www.abingdon.org.uk 15 Abingdon Music In February, students in the Lower School were given the opportunity to demonstrate their musical talents in front of their peers in a Lunchtime Concert. Alexander Hamilton was sung by the 2nd Year students, in a preview for the Spring Concert, and this was followed by spirited performances from the Lower School Band and Junior Strings. There were also several excellent soloists, including an accordion player and a blind-folded pianist! Pro Corda National Chamber Music Festival Eight of Abingdon’s chamber ensembles entered the Pro Corda music festival this year, competing against a selection of other schools. Five progressed to the semi-finals, with our U14 Cello Trio, qualifying for the finals. Well done to Kayden Wong, Angus Kwok and Harrison Wong for this accomplishment which reflects their hard work, the fine teaching and the high standards of musical performance at Abingdon. Solo Concert Platform no. 3 Our 3rd solo concert platform, held on 26 January, featured performers from 3rd Year through to the Upper 6th. From bagpipes and piano, to double bass and violin; the performances were wonderfully accomplished and included music from a wide variety of composers including Walker, Mendelssohn, Fauré and Schumann. Our congratulations for this exceptional evening of music making go to all our performers - and to our accompanist Lynette Stulting. In February, an informal lunchtime concert included some lovely performances, including Brahms’s moving F minor clarinet sonata played by David Hrushowski. Our cellists included Eric Liu, Alex Woolmer and Kayden Wong. We heard two pianists, too - Edward Winter and Yubo Gao in a beautiful piece by one if his favourite composers, Sakamoto. Lower School Lunchtime Concert Our Spring Concert, held on 9 March, presented our musicians with the opportunity to show what they have achieved in their weekly rehearsals since January. Acts included the 2nd Year with Alexander Hamilton, a rendition of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now by the Gospel Choir; a medley of well-known tunes by the Concert Band; and the Big Band’s repertoire which included Gonna Fly Now from the film, Rocky; The Chicken by Pee Wee Ellis; and Stevie Wonder’s Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing. The Chamber Orchestra impressed with Klughardt’s Concertino for Oboe; the 2nd Orchestra with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Gounod’s Melodies from Faust, and the Theme from New York, New York!; the 1st Orchestra with Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony. The concert concluded with Danzon No 2 by the Mexican composer, Arturo Marquez which sent the audience dancing into the cold night air. Congratulations to all involved for a great concert. Spring Concert
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