Spring Concert

The Spring Concert took place on Wednesday evening, with nearly 150 students from across the school entertaining a packed audience.  This concert has sadly been cancelled for the last two years, so it was lovely to welcome an audience back to listen to the work that had been going on within Music extra-curricular activities throughout the year.

The programme contained an eclectic mix of music performed by the biggest of the school’s ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra and Junior and Senior Vocal Group, alongside more intimate performances by the Function Band and the Baroque Ensemble, as well as a smattering of solo performances. 

The evening began with a lively performance of ‘Conga del Fuego Nuevo’ by the Symphony Orchestra, the Latin rhythms certainly getting the audience tapping their feet!  Other highlights during the first half included the Junior Orchestra playing two pieces written for the silver screen (music from ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘Born Free’), the Jazz Band entertaining with ‘Watermelon Man’, and highly accomplished solo performances by Annabel Wigg (Soprano), Filip Farago (Violin), and Marco Blanusa (Recorder), all accompanied by the extremely talented (and busy!) Mrs Chalmers.

The second half began with a mesmerising performance of the slow movement from Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No,2, played expertly by Emma Fussey (Piano) and the Symphony Orchestra. The Junior Vocal Group raised the tempo with renditions of ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz and ‘Riptide’ by Vance Joy, before the Chamber Choir sang the beautifully haunting Icelandic song ‘Heyr Himna Smiður’.  The finale saw all performers come together in a magnificent performance of ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince, expertly arranged by Mr Hoare.

The evening also saw the welcome return of the awards ceremony, and a number of students were rightly recognised for their music making at Charters.  The top prize, Charters’ Musician of the Year, was awarded to Kiera Creswell for her unflinching commitment to extra-curricular music at the school.

Thanks go to all our music staff and peripatetic teachers, under the leadership of our Director of Music, Ms Anderson

Music Awards

Outstanding Contribution to the Music Department: Marko Blanusa, Bethany Dark, Maisie Evans, Amy Greengrass, Grace Purrington, Lauren Smith, Annabel Wigg

Choral Musician of the Year: Marco Jowett

Orchestral Musician of the Year: Emma Fussey

Musician of the Year 2022: Kiera Creswell