FEATURES
UNITING IN SONG – A FEATURE OF
TOP LEFT : CAPTAIN OF MUSIC GEOFF LIU PERFORMS TCHAIKOVSKY ’ S VIOLIN CONCERTO
A feature of any Foundation Day Concert is the school ( or at least Years 10 to 12 ) uniting in song , and the 2024 concert , held in Hamer Hall on Tuesday 10 September , was no exception . The grand finale belonged to the boys , as they sang school songs , two special arrangements , and a set of operatic choruses .
The evening also included some other memorable performances . Captain of Music , Geoff Liu performed the final movement of Tchaikovsky ’ s Violin Concerto with dazzling panache . It was one of the finest violin performances that I can remember at Scotch . Other soloists were featured in Rimsky-Korsakov ’ s virtuosic Capriccio Espagnol . The Academy
Strings , under the excellent direction of Ben Castle , performed a truly moving performance of the Intermezzo from Mascagni ’ s Cavaleria Rusticana and gave a polished performance of Shostakovich ’ s String Symphony . David Musk conducted the Symphonic Wind for a performance of John Mackey ’ s Aurora Awakes . One audience member said to me that he ’ d never heard such a variety of tone and colour from that ensemble .
The Show Band , under the direction of Chris Farrands , opened the second half with an outstanding performance of Richardson ’ s Groove Merchant , featuring soloists Matthew Ashley ( Year 11 – piano ), and Thomas Johnston ( Year 12 ) on soprano saxophone , followed by Fantasy by Maurice White , with Nathan Ou ( Year 12 ) as the featured soloist . The College Choir , under the direction of Andrew Hunter , continued the concert with a beautiful performance of Rutter ’ s I will Sing with Spirit followed by the Chamber Choir ’ s performance of Arnesen ’ s Even When He is Silent and Paul Rardin ’ s arrangement of Walk in Jerusalem with Keith Woo , Emmanuel Dela Cruz , William Zheng and Benji Scott ( all Year 12 ) as soloists – a most delightful and memorable performance .
The Military Band performed particularly well , bringing colour and a little pomp to the night . The Drumline followed on with a staff member ’ s composition ,
20 Great Scot Issue 172 – Edition 2 2024