the wellington college year book 2010/2011
62
why they were named European Champions
of a cappella three times running. The Spring
Concert took Wellington musicianship to new
heights with performances by the Symphony
Orchestra, Camerata, Brass Ensemble,
Percussion Ensemble and Clarinet Choir. The
Jazz Concert dazzled with a wealth of musical
talent, with all proceeds going towards the
Crowthorne Community Minibus.
The very first Inter-House Dance
Competition was a smash hit. With contributions from all seventeen houses, it looks
as though the future of dance at Wellington
College is assured. There is nothing better to
see Wellingtonians putting heart and soul into
a new venture.
The irrepressible Director of Drama Sarah
Spencer put on a mesmerising performance of
the classic musical Guys and Dolls aided and
abetted by the assistant Director of Music
Xavier Iles. The boat truly rocked with some
of the best musical performances witnessed
at Wellington. Henry V, performed in the
round in Old Gym, was a truly unique and
original interpretation of the Shakespeare
classic. Set in the context of an England v.
France rugby match, the intense pupil and staff
performances matched the fast, action packed
pace. With sterling directorial work by Nicky
Allpress, the production will live for a long
time in everyone’s memories.
The Summer Arts programme was simply
astonishing in its ambition to put on the very
best Arts Festival in Southeast England, but
more of that later …
The Third Form play Totally over you was an
ambitious production, reflecting the zeitgeist
of a celebrity obsessed culture and the pitfalls
of instant fame. With a cast of over sixty
pupils, it showcased the unique talents of our
Third Form pupils. Oliver !, a collaboration
between both Wellington College and
Wellington Academy, saw both schools join
forces in this truly unique venture which ran
over four nights: two at the College and two
at the Academy. No one could fail to be
moved by the performances of all pupils, who
worked so well together on the first of many
collaborations between our two schools. We
have the triumvirate of Pandy Dean, Simon
the wellington college year book 2010/2011
Williamson and Sarah Spencer to thank for
this really spellbinding production.
With master classes by members of the
London Mozart Players and Remus Azoitei,
along with the beautiful Summer Concert, the
Music department excelled in delighting all
audiences this term. Nowhere was this more
obvious than in The Montgomery, the flagship
competition, won this year by Kay Salomon
whose virtuoso perfomance will live long in
the memory.
The Art School Speech Day exhibitions
were a heady mixture of traditional media
mixed with cutting edge textiles, film and
video. It’s always great to see pupils really
pushing themselves beyond their limits.
Rebecca Hossack was responsible for
introducing Aboriginal Art to the uk in the
1980s and we were truly lucky to listen to her
lecture: ‘From Dreamtime to Machine Time’,
about the origins of Aboriginal art and how
it is inextricably linked to a culture dating
back fifty thousand years. Rebecca engaged,
enlightened and inspired a full Theatre of Third
and Fourth Form pupils. Laurence Hedges
63
Artsfest Parade
artsfest
CarolineVan Arwegen: mixed media
I
have never worked at a
school so remarkable in its
scale of ambition. I can think
of no better example of this
than Wellington College’s
fourth annual Arts Festival. Taking place in
late June, this was a truly extraordinary four
day event. The ‘Magic Circus’ theme set out
to delight, engage and educate everyone who
got involved.
Kicking off with the ArtsFest parade,
masterminded by the wonderful Hannah
Gomersall, seventeen houses had to choose
a carnival ‘theme’.
Led by irrepressible
percussionist Jonti Finn and a hastily put
together Samba band comprising of both
Edgbarrow and Wellington pupils, this most
extraordinary of sights saw all of our pupils
begin parading from the Festival Circus tent
all the way up to Great Gate, snaking around
to South Front where the Arts Festival was
opened in the marquee on South Front by
acclaimed broadcaster Katie Derham. With
the ArtsFest officially open, there followed
four days of workshops including ice-cream
making, circus skills, ballet, street dance,
comedy, pottery, poetry, lantern-making,
sweet-making, fashion design and a whole host
of other enticing skills based arts workshops,
courtesy of our own talented staff as well as
externally run activities.
ArtsFest fringe events included, among
other delights: an ‘Open Mic’ session in
Prince’s Quad, an ‘Art Attack’ huge canvas,
a Sixth Form Comedy Revue and a ‘Human
Beatbox’ session in the Auchinlek Room. The
erratic weather couldn’t dampen sprits during
this most magical of weeks !
The ‘Have to Dance’ competition final was a
feast of dance with luminaries Twist and Pulse
and Turbo, among others. With an audience
of nearly a thousand, this extraordinary dance
show got the week started with a ‘bang’ and
set the tone for what turned out to be an
action packed week. Oscar nominee Gregg
Helvey screened his mesmerising, moving
film Kavi, about dignity in the face of extreme
adversity. Gregg was incredibly generous with
his time, running a well received Director
Master Class workshop which included his
experiences of the Oscars, Hollywood and
how to raise funds for making independent
films. During the ArtsFest week, there were
back-to-back screenings of a whole range of
films including Catfish, Breakfast at Tiffany’s,
The Social Network, Moulin Rouge and the
iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Visual Arts hit an all time high with
the extraordinary Psi Girls installation by
acclaimed artist Susan Hiller. Psi Girls, created
in 1999, comprised of five floor-to-ceiling
projections which engulfed the viewer in
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