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Last Friday, 22nd March, saw the return of the biennial Spring Concert at The Wiltshire Music Centre. The pieces were chosen around the theme of Folklore: Myths, Legends and Stories, drawing on inspiration from the Hungarian musician Zoltan Kodaly. A wide range of pieces, from Stravinsky's Firebird, performed by our Symphony Orchestra, to Percussion Ensemble's You Make Me by Avicii, which included brilliant solos from both Elea and Sophie.
A highlight of the first half was a dynamic orchestral performance of The Carnival of the Animals Suite, by the Symphony Orchestra, particularly as UVI LAMDA students, Elowen and Izzy, narrated the tongue twistingly humorous poems by Ogden Nash, which punctuated each of the 10 movements.
Chamber Choir sang a beautiful arrangement of Bushes and Briars by Vaughan Williams before changing the tone to sing the well-known and much loved Teddy Bear's Picnic. Saxophone Ensemble, in their inaugural year, performed Miss Wilby's arrangement of the hauntingly beautiful Loch Lomond.
Symphony Orchestra again took the lead in the second half, wowing the audience with their orchestral rendition of Faure's Pavane which included a beautiful flute solo by Charmaine (UVI).
Junior Consort delighted the audience under the expert leadership of Mrs Fryar, with a joyous collection of music from Roald Dahls films. Big Band emulated the thundering train ride in Chattanooga Choo Choo, before the Chamber Choir favourite, The Parting Glass, fortified the audience for their homeward journeys.
String Sinfonia, led by Mrs Loveridge, increased the tempo with their lively Jig from St Paul's Suite by Holst and Symphony Orchestra captured a sense of the ominous and eerie, as we were transported to a Night on Bald Mountain, by Mussorgsky, amongst the trolls and dancing witches.
Finally, the concert was rounded off by the traditional finale, lead by the UVI Music Scholars, who performed a mashup of Queen favourites, conducted by Izzy.
The concert was a huge success and a wonderful opportunity to showcase talented students, in an outstanding setting and alongside professional musicians. Kadaly was driven by his belief that 'music belongs to everybody" and that is certainly the case at St Mary's.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Music Department for the immense organisation necessary for an event like this. In particular to Miss Arthur and Mrs Black, for their hard work in enabling the students to benefit from this excellent musical experience.
Katie, UVI
Professional photographs of the Spring Concert will be available for parents to download after the Easter holidays via a link in the school's e-Lily newsletter.