It has been yet another extremely busy end to the term for Sponne Musicians. On Friday June 22nd the Senior Choir and Sponnaissance gave a lunchtime recital to an appreciative audience in St Lawrence Church as part of their recital series and also the first event of Towcester Midsummer Music. Yr 8 jazz and soloists performed again as part of the Midsummer Music Festival on Saturday 23rd June in the town hall.
On 2nd July and 5th July we had 4 of our senior groups perform in the National Festival of Music for Youth. The Jazz Orchestra played in the CBSO centre, Birmingham as part of the new music stage celebrating new composition. This event showcased Dorian Jazz, composed by Penelope Tollervey in Yr 11. On Thursday 5th July the Brass Band performed in the Birmingham Symphony Hall. There was a very quick change for some of our multi instrumentalists who had to then head over to Birmingham Town Hall to perform with Sponne String Orchestra. Later in the day Sponnaissance performed in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Congratulations to all the students who too part for some fantastic performances. Here are some extracts from the music mentor feedback:
Sponne Brass Band:
Excellent attention to detail, well observed dynamics. Confident and sweet sounding flugel and solo cornet with a strong rhythmic drive from the percussion section. Excellent playing……musically shaped Euphonium soloists….A committed and confident performance from the band”
Sponnaissance:
What a delight! You entered the stage with poise, with elegant dancing and playing…..beautifully sung, great word play and sense of ensemble……..a wonderful blend of voices….accomplished instrumental playing…..what a wonderful ensemble you are! You have brought alive some of the jewels of the Renaissance repertoire with a freshness and vitality. Bravo!
Sponne String Orchestra:
No shortage of surprises and individual twists! .... the usual challenges of ensemble, rhythm and dynamics ..... the negotiating of some potentially awkward harmonic twists and turns ... all handled beautifully. Not only graced with a beautiful dance solo (bravo!) but a lovely double bass solo .... the surprises kept coming, first with a wonderfully controlled viola solo, then with a tutti memorised performance. A fantastically original and varied set!
Sponne Jazz Orchestra
Jazz Orchestra performed on the New Music stage at the National Festival on 3rd July this year. The performance included Lacrimosa which is based on Mozart but reworked as a blues followed by Dorian Jazz by orchestra member, Penelope Tollervey. The orchestra played really well and we had some excellent feedback from mentor and famous jazz and hip-hop musician - Soweto Kinch. His comments:
Great use of dynamics. Good moody intro to Lacrimosa and explosive variety. Well paced crescendos. Bluesy voicings – authentic. Great adventurous solos, all distinctive voices!! Good shifts in arrangements, showcasing drums and solos well. Communicated some of the excitement and intensity of jazz well.
{gallery}MFY String Orchestra{/gallery}
The music department will conclude the academic year with a tour to Paris on 14th – 18th July, performing 3 concerts featuring the Jazz Orchestra, Brass Band and String Orchestra.
