Splendid Summer Recital

The Fourth Year and Lower Sixth Form GCSE and A Level musicians gave a beautiful recital at St John’s Church, Caterham. Pupils performed an eclectic range of repertoire from Albinoni to Rutter. Jae C opened the concert with a dramatic and lyrical performance of Faure’s Elégie. Both Annie L and Mathilde G performed a movement from a Mozart and Haydn violin concerto, respectively. Both performances were energetic and displayed technical aptitude. Emma M performed Bohm’s dramatic Introduction and Polonaise. She played with vigour and impressed with the very challenging leaps in the Polonaise. There were a number of excellent piano performances from our Fourth Year pupils: Rodney L, Tilly K, Hannah Y, Spencer T, Than G and Lynus L. The pupils’ genuine love for pianistic repertoire such as Chopin and Debussy was a delight to see and allowed them to display their musical artistry and share their love for performing. Tanya C gave a beautiful performance of Far from the Home I Love. Her voice captured the theatrical and emotive nature of the song perfectly. Amelie D and Honor C performed wonderfully on the flute both playing with lyricism and warmth. Megan S gave a beautifully lyrical performance of the Adagio movement Albinoni’s Oboe Concerto on the Tenor Horn. Her tone lent itself to this iconic piece of Baroque repertoire. Melissa T treated the audience to a rare but wonderful performance on the Marimba with Spanish Dance by Stensgaard. Ammara K gave a beautifully lyrical and warm performance of the Allegretto from Saint-Saëns’ Sonata for Clarinet. Her warm tone and ability to express the beautifully long phrases in the music was superb. The concert concluded with Alice H’s stunning performance of Andante Piacevole from Bowen’s Flute Sonata. Her mastery in technique and exquisite tone throughout ended the concert with both class and finesse. 

Special mention must go to Bella B for her performance of Silent Noon by Vaughan Williams, which was quite splendid. Her exquisite vibrato and tone lent itself to the lyrical and narrative style that Vaughan Williams is renowned for. Bella managed to capture the different stylistic characteristics of the sections beautifully! It was astounding. 

All pupils should be proud of their wonderful performances. Bravo!