Despite COVID, life at Charterhouse has admirably soldiered on, and the Music Department has very much kept pace
Our wonderful instrumental and full-time staff have continued to work tirelessly in order to offer our pupils some sense of musical normality, especially with the approach of Christmas; can one even begin to imagine Christmas without music?
Our year group ensembles in particular have been performing wonderfully and special mention must go to Chapel Choir. Despite being restricted to a cohort of seven singers (plus some teacher bolstering), they sang wonderfully at the Remembrance Services at the start of the month. Their rendition of Douglas Guest’s For The Fallen had real poise and atmosphere, the perfect addition to a very special occasion. On top of their weekly Thursday Evensongs, which go from strength to strength, Chapel Choir are now preparing for Candlelit Carols and the Carol Services, albeit with a different feel when we get there.
The instrumental highlights of the past few weeks have been the two excellent Piano Prizes but also Evening Recital III. More on the former shortly, but the most recent Recital in Hall was a truly memorable occasion with Year 13 Music Scholars Tony, Elvin, Charlie and Pierre, showing real talent and calibre. Individual performances were the bread to a wonderful saxophone quartet filling of Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder before the evening’s culmination with Mendelssohn’s wonderful Konzertstück no.1 for two clarinets and piano. This was a superb concert and can be viewed below:
Piano Prizes always offers up a chance for our excellent piano pupils to show their skill and ability and, with social distancing in place, we were fortunate enough to be able to hold the competition once again this year in Hall. Clive Williamson, one of our fantastic members of the piano department, adjudicated both the Under School and Senior School competitions. The standard of playing was incredibly high across both evenings with some wonderful performances; repertoire included everything from Kevin Wooding’s Egyptian Level to Prokofiev’s Sonata no.1 in F minor. Justin took the Under School Prize whilst Charlie the Senior School Prize. Bravo to everyone that performed, these were two wonderful evenings of piano playing. The Under School competition can be heard via the link below:
Piano Prizes: Under School Competition Recording
Christmas is fast approaching and, although it will feel ‘different’, Charterhouse musicians are gearing up for the Festivities. Do look out for Candlelit Carols and the Carol Service, in whatever format it may reach you!
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