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theBaton. Friends of Tiffin Musics termly magazine

Spring 2017 Director of Music Report A performance of MahlersSymphony of a Thousand (hisSymphony No. 8), described by theGuardian as daringly conceived andoutstandingly executed was a fi ngfinaletotheSpringTerm2017forTiffinmusicians. The performance at theRoyal Fes val Hall, with the LondonPhilharmonic Orchestra and VladimirJurowski, involved over four hundredperformers. The boys choir of onlythirty Tiffin pupils, led by HeadChoristers Daniel Blaze and JoshuaDennis, sang with impressive energyand commitment (from their variousposi ons in the hall) to make theirmark. Their contribu on reflected the

many hours they had dedicated tomemorising this long and complexpiece.Thechoircombinedprepara onsforthisperformanceinthelastweekofterm with their visit to WestminsterAbbeytosingevensong.ThechoirsangHowellsCollegiumRegalese ngofthecan cles and Parsons AveMaria to alarge and evidently interna onalcongrega on of the type only to befoundatsuchaplace. Only oneweek earlier,many ofthesamechoirmembersweretellingadifferent story: that of Henry Layardandhisadventures inMesopotamia, intheir performance of AssyriasConcern at the Tiffin School Concert.The performance of the cantata,

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wri en by Mr Ferris, composerinresidence,waspreparedbyallpupils inYear 7 over the course of the SpringTerm, a Tiffin tradi onwhich, I understand,isoverfi yyearsold.Year7Soloists Joe Desmond (Henry Layard) andDaniel McCarthy (King Ashurbanipal)gave engaging performances. At thisconcert, Year 7 pupilswere also introducedtotheschoolsmaininstrumentalensembles. The School Orchestra, performingthesecondmovementofDvoraks SymphonyNo.8,was joinedby ensemblesincludingtheSwingBand,WindBand,BrassBand and StringOrchestra,groupswhichmanybeginnerYear7 instrumentalistshave already joined. TheSchoolssmallerinstrumentalensembleswere also heard this term, presen ngtheirperformancesattheChamberMusic Concert. The senior string quartet,en rely studentled, presented an outstanding performance of a movementfrom a Borodin quartet. Two Year 13violinists, ChrisMcDonald and Jim Tse,in par cular deserve credit for all thattheyhavecontributedtothemusicallifeoftheschool. The choirs of Tiffin Boys andTiffin Girls Schools combined, alongwithTiffinChildrensChorus,topresentthe Spring Term Choral Concert. Themain work, Faures Requiem, broughttogethermore than one hundred sing

ers, along with two excellent studentsoloistsHenrySaywellandDanielBlaze.Otherhighlightsoftheconcert includedTallis Lamenta ons of Jeremiah, sungbytheseniorboys,andByrdLaudibusinSanc s,sungbytheseniorboysandgirlstogether.The concert followed the treblesuniqueexperienceofperforminginTitanicLiveattheRoyalAlbertHall.Theboys joined theRoyal PhilharmonicOrchestra to recreate James Hornerssoundtrack for this now classic film onits 20th anniversary. As the film wasshown on the big screen behind thechoirandorchestra,thepupilssangthefamiliar wordless choruses. The termbegan with one of the years greatestmusical highlights, the House SingingCompe on. Paul Brough, a conductorof orchestras and choirs including theBBC singers,adjudicatedovermanyexcellentperformances. The commitmentand leadership from theschoolsseniorsingers,especiallyintheirprepara onofthe partsong, was very impressive, aswas the number of Year 7 pupils involvedinperformingtheunisonsongfortheirhouse.Thequalityandquan tyofthe singing heard on that evening remindsusofTiffinsexcep onaland important singing tradi on, as we lookforward to a year celebra ng the 60thanniversaryoftheTiffinBoysChoir.

thebatonSpring2017

HouseSinging

The annual House Singing

Compe ontookplaceonFebruary2nd

in the Sports Hall. This year,wewere

delighted towelcome renownedchoral

andorchestral conductor,PaulBrough,

to adjudicate. The overall winners on

theeveningwereSco House,followed

byRaleigh thenDrake.The full awards

wereasfollows:

Unison SongSco . Part SongRaleigh. Solo TrebleMilo Morrod (Churchill Gordon) Solo ATBTristan McElderry (Kingsley Montgomery) BatonEdwin Jarra Barnham (Sco )

SoloTreblewinnerMiloMorrodwrites:

Itwasveryexci ng tobechosen

to sing in the Trebles final because

there are somany excellent singers in

the Tiffin Boys Choir. Im always very

proud to do my best for Churchill

Gordon.MysingingteacherMissBeckley

choseSea Fever formetosing,which is

a very atmospheric piece. It has the

words of a John Masefield poem first

published in1902,andwassettomusic

byJohnIreland.Theeffect isofarather

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melancholy lamentforthefreedomof

thesea.

