Sixth Form musicians make a very significant contribution to Hurst's flourishing musical life - performing the College's many orchestras, choirs and ensembles, forming their own bands and ensembles, arranging formal and informal performances and concerts as well as mentoring younger pupils and master-minding the House entries in the School's hotly contested annual House Music competition.
The following brief summary of the school's musical achievements and activities during the past academic year illustrates the breadth and depth of Hurst’s musical life in which Sixth Formers play a leading role.
Under the direction of Neil Matthews, this is the College’s most high profile and its busiest ensemble. The Choir had 75 members last year and provided music for the weekly College Eucharists as well as Evensongs and services outside the College, notably for the Cricket Society at St Mary’s Church in Horsham. The choir rehearses for nearly two hours per week and its members are committed and focussed, increasingly striving for higher standards. Special moments of the year included the Advent Procession and the Carol Service (not to mention the Boar’s Head Feast).
Taken from the main choir, this is a group of 18 singers whose repertoire is much wider and more challenging. The choir last year sang Evensong at Portsmouth and Chichester Cathedrals and will continue to visit a cathedral every term as well as contributing to major College services and giving concerts.
The Orchestra, under the direction of Neil Matthews had a terrific year last year and saw a number of significant additions to its ranks in all instrumental areas. The Michaelmas Term was spent rehearsing Britten’s famous and fabulous arrangements of music by Rossini, Soirées Musicales which were performed at the Winter Concert in the Chapel. The orchestra’s project for the Lent Term was the well known and tricky 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. This required some serious nerve from every member of the orchestra, particularly the strings at the opening which, on the night, sounded beautiful. The Summer Term is always a tricky one for instrumental ensembles with study programmes, exams, trips and so forth upon us, but the orchestra managed extremely well, preparing a performance of the last movement of Dvorak’s Symphony no. 9 (From The New World). It was really good to see so many members of the College Orchestra getting stuck in and enjoying playing with others so much. This year sees Miriam Kennedy continuing to lead the orchestra as it tackles the rest of Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony.
Under the inspired leadership of Andrew Sutton, the Jazz Band is one of the College’s premier ensembles, providing a unique and very special contribution to major school concerts in - and beyond - the school. As always, the band is cheered to the rafters when the opening bars of their more popular numbers are heard and this year saw Saxes With Attitude established as their most requested piece. In the always popular Winter Concert, the band added a festive encore of Frosty the Snowman to their programme and in the Lent term developed a new and complex number – Orilla del Mar, a lengthy piece which fluctuates between Latin, swing and rock. The Lent Concert was the focus of the work for the term and laid some solid foundations for the rigorous performance schedule of the Summer Term. Jazz and warm weather always seem to go together and the Jazz Band is no stranger to playing outside, in tents, in the Inner Quad, under gazebos etc.
Hurst's annual musical involves more students than any other individual creative project in the school. Les Miserables was a tough act to follow and last year, the close collaboration between Music and Drama departments continued to create the conditions that inspired pupils to produce a simply stunningly professional production of Godspell in the College's Bury Theatre. No-one who saw it could have been untouched by such an exciting, exhilarating, joyful yet deeply moving performance.
As well as the Jazz Band, Andrew Sutton is also instrumental in the running of these two College ensembles. Both of these groups went from strength to strength as the year progressed, the Saxophone Ensemble attacking some tricky contemporary music with zeal and the Clarinet Ensemble working on some complex arrangements of well known pieces. Few will forget the Saxophone Ensemble’s performance of Karen Street’s Carnival at the Winter Concert in which the players walk off the stage whilst playing creating a gradual fade out and until the stage was left bare and silent.
Under the direction of Jon Cherry the Flute Ensemble has continued gain considerably in both technical ability and tone quality and the Brass Ensemble under John Playford provides a wonderful vehicle for our brass players to show off their considerable talents. New this year has been the String Ensemble, set up largely at the instigation of a number of our more advanced string players, it has in recent months been conducted by a Sixth Form pupil – very valuable experience for both players and conductor! The Hurst Rockers under the direction of the veteran Derek Austin continues to impress and produced a substantial set for the Jazz and Rock concert in November.
This competition takes place over 5 nights, each dedicated to a specific intrument or instrumental family. The competition is growing in popularity and more pupils than every before took part last year. Each evening was expertly adjudicated by some fine musicians including Anne Mason, Robert Costin and Anne Hodgson. The standard of play across the board was deeply impressive with the Winners’ Concert being a great showcase of the best talent that Hurst has to offer.
This continues apace with regular concerts giving all musicians at Hurst an opportunity to perform, no matter what their instrument or their standard. From the Shell and Remove Recital to the Jazz and Rock Concert, standards have consistently been getting higher and higher. The Scholars' Concert is always an enjoyable event, giving parents, staff and friends an opportunity to hear the cream of Hurst's musical talent. This year's concert was among the best for a number of years and included an extraordinarily wide variety of music from across the ages. Hurst musicians frequently give concerts outside the College and in the wider community and last year these included the Burgess Hill Rotary Club, the Adastra Hall, Keymer and concerts at local Prep Schools.
02 September 2010