. On the website you can also learn about next year’s plans for the choir. These include operas at Covent Garden and the Collesium, a performance of Handel’s Messiah and a concert with His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts at the Temple Church.

Finally, some thanks. I am grateful as always to Mr Evans, who contributes so much in so many ways to the work of the Schola. I would very much like to thank the School's Singing Teachers, all five of whom have given the boys wonderful guidance and instruction this year. I would also like to thank the parents of the choir – having a boy in the Schola is a big commitment. And of course I would like to thank the boys who really do work very hard. I look forward very much to seeing where our adventures take us next year!

Scott Price
Director of Music

Music Department Review of the Year 2015-16

This article will appear in the Vaughan School Magazine at the start of this term. Here for our loyal followers is a chance to read it early!


Music at the Vaughan, 2015-16



This has been a very strong year for the Vaughan’s Music Department, one characterized by the very positive leadership offered by an unusually talented and committed set of Sixth Form musicians and by excellent attendance at rehearsals and events. These factors have allowed us to operate at a high level and the music-making has been of a very good standard on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, in the classroom we continue to innovate and develop new approaches, all with the ambition of involving as many pupils as possible in the joys of learning about music. I was very pleased when the Headmaster appointed Mr Jackson Head of Academic Music earlier in the year and I know that he will make a great deal of this position – indeed he has already been working very hard to introduce some exciting fresh ideas for September’s lessons. We were particularly pleased when a record number of boys opted to study Music GCSE this year – against a backdrop of a decline nationally in the uptake of music and all the arts this was greatly reassuring. This Blog has a number of videos and other resources that show the power and importance of studying music and other creative subjects – not least the reduction in anxiety they provide during the rather stressful GCSE years.

Another joy this year has been the presence in the department of Philippe Barbaroussis, a member of last year’s Upper Sixth, as an assistant administrator. He has been a wonderful colleague and worked incredibly hard during his time with us. I thank him for everything that he has done with us; we shall all miss him greatly next year! This year the instrumental music staff at the Vaughan has remained unchanged other than the addition of two very exciting new singing teachers – Ali Hill and Old Vaughanian Peter Davoren – plus a new piano teacher, Hannah Quinn. Each and every one of our more than forty members of the music staff works very hard contributing their own unique skills and experiences to the musical life of the School and I gratefully acknowledge their wonderful work.

I would also like to thank the pupils who have contributed so much over the past twelve months. This year’s Upper Sixth has particularly loyal and hard working, setting an excellent example to the younger boys.  In particular I thank the following for their remarkable contribution to the musical life of the School: Jonathan Abruhno, Casimir Bowyer, Liam Clarke, James Townsend, Alex Yeghiazarian, Gretta Thompson, Steven Ndoca, Ostin D’Silva, Lara Goodhand, Thomas Fetherstonhaugh, Sophie Kemball, Patrick MacMahon, and Daniel Turner. The musical achievements of this group are very considerable  - they have about 18 Grade 8 Exams between them! Thomas Fetherstonhaugh’s winning of the Organ Scholarship at Merton College, Oxford was a particularly notable achievement and just reward for a student who has been made an especially outstanding contribution to the work that we do.  I wish all this year’s leavers the very best for the future.

Finally I would like to thank the parents of the School for all the invaluable support during the year that has just drawn to a close. Time and time again the Vaughan parents have proved that their support for the School’s music-making is total, through attending our many events in such numbers, through ferrying the pupils to and fro, through supporting the teachers, unfailingly replying positively to requests from the Department and in so many other ways. We are very lucky indeed to have such kind and generous parents at the School. Thank you for all that you do to support our work.

There are a number of exciting ventures planned for next year. Boys will once again appear in operas with the Royal Opera and English National Opera. We are to perform Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah among many other works.  I hope that you will be able to join us at these and other occasions next year – you can follow the Music Department on Twitter (@cvmsmusic) if you would like to be kept up to date.