I knew there would be s ff

compe on from the five other

finalists,whowere singing everything

from treble blockbusters like Pie Jesu

to the charming lullaby Hushabye

Mountain.Lastyear thefinalswere in

the schoolhall,but this me itwasa

much bigger event in the SportsHall,

with hundreds of boys and parents

filling the room. So it was nerve

racking to stand up in front of

everyone and sing with only a piano

for accompaniment. Fortunately I felt

asifIdidmybestandsangaswellasI

could.

I was amazed when the judge

announced that Ihadwon the cupas

anyoftheotherfiveboyswouldhave

thoroughlydeserved it. Itsexci ng to

see all the names of the previous

winners stretchingback to the1960s,

andImproudmynamewillnowbeon

it,too.

Milo Morrod (8RC)

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Top le : Edwin Jarra Barnham (Sco ), Unison song and Baton winner.

Top centre: Milo Morrod (Churchill Gordon), Solo Treble winner.

Top right: Unison Song winners Sco performing Dont you want me by Human League.

Bo om le : Adam Meyer (Raleigh), Part Song winner.

Bo om centre: Tristan McElderry (Kingsley Montgomery), Solo ATB winner.

Bo om right: Part Song winners Raleigh performing Like a bridge over troubled water by Simon & Garfunkel.

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TitanicLive:RoyalAlbertHall Following its selloutworldpremiere in2015, Titanic Live returned to the

RoyalAlbertHallon11March incelebra onof its20thanniversary.TiffinSchool

supplied 40 trebles for the days doublescreening of James Camerons 1997

roman cepic,accompaniedbyJamesHorners melessscoreplayed liveonstage

by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by LudwigWicki. The

wholeexperienceofsingingafilmscorewasanewchallengeformostoftheboys

andtheyhadtobealerttobeabletofollowthedirec onsofmaestroWicki. Its

notmuch fun si ng in front of a supersized cinema screenwhen you cant see

what is going on behind you but the boys were remarkably self restrained in

refrainingfromcraningtheirneckstotakeintheac on.

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I really enjoyed Titanic Live a lot, even though therewas a lot ofwai ng

around.Thebestpartofthedaywas (althoughthemusicwasgood)whenMrDay

tooksomeofusoutsidetowalkaroundthecityandthendecidedtobuyuscookies.

Itwasquiteanexci ngexperience tosing foramovieandnot justsing thepieces

like we do in choir rehearsals.When we were si ng down and at some points

allowedtowatchthemovie,Ifeltthattheorchestralmusicwaspartofthefilmand

without it the film would lose some emo on. Themost important thing I have

learnedfromthisexperiencewasthatthe minginthemusichastobeexactlyright

otherwisethemoviestartstolookandsoundabitweird.Titanic Live wasanamazing

experience(forge ngthecookies)andifIwasgiventhechanceIwoulddefinitelydo

itagain.

Daniel McCarthy (7JAF) a

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ChamberMusicConcert:WaldenHall This concert featured the schools smaller ensembles. The programme

includedthestudentrunTseStringQuartet,ClarinetChoir,GuitarEnsemble,String

Ensemble, Piano Trio,Hur StringQuartet,WindQuintet and ChamberOrchestra.

Theseensembles rehearseonaweeklybasis, led byour teamofperipate cstaff

andMr OMalley. All Year 7 beginners on orchestral instruments are given the

opportunitytojoinanensembleaspartoftheirlearningwhichhelpswiththeirsight

readingandallowsthemtoenjoymusicmakingwiththeirpeers.

The levelof ensembleplayingwasexcep onallyhighwhich istestamentto

thehardworkputintoweeklyrehearsalsbytheboysandinstrumentalteachers.

Members of the Piano Trio performing Andante from Mozarts Trio No.8 in G.

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Ihavebeenplaying in theChamberOrchestra foranumberofyearsnow,

andfeelIcanhonestlysaythatlastWednesday'sperformancewasoneofourmost

successfultodate.Thewellchosenpiece,arela velylargeensemble,andofcourse

extensiverehearsalscombinedtoreallysuccessfullycreatetherich,roman csound

which Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings so greatly deserves. Or at least, the

audience certainly thought so, and it was a pleasure to have several people

commentonelementssuchastheunityoftheensembleandtheenergywithwhich

the piece was performed. This coming half term we are advancing onwards to

tacklethesecondmovement,andIhaveeveryhopeandexpecta onofanequally

vibrantandenjoyableperformance.

