RGS Musicians Shine in Two Spring Concerts
RGS Musicians have enjoyed performing in two Spring Concerts so far this month.
The first concert took place before term even started when the Upper Voices Vocal Ensembles, consisting of Upper and Lower Sixth Music Scholars and A Level Music students (Saffron Crump, Aoife Smith, Catherine Broadbent, Martha Burdon, Anna Jobes and Poppy Wood), performed at ‘Sing into Spring’, a concert at Kempsey Parish Church. Put on by local opera company Opera Worcester and featuring their choir and soloists, the Saturday afternoon concert saw the RGS Upper Voices sing three songs: ‘Sing Gently’ by Eric Whitacre, ‘When I Grow Up’ from Matilda the Musical by Tim Minchin and Ella Yelich-O’Connor and Joel Little’s ‘Royals’. The Choir performed beautifully and was greatly appreciated by the audience.
Ten days later, Perrins Hall hosted our own Spring Concert. The ‘Spring Ensembles Concert’ saw five of our instrumental ensembles perform two pieces each. The concert opened with the debut performance of the Junior Rock Band, performing Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and Maneskin’s ‘Beggin’. The Years Seven and Eight Musicians sang and played with great confidence, setting the evening off to a super start.
The Guitar Ensemble followed, accompanying Kieran Lilley and Luke Melaard in two songs. Some excellent guitar soloing by Rayyan Styles in Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’ was enjoyed by all, before the Flute Group and Clarinet Choir each performed two pieces: ‘When I’m Sixty Four’ and ‘The Entertainer’ by the flutes and then ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ and ‘You Are My Sunshine’ by the clarinet players. The concert ended with two items by Junior Jazz, with solos from many of the band, and a fantastically-tight rhythm section, rounding off the concert excellently.
Year Eight bass player Erin Fisher said of the Spring Ensembles Concert “I found the concert really, really fun to play in. I was in Junior Jazz and loved playing in a group with lots of my friends. The other pieces in the concert were really funky and my favourite piece to play was ‘Joe Avery’s Blues’ because it was upbeat and the audience starting clapping along!”.
Congratulations to all of the performers and the many teachers who committedly run these groups each week.