MUSIC
REPORTS
SWING BAND
REPORT
By the end of the Swing Band tour to
Holland in July 2017, it was time for
the then upper sixth to leave the school
and the band. Having lost so many key
members of the band, this led to a need
for a change in our standard repertoire.
Many of the old classics are still going
strong, such as It Don’t Mean a Thing if
it Ain’t got that Swing, Caravan any many
others, but it was a great opportunity
to learn some new pieces which have
now become solid staples of the new
band. Copacabana, Night Train and Harlem
Nocturne have become firm favourites in
the new set list.
The first opportunity to show off the
new material was at the Autumn
Concert at which the band had the
chance to play the Theme from The
Muppet Show and Night Train, before
closing the show with It Don’t Mean
a Thing. The new pieces were very
well received so work continued on
them. By the time the Spring Concert
came around both Harlem Nocturne and
CONCERT BAND
REPORT straightforward arrangements of pieces
(not necessarily easier, just not so many
parts to worry about!).
This year has proved more challenging
for Concert Band with a number of
key senior players leaving last year.
Nonetheless, a core of experienced
regulars has mentored and guided an
enthusiastic group of younger performers. We started in autumn with a couple of
famous musical theatre numbers: Lloyd
Webber’s Memory from Cats and Irving
Berlin’s Puttin’ on the Ritz. We turned
to popular music for Easter: Louis
Armstrong’s classic What a Wonderful
World and some 80s pop-rock in
Europe’s The Final Countdown.
Consequently, we have enjoyment
and fulfilment in working on more
JUNIOR
ORCHESTRA
REPORT
The new kids on the block, Junior
Orchestra, have slotted into the Monday
lunchtime rehearsal window. A smallish
band of Lower School students has
been making some enthusiastic noise
Copacabana were ready for playing and
were also well received before finishing
the show with an all-time favourite,
Tequila. The band’s final performance
of the year was at Speech Day where we
were joined by two OPs, Rufus Watson
and Fin Henderson, both deputising for
absent members, and it was great to see
familiar faces back in the band.
With more senior students leaving the
school this summer, we wish the new
Swing Band every success in the future.
Harry Heywood
the sublime to the ridiculous, starting
with an arrangement of The March of
the Toreadors from Bizet’s Carmen and
finishing off with a rousing version of
the theme from Family Guy!
It has been a year of rebuilding for the
band, but there is a decent number of
younger players throughout who have
made great strides in their confidence.
We’re looking forward to pushing the
boundaries next year…
Finally, for summer we went from TEWT
and preparing a variety of pieces for
the school concerts. Offerings include
film music (John Willliams’s Star Wars
Theme and Jurassic Park), Beatles songs
(Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Yellow
Submarine), the odd show song (Oom-
Pah-Pah from “Oliver”) and doing our
bit for a patriotic finish in World Cup
year, Land of Hope and Glory - fingers still
crossed at the time of writing! opportunity for young musicians to
find their feet on a relaxed and less
formal platform, developing confidence
and trying to alleviate the anxiety
and tension that often accompany the
concert performances. Our players
have acquitted themselves admirably
and we should be able to rise to greater
challenges next year.
The ensemble has provided a good
TEWT
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
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