10 February 2022
Three weeks of music-making during this year’s House Music Festival culminated in an outstanding concert on Wednesday 9 February, with 25 musicians taking to the stage for the finals. The first half comprised superb vocal and instrumental performances on clarinet, guitar, flute, violin and piano, while after the interval the auditorium audience, and those watching via the livestream, were richly entertained by ensemble pieces.
Guest adjudicator Dennis Mycroft from Bromley Youth Music Trust congratulated all the musicians on their superb work and said how impressed he was with the variety of music he had listened to. Dennis spoke about the importance of mastering “performance” as well instrumental and vocal skills, telling students how important it is to practise this too. He also emphasised that performance on the night was the basis of his selection of the House Music Festival winners, who were:
Most Outstanding Musician: Cherry, Year 11 (Stuart)
Most Promising Musician Overall: Isabel, Year 11 (Barat)
Most Promising Musician Grades 1-4: Joint winners Piano Trio - Bea, Year 8 (Stuart); Rose, Year 8 (Stuart); Sophia, Year 8 (Stuart)
Best Ensemble Performance: Joint winners Vocal Trio - Nicole, Lower Sixth (Stuart); Teni, Lower Sixth (Duchesne); Lase, Lower Sixth (Duchesne) and Piano Trio – Joyce, Lower Sixth (Stuart); Cherry, Year 11 (Stuart); Isabel, Year 11 (Barat)
Most Outstanding Vocalist: Nicole, Lower Sixth (Stuart)
Best Piano Performance: Cherry, Year 11 (Stuart)
Best String Performance: Joyce, Lower Sixth (Stuart)
Best Wind Performance: Leila, Upper Sixth (Barat)
Although a concert with a competitive element, it was clear that all the finalists took on board Director of Music Mr John Hargreaves’ words of introduction, “Go for it, but the main thing is to enjoy it".
Well done to all our winners, finalists and the many musicians, across all year groups and at all levels of experience, who took part in this year’s House Music Festival, demonstrating the breadth and depth of passion for music at Woldingham.
Thank you to our accompanist for the evening, professional musician Jong-Gyung Park.
