A busy Tuesday morning!

Tuesday morning this week was a busy one for the Vaughan's musicians. One lucky treble got to visit the world famous Abbey Road Studios to record on the soundtrack for the film Alice Through the Looking Glass. Composer Danny Elfman was on hand to guide him through the music.

Meanwhile, back at the Vaughan, we welcomed our orchestra in residence, Southbank Sinfonia, making their first visit of the year. They spent the morning playing through composition work by the Sixth Form music students. This was a great couple of hours and gave the students the wonderful opportunity to hear their music performed by professional musicians.

Southbank Sinfonia return later in the term when they will give a concert to the Lower School and also prepare a performance of Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony alongside our most advanced orchestral musicians.

The St John Passion

Tickets are now available for the two performances of JS Bach's St John Passion that the Schola is to give in March.

Joined by leading tenor Nicholas Mulroy as Evangelist and Old Vaughanian Jerome Knox as Jesus, the Schola will sing Bach's extraordinary setting of the Passion according to St John alongside the Belgravia Chamber Orchestra. 

On Thursday 17 March the Schola will perform the work at Holy Trinity Sloane Square. Tickets are available from the Box Office of Cadogan Hall (020 7730 4500) or by emailing schola@cvms.co.uk. 

On Saturday 19 March the Schola will sing the Passion in Douai Abbey in Berkshire. Tickets for this performance are available from the Box Office of the Newbury Corn Exchange (0845 5218 218) or again by emailing schola@cvms.co.uk. 

Both concerts start at 7.30 pm.

Music at the Vaughan Lent Term 2016

There are some very exciting events this term and the Department is set to be busy over the next few months.

The Big Band are to return to the Bull's Head in Barnes at 2.30 pm on Sunday 17 January. A few weeks later, on Friday 5 February they will lead the annual Big Band Evening - this starts at 7.30 pm in the New Hall. Tickets will be available very soon.

This term sees our annual collaboration with our orchestra-in-residence, Southbank Sinfonia. On Tuesday 26 January the young professionals make their first visit for our composing workshop - playing through Sixth Form pupil orchestral compositions. In March they return for our side-by-side project which this year is a performance of Shostakovich's amazing 10th Symphony. The concert is at 6 pm at St John's Waterloo on Thursday 10 March.

The Spring Instrumental Concert will be held in the beautiful Wathen Hall at St Paul's School at 7 pm on Thursday 3 March. This will include performances from the junior and senior instrumentalists. Works to be performed include Samuel Barber's famous Adagio for Strings and Dvořák's wonderful Eighth Symphony.

Throughout the term we will be holding the Annual Music Competition with five heats leading to the Final on 15 March.

The Schola will sing every week at the Lower School Mass as always, and will also sing for the Ash Wednesday services, which will include performances of the famous Miserere by Allegri. The Schola will also sing at Westminster Cathedral for two Saturday evening Vigil Masses (6pm on 23 January and 5 March) whilst preparing for two performances of JS Bach's St John Passion, at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square on Thursday 17 March and at Douai Abbey on Saturday 19 March. Further details will be available shortly. At the very end of term the Schola will sing for a service of Tenebrae led by Father Dominic Allain, the School Chaplain.

School Choir will be busy learning Mendelssohn's epic Elijah for a performance after Easter, on Thursday 21 April at St James's, Spanish Place.

Also just after Easter we shall be taking the Concert Band to the National Concert Band Festival in Manchester. This should be a great day out!