Concerts 2015-16

As always and there have been numerous musical events on all different kinds of scale. In the Michaelmas Term we held our annual series of Early Evening Recitals for the pianists, string players, woodwind, brass and organists of the School. These evenings saw some very fine performances. The Lent Term saw the annual Music Competition. Each Heat was adjudicated by an accomplished musician who offered the pupils advice on how best to improve and also chose the winners. More than 100 pupils took part in this year's competition. At the Grand Final, held in March, we witnessed a very high standard of performance throughout. The adjudicator, David Corkhill appointed the winners as follows:

Lower School Musician of the Year                Gabriele Montone
Upper School Musician of the Year                Thomas Fetherstonhaugh

The Lower School Chamber Music Competition, adjudicated by Simon Toyne, saw an excellent number of participants and groups and a very high standard of performing. The winners were ‘Fourth Form Jazz’ and the outstanding individual prize of the evening deservedly went to Oliver Hewins. The competitions and recitals are among the many aspects of the Music Department arranged by Miss Wilby, the Assistant Director of Music and as always I thank her for her efforts in bringing together this important aspect of what we do.

Another notable achievement by Miss Wilby was the Concert Band’s winning through to the Finals of the National Concert Band Festival in Manchester in April. We have hosted the London Heat of the NCBF for the past couple of years and so it was excellent that the boys and girls of the Concert Band had the chance to compete in the finals against some of the best wind bands in the country. They were awarded Silver, a considerable achievement for our first time there and something that we can build on for the future. I was very pleased to see and hear the concert band working with such focus and ambition as the trip to Manchester approached and they certainly played very well indeed in some challenging repertoire.

The Big Band has been going through a period of rebuilding this year with a new rhythm section being put in place but we have been busy nonetheless, performing at the Bull’s Head in Barnes and also at a new venue, the Half Moon in Putney. The Big Band Evening in Feburary was a great success and had strong performances from both the Big Band and Junior Big Band, and also the Addison Sextet, a small jazz group run by Mr R Harris. There are exciting plans for the Band for next year including a possible concert with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

The St Cecilia Concert in November saw around 150 members of the School performing in a varied programme of music, greatly enjoyed by a large and appreciative audience. Works performed included Bach’s Wachet Auf!, Schubert’s Symphony No 8, the finale of Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony and extracts from Carmina Burana. For Carmina Burana we were joined by thirty young singers from Corpus Christi Primary School in Brixton. Two of the performances were conducted by members of the Sixth Form, Filippo Turkheimer and Thomas Fetherstonhaugh.  Thomas was also the violin soloist, alongside Jonathan Abrunho on the oboe in a very fine performance of Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe in D minor.

The Sixth Form Choir has been larger than for many years this year and Mr Jackson put together an exciting and challenging programme of events for them, the highlight of which was a visit to Selwyn College, Cambridge to sing Evensong. The choir also sang at a Carol Service for the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea and a service at St Gabriel’s Church, Pimlico.

The Spring Instrumental Concert was held in the Wathen Hall at St Paul’s School on Wednesday 2 March. With around 120 pupils involved, this was an evening of strong performances from Junior and Senior Ensembles alike, the main work being Dvořák’s
beautiful Eighth Symphony. Other highlights included a concerto for two bassoons (performed by Senior Strings with Luciano Cusack and Lara Goodhand on the bassoons) and also Concert Band’s performance of Festivo by Edward Gregson.

The Lent Term is also when we work with Southbank Sinfonia, our Orchestra in Residence, which this year involved the preparation of a performance of Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony. Forty of our most advanced orchestral players sat side-by-side their professional counterparts in two days of rehearsals leading to the concert on 10 March at St John’s Church, Waterloo. Conducted by David Corkhill, this was a remarkable occasion: there are videos clips of the evening available on the Music Department’s Facebook Page – facebook/CVMSMusic. Southbank Sinfonia also gave a concert to the Lower School boys, performing extracts from Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony (directed by Thomas Fetherstonhaugh) and took part in a composing workshop with members of the Lower and Upper Sixth.

The Easter Concert this year involved a performance of Elijah by Mendellsohn.  We have performed this work before (in 2008) and it was wonderful to return to it as it a piece that the boys love to sing. Full of colour and variety the oratorio flows beautifully, telling incidents from the eventful life of the great prophet. We were joined by four truly outstanding soloists and the performing was really of a very high standard.

CS Price
Director of Music


Saturday, April 2, 2016

Elijah - 7.30 pm, Thursday 21 April 2016




On Thursday 21 April the Vaughan School Choir will sing Mendelssohn's great choral masterpiece, Elijah. The Choir will be joined by the Belgravia Chamber Orchestra and four remarkable soloists.