Humphrey Allen 12 SJC/PP a

Members from the Senior Clarinet Choir performing Allegro from Mozarts Serenade in C.

thebatonSpring2017

ChoirConcert:AllSaintsChurch,KingstonThisyeartheSpringchoirconcertbecameanambi ouscollabora onbetweenthe

choirs of Tiffin School, The TiffinGirls School and Tiffin Childrens Chorus atAll

SaintsChurch,Kingston.Thereweresomelogis calissuesassociatedwithmanag

ingover300performersandaccommoda nganaudiencebut itallworkedout in

theend.TheconcertstartedwithasetfromTiffinGirlsJuniorChoir,conductedby

PhilipViveashandLindseyJames.ThiswasfollowedbytheseniorgirlsACappella

ChoirperformingWe'llMeetAgain,the1939Bri shsongmadefamousbysinger

Vera Lynn a sen mental tribute in theyearofher100thbirthday. The senior

Tiffingirlsandboysdelivered theirownprogramme beforecoming together for

Byrds Laudibus in sanc s ,conductedbyTiffinSchoolsDirectorofChoralMusic,

JamesDay.

Senior chamber choir from Tiffin Schools in rehearsal.

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ThesecondhalfwasdevotedtoFauresRequiem whichincludedChildrensChorus,

thechoir forprimary school children runbyTiffinSchools AssistantDirectorof

Music,SianCadogan.ThesoloistrolesweretakenbyTiffinpupils,DanielBlazeand

Henry Saywell,with Director ofMusic,MathewOMalley playing the organ and

conductedbyJamesDay.

The jointconcertwasanopportunityforthemusicsocie esfrombothschoolsto

combine forces and run two refreshment ports, with the proceeds being split

betweentheschools.Parents,especiallythosewithchildrenatbothTiffinschools,

wereenthusias cabout the jointconcert andwehope that therewillbe future

opportuni esfortheschoolstoworktogether.AspecialthankstoMa Stevenson

and the seniorTiffinboyswhoworked veryhardon the successful layoutof the

churchfortheconcertandforpu ngitallawayagaina erwards.

Performing Faures Requiem

thebatonSpring2017

InstrumentalTui onatTiffin Readerswillbeinterestedtohearmoreaboutourdedicatedteamofvisi ng

music teachers.Therearecurrently22selfemployed teachersdeliveringover300

instrumental/vocallessonseachweek.Inaddi ontheycontributetotherunningof

manyofthemusicensembleswhichrehearseonaweeklybasis.Ourvisi ngmusic

staff all have excellent reputa ons with many being many of whom are also

professional soloists, orchestralmusicians and consort singers. In this edi onwe

feature two teachers who have amassedmore than 47 years of Tiffin teaching

between them: JamesDalgleish,HeadofKeyboard,and JulieMonument,Headof

Strings.

Julie MonumentliveslocallyinKingstonandwasborninLincolnshire.Shestudied

onthePerformersCourseattheRoyalAcademyofMusicwithTrevorWilliamsand

Manoug Parikian.Whilst at the Academy

shewasawardedseveralpres giousprizes

for her playing andwas the leader of the

chamber orchestra. A er comple ng her

studies Juliewasappointed tocoprincipal

posi on in the RoyalNorthern Sinfonia in

Newcastle. Moving back to London she

joinedtheBBCSymphonyOrchestrawhere

she con nued to work with many

pres gious conductors and soloists taking

part in BBC Proms series and touring

throughout the world. Julie has also

workedwithmany leadingorchestrasasa

freelance player, including the Sco sh

ChamberOrchestra,Bournemouth Sinfonie a,Academyof StMar nintheFields

andPhilharmoniaOrchestra.Asaquartetleaderandchambermusicianshehasalso

givenmany concerts in theU.K.andEurope. Juliehas taught theviolin, coached

chambermusicandensemblesatTiffinandotherlocalschoolsfor28years.

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James DalgleishgrewupinCarluke,Scotland,andbeganhismusicallifeat

theageof7.Byhismid teens,hehadwonall the localMusicFes valsandwas

men oned in theGlasgowHerald forhisoutstandingperformanceofBachat the

Inverclyde and Renfrew Music

Fes val. Jameswent on to study

withJackWightHenderson,atthe

RoyalSco shAcademyofMusic,

who was by far the most

influen al pianist in Scotland,

having studied in Vienna with

FranzLisztspupilEmilVonSauer.

