Scholars’ Concert

8pm Tuesday 6th October 2015

Recital Room

Welcome

Having been at Bloxham only a matter of weeks, the standard of playing amongst the

students is one of the first things to have impressed. The dedication to and passion

for music on show tonight shows how powerful music can be in enriching a persons

life. The Scholars tonight are testament to the joy it can bring to others too.

Thank you in advance for your all support, I look forward to seeing you at the many

other events throughout the year.

Yours sincerely

Music at Bloxham School

Alex Redpath Director of Music

Sebastian Thomson Head of Academic Music

Jon Seagroatt Head of Music Technology

Music School Secretary Renata Looke

Strings Chris Windass, Miranda Ricardo

Brass Steve Bell, Bob Pritchard

Woodwind Sally Adams, Jonathan Howse, Alun Darbyshire, Celia Bolton-King, Susie Perkins

Percussion Cliff Pick

Singing Michael Hickman, Polly Jeffries

Piano Michael Hickman, Susie Perkins, Matt Platt

Guitar Matt Bosworth, Mickey Woodcock

Programme

Emma Davies & Venetia Moir Trio Sonata in F major Telemann

Recorders

Eloisa Whybrow Sun Streams Ian Clarke

Flute

Kate Price Blow, Blow thou Winters Wind Madeline Dring

Voice

Talia Coleman La Cinquantaine G Marie

Cello

Georgie Pratten Vaga Luna Bellini

Voice

Venetia Moir Variations on ‘Non Piu Mesta’ Chopin

Recorder

Amelia Field Shepherds Hey! Percy Grainger

Cello

Octavia Lewis Ah Belinda Purcell

Voice

Max Durham Original Rags Scott Joplin

Piano

Eleanor Moir Ave Maria Schumann

Cello

Annabel Gulliver I Could Have Danced All Night Loewe and Lerner

Voice

Programme notes Trio Sonata in F major Telemann

George Philip Telemann was a German Baroque composer and a man of many musical talents. For example he was self-taught in all his music and he became a composer against his family’s approval, they wanted him to study law instead and become a lawyer. He was born on the 14th March 1681 and died on the 25th June 1767. He also became mu-sical director of Hamburg’s five main churches. Emma Davies & Venetia Moir 3rd Form Sun Streams Ian Clarke Ian Clarke is a British flautist who was born on the 4th February 1964. He learnt music from an early age, first learning the flute when he was 10. Since 2000 he has been a professor of flute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Some of his most well-known works are ‘Hypnosis’ and ‘The Great Train Race’. The piece ‘Sun streams’ was written in 1986 and I chose it because I like the contemporary feel and also the dynamics add to the atmosphere. Eloise Whybrow U6 Blow Blow thou Winters Wind Madeline Dring

Madeline Dring (1923-1977) was a composer and actress. Whilst studying at the Royal

College of Music she was taught composition by Vaughan Williams and Herbert Howells.

Her compositions have a very jazzy and rhythmical style. Dring wrote “Blow Blow thou

winter wind” in 1945, and is one in a set of 7 songs set to words by Shakespeare. I have

chosen to sing this as I like the changing attitudes in the piece from the cold beginning to

the “let it go” change of the chorus, with a new found energy.

Kate Price U6

‘La Cinquantaine’ Gabriel Marie Gabriel Marie was a French Composer who wrote in the Romantic Period. He was born in Paris on 8 January 1852. His works include La Cinquantaine (which was written in 1887) for cello and piano. He also composed many dance pieces, and wrote other pieces for saxophone, cello and piano. I really enjoy his music because it has the potential to sing out; the music he wrote is perfect for a combination of instruments and I hope more people discover who this wonderful composer is. Talia Coleman 3rd Form

Vaga Luna Bellini

Vaga Luna is an Italian piece by Bellini, published in 1838. It was composed in the bel canto style, it is a frequent recital piece, and has often been recorded. Bellini was an Italian opera composer who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania. Vaga Luna – Beautiful moon, is about a man who is longing to spend his life with the one woman he desires. Georgie Pratten U6

Variations on ‘Non Piu Mesta’ Chopin

This piece was written in 1824, originally for the flute in E major. It has been changed to F major for the recorder. The version I will be playing is arranged by Piers Adams. The aria "Non più mesta" is from the opera ‘La Cenerentola’ (Cinderella) by Gioachino Rossini. It is sung when Cinderella says farewell to the old days of housekeeping and sad-ness. The variations are attributed to Chopin but this is uncertain because it is so different to any other works of his. If Chopin did write this, he would have been only fourteen years old! Venetia Moir 3rd Form

