Concert at St James’s Piccadilly

Musicians and singers once again performed a magnificent concert in the beautiful venue of St James’s Piccadilly. The theme this year was music by British and American composers. The concert opened with an epic performance of Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna – a modern, powerful work by one of America’s most prominent choral composers. This was performed by both ETS (Eric Thiman Singers) and Chamber Choir, and left the audience spellbound with their emotive rendition.

Joined by a professional string ensemble, the choirs sang this demanding piece superbly well and demonstrated great musicality and professionalism. Other choral items included Elgar’s Ave Verum Corpus by ETS and Purcell’s moving Dido’s Lament by Chamber Choir. Special mention must go to Alyssa (Fourth Year) for her outstanding solo. Chamber music was provided by the Clarinet Quartet and Brass Ensemble who performed complex and demanding works. Vivaldi String Orchestra left the audience in awe as they performed to perfection, Barber’s Adagio. This incredibly powerful work has been used in countless films as a soundtrack that depicts immense tragedy and misery, captured expertly by our own musicians in this concert.

Original compositions by Helena Richards featured throughout the evening and included a recently composed piece Elbereth for our First Year scholars’ ensemble, First Light for our string orchestra and Veritas for Sinfonia. William’s (Fourth Year) composition, Polyrhythm for orchestra, was a highlight of the evening and showcased his emerging talent as a composer. Other performances by Sinfonia included Copland’s energetic Hoe-down (Rodeo) which they performed with character and vigour.

Both choirs and orchestras included pupils from our Prep school and congratulations to all for another wonderful evening of outstanding music-making.