MUSIC//
CONCERT BAND
It has been another challenging year
for Concert Band which has relied on a
loyal and dedicated smaller number of
players. It has been, nonetheless, a great
vehicle for developing and building the
confidence of many young regulars.
What I always admire about the band
is how they rise to the concert occasion,
unmoved by the reality that the only
SWING BAND
This has been a year of rebuilding the
swing band. Having lost so many key
members of the band, we have made
significant changes to our repertoire,
and whilst 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 ,
it has a been a good opportunity to
learn some new pieces which have now
become solid staples of the new band.
Happy , One Note Samba and The Hustle
have become firm favourites in the new
set list.
ALEXANDRA
DARIESCU
The 2002-2003 Pocklington-Silvestri
scholar, Alexandra Dariescu has kept a
strong link to school, despite her career
flourishing and her being in demand
internationally as a pianist. Her recent
engagements have seen her take her
own production The Nutcracker and
I – a ground-breaking multimedia
performance for piano solo with dance
and digital animation – on a world
tour, performing across Europe as well
as touring China, Australia and the
Emirates.
When back in the UK in 2019, she has
given special focus to works by female
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THE POCKLINGTONIAN
time the full ensemble gets to play
together is at the concerts, with many
of our instrumentalists having to miss
rehearsals to be involved with sports
fixtures and other events on a Tuesday
afternoon. As ever, we have soldiered
on and found some good pieces from
our repertoire to showcase, starting
with an arrangement of Prelude from
Te Deum by Charpentier and a bit of
G&S in the Overture to The Pirates of
Penzance , keeping it classical for the Spring Concert with In The Hall Of
The Mountain King by Grieg but drifting
to film with Ron Goodwin’s rousing
March from Those Magnificent Men In
Their Flying Machines , and finishing off
in the summer with a Henry Mancini
classic, Baby Elephant Walk !
The first opportunity to show off the
new material was as the Autumn
Concert at which the band had
the chance to play two of the new
arrangements, before closing the show
with one of our favourites, Birdland . for Will Wright, Harry Kneeshaw and
Hamish Broadbent who have served the
band well in their time at Pock, and we
wish them well as they move on to the
university and conservatoire.
By the time the Spring Concert came
around Happy was ready for public
performance, and it was well received
by the audience in the Music School.
Tom Taylor
Speech Day was also MK’s farewell
performance, but we look forward to
welcoming Mr Austin to lead the band
in September.
The band’s final performance of the
year was at Speech Day where we
entertained the gathering parents and
students. This was the final performance
composers, including her debut with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra performing
Nadia Boulanger’s Fantaisie variée
at London’s Barbican, and the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
performing Germaine Tailleferre’s
Ballade for piano and orchestra. It was
therefore a special treat for her to offer
to return once more to Pocklington to
play the same solo piano recital as she
was giving in the Philharmonic Hall,
Liverpool.
Alexandra presented an all-French
recital with works by Debussy,
Messiaen, Faure, Tailleferre and Lili
Boulanger. As always, she captivated
a full Music School, with her playing
and her engaging personality. She
introduces each work, giving an
audience special insights into the music
and stories behind the works. The music
always appears effortless; she makes
Pocklington’s Steinway ‘sing’ like no
one else has ever done, and it is a joy
to see younger members of the audience
mesmerized by her technique, let alone
her musicality.
Following the concert, she gave freely of
her time, signing autographs, posing for
selfies with well-wishers; it is all part of
the unique communicator that she has
become. In her typically magnanimous
way, she thanked the school for what
they had done in starting her on such a
special journey; we are indeed fortunate
to have an OP so willing to give back to
the school.