Ah Belinda Purcell

Ah Belinda is an aria from Dido and Aeneas, a short opera written by baroque composer Henry Purcell. Dido and Aeneas tells the story of the Dido, Queen of Carthage and Aeneas, a prince of Troy. The two meet and fall in love, however their happiness is to be short lived. The Sorceress and her witches plot Dido's downfall and conjure up a storm while Dido and Aeneas are out hunting. During the storm, one of the witches speaks to Aeneas, imperson-ating Mercury, to tell him he must set off for Troy immediately. Not wanting to offend the gods, Aeneas sets sail, breaking Dido's heart so she kills herself. This aria is taken from the first act, where Dido is 'pressed with torment' over her feelings for Aeneas. I have previously played the part of the sorceress but have chosen to sing one of Dido's arias today because of it's haunting and beautiful melody. Octavia Lewis U6

Original Rags Scott Joplin

Viewed as the "King of Ragtime," Scott Joplin was the foremost composer of the genre in the early 20th century, known for works like "The Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer."

Born in the late 1860s, Scott Joplin took up the piano as a child and eventually became a travelling musician as a teen. He immersed himself in the emerging musical form known as ragtime and became the genre’s foremost composer with tunes like "The Entertainer," "Solace" and "The Maple Leaf Rag," which is the biggest-selling ragtime song in history.

I will be performing "Original Rags" which is an early ragtime medley for piano. It was the first of Scott Joplin's rags to appear in print, in early 1899, preceding his "Maple Leaf Rag" by half a year. What I particularly like about the piece is the opportunity in the second half to perform a solo, using a variety of scales as the bass part changes continuously. The return to the ‘head’ also leaves room for further improvisation to fill the gaps in the melody. Max Durham U6 Ave Maria Schumann The piece I will be playing is Ave Maria composed by Franz Schubert. Franz Schubert (1797-1829) wrote the music for "Ave Maria" in 1825 as a setting for the poem ‘The lady of the lake’ by Scottish author Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Schubert's "Ave Maria" is one of the most popular songs in the world, although often sung to words different from those of Scott’s poem, or performed in instrumental versions with no words at all. The song cycle proved to be one of Schubert's most financially successful works, the Austrian composer being paid by his publisher 20 pounds sterling, a sizable sum for a musical work in the 1820s. Though not written for liturgical services, the music proved to be inspirational to listeners, particularly Roman Catholics, and a Latin text was substituted to make it suitable for use in church. It is today most widely known in its Latin "Ave Maria" form. I will be playing the piece because I love the legato melody lines that are so graceful (use of lots of vibrato helps portray this). I also think the sound of the cello really compliments the smooth nature of the piece. I like the rises and falls in the melody line, and how each phrase flows seamlessly in to the next phrase. Eleanor Moir U6 “I could have danced all night” – My Fair Lady Loewe and Learner This song was written by Frederick Loewe, an Austrian-American composer, who collaborated with lyricist Alan Jay Learner on musicals, their two most famous ones being “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot”. He was born in Berlin, and attended a Prussian cadet school from age 5 – age 13. He taught himself piano by ear and started composing at age 7. “I Could have danced all Night” was written for the play “My Fair Lady” in 1956. I chose this song because I love the upbeat and excitable character it has to it. It is sung by a girl (Eliza Doolittle), who has come in from a night out and cannot stop singing about her encounter with a young man. Annabel Gulliver U6

Musical dates for your diary

24th November 8pm Michaelmas Concert—Great Hall Featuring the first performance by the newly formed Wind Orchestra and other remarkable musicianship at Bloxham. 1st December 7.15pm Icarus Trust Concert – St John’s Hyde Park The Bloxham Chapel Choir join forces with a professional choir for an impressive evening of song. 4th December 6.30pm Exham House Concert—Great Hall Celebrate the talent within Exham House and find out what they have been up to in music this term. 5th December 11.30am Performance at St Mary’s Bloxham Supporting the local Christmas Tree Festival, musicians from Bloxham perform Christmas favourites. 8th December 7.15pm Carol Service—Chapel The perfect end to a very busy term!