27 November 2018
The Autumn Concert was a piece of art that could be described as flamboyant and delightful.
Yet again, Mr Hargreaves worked late into the night to prepare for the event and the excitement was passionately reciprocated by the audience. The concert opened with The Rhythm of Life, sung by the Senior Choir, which uses repetition by adding layers to create a contrapuntal melody; thus began the theme of repetition, which was prominent throughout the evening.
A particular highlight for me was Victoria Grechukhina’s piano performance of Mazurka, Op.67 by Chopin. Chopin was a child prodigy and therefore Victoria seemed the perfect character to play this piece, seamlessly, on a piano four times her size. Junior Choir also shone with their modern interpretation of Ed Sheeran’s Photograph, which Mr Hargreaves finally let them sing when he worked out who Ed Sheeran was (the girls told him that he was ‘quite popular’).
Claudia Buzsman’s performance of her own composition was moving and professional. She has her own music out and performs regularly in London. However, she admitted that the performance was about a boy, which caused a great deal of confusion as we tried to remember what one looked like! The orchestra also performed excellently and showcased Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. This piece was rather exciting; the timpani stood out for me in particular during that performance. What a fabulous skill!
This was my first formal concert at Woldingham and I must admit that it was fantastic. The hard work and detail that went into each performance made me appreciate the value of music and what a privilege it is to be in an environment that embraces it so whole-heartedly.
The stars of the evening, however, were really Mr Hargreaves, Miss Wong, Mrs Andrews, Mrs Usher and all the instrumental teachers who worked so hard to put the concert together. Thank you.
Georgia Barnes