James later secured abursary to

studypianowithJoanHavillatthe

Guildhall School of Music in

London. Joan Havill, like

Henderson, had an impeccable

pedigree having studied in Paris

withNadiaBoulanger(AaronCoplandsteacher)andVladoPerlemuter,Ravelsmost

dis nguishedstudent.

A ergradua ngfromtheGuildhallSchool,JameswasemployedbytheRoyal

BoroughofKingstonuponThamesasapianoteacher.He laterwentfreelanceand

taughtpiano for severalyearsat the LondonNau calSchool inBlackfriarsandat

NotreDameSchoolinCobham.

JameshastaughtpianoatTiffinSchoolforalmost20yearsandteachespiano

at The TiffinGirls School, EtonCollege andReeds School. James lives locally in

WorcesterParkandisalsoavailableforprivatetui on(advancedstudentsandadult

beginners)andanyoneinterestedshouldcontacttheMusicOfficeatTiffinSchoolin

thefirstinstance.

thebatonSpring2017

ChoralEvensong:WestminsterAbbeyOn3rdAprilTiffinBoysChoirenjoyedtheprivilege

of singing Evensong at Westminster Abbey. A

numberofparentsandstaffwereina endanceas

well as Headteacher, Mike Gascoigne and ex

Director of Music, Simon Toyne. Singing at

Westminster Abbey has played a hugely

important role, from the plainsongOffices sung

by the monks of the 10th century monas c

founda on to the daily choral services sung by

the Choir ofWestminster Abbey. Only visi ng

choirsofahighenoughstandardareallowed to

apply tosingEvensong.Before rehearsal me in

Cheyneygates,themedievalhouseoftheAbbots

of Westminster, the boys were given the

opportunitytofollowanaudioguidedtourofthe

Abbey which has been the corona on church

since 1066 and is the final res ng place of 17

monarchs . In addi on Westminster Abbey is

alsotheplacewheresomeofthemostsignificant

people in the na on's history are buried or

commemorated. Evensong itself was a

profound andmemorable experience, especially

following the week of the tragedy on

Westminster Bridge and outside the Houses of

Parliament.

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SchoolConcert:AllSaintsChurch,Kingston The annual School Concert, involving members of Tiffins instrumental

ensembles alongside all pupils in Year 7 took place on 30thMarch. This years

choiceofmusicwasAssyriasConcernorThe Adventures of Henry Layard in

Mesopotamia, wri en by the schools Composer in Residence, Simon Ferris. This

concert poses quite a challenge involving the enlarged cohort of 180 Year 7

boys.TheeveninggotofftoarousingstartwiththeWindBandse ngthemood

with Happy and a Lennon/McCartney medley. This was followed by

performances from theStringOrchestra,BrassEnsemble,SwingBandandSchool

Orchestra,which gave amoving rendi on of the secondmovement of Dvoraks

SymphonyNo.8.A eraquickstageresetaveryenthusias cYear7assembledfor

AssyriasConcern. Theboys,a eronlya limitedamountof meprac sing the

chorus pieces in class, produced an excellent performance, par cularly from

soloists,JoeDesmond,DanielMcCarthy,andGeorgiyLesyuk.

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Mendelssohn:ElijahTiffintreblesinac on

Inaddi on to theirmanyprofessionalandschoolcommitments twoTiffin trebles

found me to take part in public performances of the great oratorio work

MendelssohnsElijah.

Following his impressive performance at the Tiffin

Oratorio in November as the Angel, Daniel Blaze

(9KB) reprised the role with Newbury Choral

societyandSouthernSinfoniaatStNicolassChurch,

Newbury,on18thMarch.

Theaudiencesdarlingwasthetreble,DanielBlaze.

Hesanghispartprofessionally,accuratelyandwith

a pure, clear tone. Julia Rowntree Newbury Today

23/3/17

Singingthesamerolebutmore locallywasJoshua Dennis (9KN), withTeddington

Choral Society and the Ba ersea Ensemble at the Landmark Arts Centre in

Teddington on 1st April. Conducted by Tiffin alumnus, Sam Evans, a sell out

audiencewas always going to be guaranteedwith the starstudded line up of

soloistsincludingAndrewStaples.JoshuaispicturedrightwithSamEvans,

William Dazeley baritone, Fflur Wyn soprano , Catherine Hopper mezzo

soprano,andAndrewStaplestenor.