Three of the soloists appeared in last year's performance of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, mezzo soprano Diana Moore, tenor Peter Davoren and baritone David Soar. For Elijah they will be joined by renowned soprano Sarah Fox.

Elijah tells of main events in the life of the prophet through a series of scenes. First we hear that Israel is suffering a drought and the chorus cry out for help.  In their desperation, they have resorted to worshipping Baal, ancient god of lightening, thunder, and rain. Elijah brings the widow Zarephath's dead son back to life before angels arrive to urge Elijah to perform a miracle and reform the people
But when the now-proven Elijah returns to the people, they reject him as a troublemaker. Elijah calls down a consuming fire from the heavens, which convinces everyone to turn again to God. They launch prayers for rain, bringing only a little white cloud at first and then, finally, the longed-for waters that “laveth the thirsty land,” a downward rush of musical scales. In ridding the land of Baal worship, Elijah has challenged King Ahab, ruler of Israel. His wife, Queen Jezebel, incites the crowd against Elijah. Disheartened Elijah awaits God on Mount Horeb, longing for death.  Elijah’s hope resurfaces and a fiery chariot drawn by fiery horses comes in a whirlwind and takes Elijah into the heaven.

This is a wonderful work, full of drama, colour, and moments of exceptional beauty. Do please join us if you possibly can at St James's, Spanish Place, starting at 7.30 pm. 

Monday, March 28, 2016

The first few weeks of the Trinity Term!

The start of next term is rather hectic with a number of events coming close together.

Before we start term, on Saturday 9th April, the Concert Band will travel to Manchester to play in the finals of the National Concert Band Festival at the Royal Northern College of Music. To win through to the National Finals is a major achievement and we wish Miss Wilby and the Band all the very best for this important occasion.

The following day at 1.30 pm the Big Band gives its first performance at a new venue, the Half Moon in Putney. This pub is the sister pub of the famous jazz venue the Bull's Head in Barnes where the band has appeared many times over the past sixteen years or so. It will be great to play at a new venue - tickets are further details are available on the Half Moon's Website.

Two days later the Schola will sing Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral. Although frequent visitors to Westminster Abbey recently, singers from the Vaughan have not sung at St Paul's Cathedral for a number of years and so it will be wonderful to return to the Cathedral for the service which begins at 5 pm. The Schola will sing Howell's Collegium Regale Service and Balfour Gardiner's Evening Hymn.

The following week, on Thursday 21 April, we will hold the School's annual Easter Concert, which this year is a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah.  This dramatic Oratorio, that portrays the major events in the life of the great prophet Elijah. Among the episodes are the resurrection of a dead youth, the bringing of rain to parched Israel through Elijah's prayers and the bodily ascension of Elijah on a fiery chariot into heaven. Perhaps the most dramatic episode is the contest of the gods, in which the true God consumes an offered sacrifice in a column of fire after a failed sequence of frantic prayers by the prophets of the god Baal.

For the performance, sung by the School Choir, we will be joined by four wonderful soloists, Sarah Fox, Diana Moore, Peter Davoren and David Soar. This will be a wonderful evening and I hope that everyone will be able to join us at St James's, Spanish Place, starting at 7.30 pm. Tickets are available on the door.



The following week sees the Schola sing a concert as part of the Brandenburg Festival at St Clement Danes on the Strand, the church of the Royal Air Force. The concert is entitled Faire is the Heaven and the Schola will sing that masterpiece by Harris alongside a variety of other great choral music including Rheinberger's Cantus Missa in E flat and the famous Miserere Mei by Allegri. The concert starts at 7.30 pm.




Lent Term Review

The following article appeared in the Vaughan's Lent Term Review.




Music in the Lent Term 2016

The Big Band made a welcome return to the Bull’s Head in Barnes early in the Lent Term and then at the beginning of February led the music-making at the annual Big Band Evening. Alongside the Junior Big Band and the Addison Sextet, the boys performed nearly three hours of music. There are some great PHOTOS on the School's Flickr pages. If you’ve not been to a Big Band evening do come next year – it is a great night out! And you don’t need to wait that long to hear the Band – the boys will be playing at the Half-Moon in Putney on Sunday 10 April, starting at 1.30 pm. 


