31 January 2020
Our concert witnessed some outstanding performances from some of our leading musicians across a range of solo instruments. The concert also gave some opportunities for several Fifth Year GCSE musicians to air their solo pieces in front of parents and peers and to give them a first recording which they can use to help polish their performances before final recordings and assessments.
We heard some lovely piano playing from Luka Shanidze (Merikanto’s Valse Lente), Daniel Zhang, Tiger Wang, Andreas Lo (Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata) and Nicholas Raptakis (Chopin’s Fantasy Impromptu).
Our woodwind players were represented by a bassoonist and two oboists. Luc Tucker played the slow movement of Hindemith’s Bassoon Sonata, whilst Oliver Glover and Scott Yap joined up for a trio sonata with Jeroan Yip playing cello continuo. On brass front there were two highlights from gifted trumpeters, Lachlan Keene in Neruda’s Trumpet Concerto (playing on one of the school’s Eb trumpets) and Oliver Hobbs playing an arrangement of the theme from Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
We heard several outstanding string performances. The first was from Naoki Parker (violin) with Kreisler’s Rondino on a Theme by Beethoven. Nicholas Raptakis (viola) played a movement from a Bach Cello Suite and Oliver Glover (cello) performed Fauré’s arresting Après un Rêve.
One of the most striking performances of the evening was given by Jeroan Yip in bass arias by Mozart (from Don Giovanni) and Rossini (from La Cenerentola). Jeroan has his LTCL diploma approaching in mid-March and will be performing his whole recital on 10 March at 5pm in the Amey Theatre, an event not to be missed!
Our thanks for an outstanding concert must go to all tonight’s performers, together with their teachers and tonight’s accompanists, Mariette Pringle and Lynette Stulting.
