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Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Bolton School is about so much more than just an education and a
fantastic performance like tonight's brings home what an amazing
place this is! Bolton School is a community and events like this,
involving so many people, show us at our very best. I really don't
know how the pupils and staff have managed to put on such a
wonderful performance, given that it is exam time as well.
Congratulations to everyone involved!
Mrs Gill Richards, Headmistress of Bolton School Girls'
Division, at the culmination of a wonderful evening of
music-making.
The Bolton School "family" had come together for a musical
extravaganza at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Over 650 pupils
from Year 4 through to the Sixth Form from both the Girls' and
Boys' Divisions, members and former members of the teaching staff,
current and ex-governors joined with parents and friends of the
School, who, as a participative audience, played an integral role
in the festival atmosphere of this mid-summer gala event.
Opening the evening, Mr Stephen Martin, Head of Music in the
Boys' Division, congratulated the pupils and staff on working so
hard in their preparation and rehearsals and commended them on
having earned the right to play in such a world-class venue. Mr
Alistair MacKenzie, Head of Music in the Girls' Division, gave
particular praise to Mr Richard Eastham and Mrs Vivienne Carter for
their tireless endeavours in the administration of the concert,
without whose supreme efforts this event could not have taken
place.
In a percussion piece composed especially for the evening by Mr
Ian Forgrieve, percussion teacher, the School's Drum Corps opened
the concert with the rousing Bridgewater Salute! The Joint Concert
Band, which was formed in 2002 and is soon to embark on a tour of
Germany, then took centre stage and inspired everyone with
Highlights from Pirates of the Caribbean (At the World's End) and
Gonna Fly Now (theme from "Rocky").
Mr Jeremy Bleasdale's Massed Guitar Groups (a staggering 65
guitarists playing together) offered lively and, as ever, flawless,
foot-tapping renditions of Livin' la Vida Loca and La Isla Bonita.
Offering a "true picture" of the Bolton School family, the Massed
Choirs - a combination of the Senior and Chamber Choirs of both
divisions, the Girls' Division Middle School Choir, Boys' Division
Year 7 and Year 8 Choirs, staff, governors and parents - produced a
breath-taking sound, conducted by Mrs Vivienne Carter, they
performed Parry's coronation anthem I Was Glad and Cy Coleman's
timeless The Rhythm of Life; over 350 voices rang out across the
magnificent concert hall. Then it was time for more percussion,
with the Joint Percussion Ensemble offering another piece written
especially for the event, Bridgewater Bash.
The end of the first half was upon the audience already and the
Massed Voices of Year 7, directed by Mr Stephen Martin, offered a
rousing medley of songs from the popular musical Grease. Sunglasses
were donned and the audience were soon inextricably involved in
singing and performing the actions - including a hilarious
handjive!
After the interval, Mr Alistair MacKenzie, conducted the Joint
Orchestra in atmospheric performances of Tchaikovsky's moving Scene
from Swan Lake and Verdi's iconic Grand March from his opera Aida.
He then conducted the Chamber Choir, which in recent years has
toured Vienna, Paris and Prague, as they performed a diverse
programme of Cantate Domino by the early Baroque composer Claudio
Monteverdi and Guy Turner's exquisite arrangement of Somewhere Over
the Rainbow.
The Jazz Band, comprising girls and boys, has performed at many
events, including boat launches and fashion shows! Wherever they
appear, they invariably excite and entrance audiences and tonight
there were no exceptions with dynamic performances of Session Samba
and Minnie the Moocher, arranged by Ben Smith of Year 12 with an
inspired vocal performance from Alex Fletcher, also from Year
12.
The dramatic finale involved everyone, including the audience.
In a scene reminiscent of The Last Night of the Proms, Union Jack
flag waving pupils kept time to some roof-raising patriotic
sing-alongs, including Jerusalem, Amazing Grace, Rule Britannia,
Land of Hope and Glory and Auld Lang Syne. The Shree Shwaminarayan
Gadi Pipe Band joined forces with an enormous 130 piece orchestra
made up of boys and girls from both divisions to accompany the sell
out audience, 260 year 7 pupils and the 300 strong choir - a finale
of gargantuan proportions.
The Bridgewater Hall had never seen anything quite like
this!
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