The Lent Term also features the Annual Music Competition. The Heat Winners were as follows:

Strings
Junior              Gabriele Montone & Tomasso Kelly
Senior              Thomas Fetherstonhaugh & Alexander Yeghiazarian

Woodwind
Junior              Thomas McCann and Dominic DeVivenot
Senior              Lara Gladhand, Logan Stewart and Jonathan Abruhno

Piano
Junior              Thomas McCann, Luke Warren & Oliver Hewins
Senior              Owen Saldanha & Thomas Fetherstonhaugh

Brass
Junior              Barnaby Stewart & Joshua Schrijnen
Senior              Filippo Turkheimer & Patrick MacMahon

Singing
Junior              David Laleye-Thomas & Harry Fetherstonhaugh
Senior              Filippo Turkheimer & Greta Mariani

The final was adjudicated by David Corkhill who chose the following overall winners:

Junior Musician of the Year    Gabriele Montone (violin)
Senior Musician of the Year   Thomas Fetherstonhaugh (violin)

Many congratulation to Tom and Gabrielle and also to the nearly one hundred pupils who took part in this year’s competition.

The Lent Term is also when we work with Southbank Sinfonia, our Orchestra in Residence, which this year involved the preparation of a performance of Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony. Forty of our most advanced orchestral players sat side-by-side their professional counterparts in two days of rehearsals leading to the concert on 10 March at St John’s Church, Waterloo. Conducted by David Corkhill, this was a remarkable occasion: there are videos clips of the evening available on the Music Department’s Facebook Page. Southbank Sinfonia also gave a concert to the Lower School boys, performing extracts from Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony (directed by Thomas Fetherstonhaugh of the Upper Sixth) and took part in a composing workshop with members of the Lower and Upper Sixth.

The Spring Instrumental Concert was held in the Wathen Hall at St Paul’s School on Wednesday 2 March. With around 120 pupils involved, this was an evening of strong performances from Junior and Senior Ensembles alike, the main work being Dvořák’s beautiful Eighth Symphony. Other highlights included a concerto for two bassoons (performed by Senior Strings with Luciano Cusack and Lara Goodhand on the bassoons) and also Concert Band’s performance of Festivo by Edward Gregson. Concert Band are playing in the National Concert Band Festival at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester at the end of the Easter Holiday and we wish them every success in that exciting venture.

The Schola has focused this term on the preparation of JS Bach’s St John Passion, which it performed twice, at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square on Thursday 17 March and then again at Douai Abbey in Berkshire on Saturday 19 March. This is a monumental work and it has been a major achievement by the Schola to learn it, in German, to such a high level. As well as singing the choruses, the boys also sang the arias and smaller solo roles. We were joined by leading Evangelist Nicholas Mulroy and also by Old Vaughnian Jerome Knox who sang the part of Christ. 

There are more PHOTOS of the performance at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square available on the Schola's Flickr Page. 

The Schola has sung each week at the Lower School Mass, of course, and also led the singing at the School’s Ash Wednesday Services, singing amongst other music the Allegri Miserere Mei (with the famous high c). In addition, the choir has sung twice at Westminster Cathedral for the Saturday Vigil Mass. One boy, Alessandro MacKinnon in the Second Form, sang on the Danny Elfman soundtrack for the new Alice In Wonderland film due for release in May. Gabrielle Montone in the First Form has played the role of Gerardhinio in the Royal Opera’s production of Gianni Schicchi.

On the first day of next term, April 12, the Schola will sing Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral. Another day for the diary is Thursday 21 April when, at the Easter Concert, the School Choir will perform Mendelssohn’s wonderfully dramatic Elijah at St James’s, Spanish Place. Much later in the term, on Friday 25 June, the Schola will return to Spanish Place to perform Fauré’s Requiem as part of the Marylebone Festival in a performance to be conducted by none other than Sue Perkins from The Great British Bake Off. Mary Berry will sing the Pie Jesu – no, that’s not true, but the other part is.

Very many thanks to all the boys and girls for their hard work this term, huge thanks to the staff for their commitment, and warmest thanks to the parents without whom none of what we do would be possible.

Happy Easter.

Scott Price, Director of Music