LIFE as a
Lower School musician
A Year of Jazz
A double-bass player in a turkey hat;
saxophones decked with tinsel and fairy
lights; Mr Rands-Webb in a Santa suit…
Crash into Christmas is everything you could hope for
in a festive jazz concert. Filled with two bands, a sax
quartet, the newly formed Barbershop quartet, choirs
and soloists, it was a fitting conclusion to a busy
Michaelmas term.
I currently play the piano, violin and organ. Over the
course of the year I have been involved in three piano
trios, a piano duet, the Lower School Singers and
Foundation Orchestra. Mrs Ashwell, Mr Heighway and
Mrs Murray take the piano trios, Mr Wey teaches the
duet and Mr Potts is in charge of both Lower School
Singers as well as Foundation Orchestra. All of these
groups I have been in usually rehearse weekly. I have
played in the Music Scholars’ Concert, the Chamber
Concert with a few of my groups, two Lower School
platform concerts in which I have both performed as a
solo and with some of my groups, not to mention the
Fortepiano Showcase in which I played a piano duet.
We have worked on many songs, such as ‘Valerie’ by
Amy Winehouse, ‘Paradise’ by Coldplay, ‘Be our Guest’
from Beauty and the Beast, and a medley of ‘Don’t
Stop Believing’ by Journey and ‘Titanium’ by David
Guetta. In Foundation Orchestra we have worked
on the theme from James Bond as well as the Danse
Macabre by Saint-Saëns. I must here mention how
polished the concert performances have been. Eliza
Ruffle in Year 7, for example, never fails to produce
anything that isn’t jaw-dropping.
Throughout the year, I’ve had many memorable
experiences, my favourites of which include the trip
to the Royal Festival Hall, the opportunity to play on
Other performances I have attended include the
some of the many valuable instruments in the school
Mozart Requiem, which was amazing, as well as when such as the fortepiano, the harpsichord and the organ.
the renowned King’s Singers came to perform with the Last but not least, I’ve really appreciated the great
Lower School Singers, the choir I am part of.
facilities that Sevenoaks has to offer to its musicians.
Lachlan Edwards, Year 7
There was a huge variety of music, from the breathy
‘Santa Baby’ sung by Sevenoaks singOFF winner Inci
Gürün, to the Big Band’s upbeat performance of ‘The
Chicken’. The Senior Girls’ Choir and Voices beautifully
performed carols such as ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Joy to the
World’. The Barbershop quartet, composed of Diego
del Ser, Ben Hancox-Lachman, Peter Westbrooke and
Jacob Robinson, hosted the concert superbly, singing
much-loved Christmas songs such as ‘Jingle Bells’ and
‘Deck the Halls’.
The Jazz Band filled the shoes of the Big Band, playing
five songs, such as ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ and ‘Fly
Me to the Moon’, while two saxophone quartets and
two trios also entertained the audience. George Mylod
gave a brilliant solo performance on the trumpet, and
Grace Hall and Mika Curson performed their piano
and singing duet.
This has been a great year for jazz and we are all
grateful to Mr Beston and the Music department for
the opportunities they provide.
Ethan Phillipson,
Year 9
The other main event of the year was Sevenoaks
Swings, at Easter. I particularly loved watching the
Big Band perform ‘St Louis Blues’ and ‘Feeling Good’,
with brilliant saxophone solos from Will Greig, in his
final concert, and Kai Hayashi on tenor. The Jazz Band
featured saxophone and trumpet solos from William
Gough-Cooper and Ronan Hallinan in Gershwin’s
‘Summertime’. The sax quartet of Philippe Miranthis,
Rosie Sharpe, Kai Hayashi and Oli Lewis were excellent
in their performance of ‘The Entertainer’. Miss Bolton’s
Voices choir sang contemporary tunes such as ‘This is
Me’, from The Greatest Showman, while Mr Palmer’s a
capella ensemble also featured. My favourite highlight
was watching the Big Band’s energetic rendition of the
Batman theme tune.
To bring the year to a close, the Jazz Platform concert
was hosted in June with the audience on the stage of
the Pamoja Hall to create a more relaxed atmosphere.
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MUSIC REVIEW
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2017-2018
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