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CommercialChoirRecordings:Metropolis

InmidMarch,twelvetreblesreturnedtoMetropolisStudios inChiswickto

record the latest in a series of TV commercials which called for a boys choir

soundtrack.Working once again through the agencyAdelphoiMusic, the advert

this mewasforShell.Thechoirwasaskedtosingarendi onofFleetwoodMacs

Go Your Own Way. With Mr Day unavailable on the day, the trebles singing

teacher,MsBeckley,directedthechoir.

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MahlerSymphonyno.8:RoyalFes valHall

ThebeginningoftheEasterholidayswasdelayedfor20trebleswhospent

an intensive few days rehearsing for Mahlers Symphony No. 8. The piece is

otherwiseknownastheSymphony of a Thousand forgoodreasonwiththeLondon

Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Chorus and Choir of Clare College,

Cambridge, coming togetherwith the LondonPhilharmonicOrchestra under the

direc on of Vladimir Jurowski. There were stunning ligh ng effects from the

designer, Chahine Yavroyan, whereby at various mes partsof the stagewere

plunged into darkness, at others adding colour effects. The programme started

with ThomasTalliss1570motetSpem in Alium withJurowskidirec ngeight20

strong choral groups that ringed the auditorium . Hardly had the singing faded

whenJurowskiledtheorchestrastraightintothesymphony,withoutapause.The

wholeprogrammewasaboutdramawiththefulluseofspace,evidencedinPartII

wheretheboyswereposi onedinboxesstagele ,andthevocalsoloistsinfrontof

theorganratherthanatthebackofthestage.

thebatonAutumn2016

Vladimir Jurowskihadat least400performers, including fourchoirs,eight

soloistsandtheLondonPhilharmonicunderhiscontrolforthisdaringlyconceived

andoutstandinglyexecutedrenderingofMahlers8th.....Everythingabout

the ensuing symphony, from the arrangement of the choral forces and soloists

around the hall to the de ly deployed ligh ng, spoke of intelligent forethought

harnessedtocommi edmusicianship.

The Guardian A

Crammed into every inch of themain stage, the LPO and extras (three

harps, two mandolins, harmonium and all) were laid out on the flat, against

standardprac ce.Doubts that thebrasswould registerwhenplaying across the

restoftheorchestrasoonvanished.The idea Jurowskis,surelythecomposers

too was soon clear: havingwri en for a ninepart choir,Mahlerwould have

wanted us to hear his, and their, exac ng work. The orchestra was there to

decorate,embroider, illuminate.Anyonesi ngwithinthemainbodyofthestalls

was engulfed bywaves of focused choral sound from the London Philharmonic

Choir, London Symphony Chorus and Choir of Clare College Cambridge. "My

childrens choirmust enter here like a knife through bu er,"Mahler insisted in

rehearsals,and theTiffinBoysChoirasexperiencedaMahlerensembleasany

otheronstagedidhimproud.

The Arts Desk A

The childrens chorus (Tiffin Boys Choir) sang the first movement with

handscuppedtomouths,whichdidseemtogettheircontribu onacross,butalso

helpedwiththevisuals.

Seen and Heard Interna onal A

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UpcomingEvents

FOTMCommi eeAnilDasaniChairman

AndrewLangfordTreasurer

VivBywaterMembership Secretary

KatharineGibsonRefreshments

SimonJones

MarisaWaymouth

ClairNewton

Thurs11thMay TiffinBoysChoir,Evensong,StLukesChurch,5:30pm

Thurs15thJune Lunch meRecital,AllSaintsKingston**

Thurs15thJune TiffinBoysChoir,Evensong,StLukesChurch,5:30pm

Sun25thJune TiffinBoysChoir,MahlerSymphonyNo.3,withtheLSO,

Barbican,7:00pm

Thurs6thJuly TiffinBoysChoir,Evensong,StLukesChurch,5:30pm

Fri14thJuly TiffinintheGarden,5:30pm

Tue18thJuly TiffinBoysChoir60thAnniversaryConcert**

2129July TiffinBoysChoir,TourofSpain

Sun6thAug TiffinBoysChoir,BBCProms,MussorgskysKhovanschinawith

BBCSymphonyOrchestra,RoyalAlbertHall,7:00pm

Aug TiffinChildrensChorusRoyalOperaHouse**

Sun1stOct TiffinBoysChoir,MahlerSymphonyNo.3withthe

PhilharmoniaOrchestra,RoyalFes valHall,7:00pm

Sun5thNov TiffinBoysChoir,BernsteinSymphonyNo.3withtheLSO,

Barbican,7:30pm