Sunday 25th October

We met bright and early on Ivry Street, ready for the journey down to Salisbury.  All was very well, and we checked into our lovely rooms in Sarum College mid-afternoon.  The keenest members of the tour (myself included) went to hear evensong being sung by another visiting choir.  I was struck by how little sound travelled down the nave; both of the choir and of the organ.  Still, at a weekday evensong most congregation sit in the quire, so it wouldn’t be too much of a problem for us.  We finished the evening with a warm-up rehearsal in the Cathedral, before heading back to the College Chapel to do some more singing.  A successful start, and everybody was looking forward to what promised to be an excellent tour.

Monday 26th October

This day began with another rehearsal in the lovely Sarum College chapel, which houses a small 2 manual pipe organ.  We ran through the day’s evensong music and heavily rehearsed Ben Parry’s new anthem, Heaven, as well, which was to be premièred the next day in the Cathedral.  Once this was finished, we had free time in Salisbury.  We (the Sixth Form music prefects) spent this time looking for staff gifts (organised or what?!) and having a lovely lunch in the Cathedral grounds.

At 3:30pm we gathered once more in the College chapel, robed up and processed to the Cathedral.  The rehearsal seemed to be successful, the choir quickly adapting to the acoustic, and a good sound was being made.  The music for evensong was Stanford in A canticles and the school’s previous commission, Laudate Dominum by Dabrinka Tabakova.  All went well in the service, apart from the Precentor announcing that the anthem would be in Latin, when it was in English, due to him not having a copy.  But if that’s all you can pick holes in, it is a pretty good service!

Rehearsal that night was cancelled, and instead I went to see Disney Pixar’s new gem of a film, Up!, in 3D.  It was fantastically heart-warming, and it improved my somewhat melancholy mood.

Tuesday 27th October

Again this day began with rehearsal in the college chapel, but today’s was shorter, as we were out on the road.  Firstly we visited Cholderton Church, where the roof had allegedly come from Ipswich School’s Great School.  However, when Mr Leach announced this fact to us in the church, their churchwarden stopped him: “You don’t know that!  All we know is that it came from Ipswich…”.  Still, Dr Blatchly believes it and that’s good enough for me.  We sang John Taverner’s O Wilhelme Pastor Bone there, and then a smaller group sang Thomas Tallis’ O nata lux.  Both sounded lovely in the church’s acoustic.  From there we headed to Longleat Safari Park.  I must admit that the trip round the safari park was a bit of a disappointment, as all the animals appeared to be afraid of our coach!  There was, however, a very inquisitive Tiger!  After that leisure interlude, it was back to Salisbury and to Sarum College to robe up for the day’s evensong, and this was a very important service.  Not only would Herbert Howells’ lovely Collegium Regale evening service be sung, but a new anthem by Old Ipswichian Ben Parry, Heaven, would be performed for the first time.  Lindsay Gray, director of the Royal School of Church Music, which is based in Sarum College, was in attendance for the service and I’m pleased to say that all went well.  Ben Parry’s stunning anthem resounded beautifully around the Cathedral, and I will never tire of singing any of Howells’ settings of the evening canticles.

The highly successful service was followed up by a rehearsal back in Sarum College chapel for the next day’s music that wasn’t quite so successful…  Yes, I took it, and the Mozart mass eventually began to fall into place for the next day.

Wednesday 28th October

Another rehearsal began this day, before we headed over to the Cathedral for a lunchtime concert.  We were not allowed to use the organ, because it would interfere with the tours of the cathedral, but we had access to the piano.  It was all a little shambolic at the beginning, with Mr Stansbury and my mother having to distribute programmes to the already seated audience (!), but the first item, another performance of my anthem, This Lowly Ground, went well.  However, my performance on the French Horn was somewhat less of a success.  I missed my entry coming in, and we had to start again.  Oh dear.  Things improved for the final choral items, spirituals arranged by Andrew Leach and the audience left happy.  I was still pretty embarrassed though, truth be told…  We then traipsed round the cathedral under the watchful eye of a tour guide, although in fairness our guide was very good.  The highlight, though, was him informing us that the organ had a 33′ pedal stop and that he had done the conversion from metres to feet himself…  Once that was done, it was a quick robe in the song school and rehearsal for that evening’s Sung Eucharist for the saints’ day of St Simon and St Jude.  We sang Mozart’s Mass in D minor and Bullock’s Give us the wings of faith, neither of which I particularly rate, but they seemed to go well nonetheless.

Back to Sarum College once more, and after a quick rehearsal it was time for the tour talent contest.  I didn’t enter, as I have no talent, but several others did (some of them didn’t have any talent either…).  Stand out for me was George with his fantastic political impressions, but some allegedly comedic song that I didn’t get at all won.  Never mind, it was still a way to pass the time (and Mark’s Simon Cowell impression was top notch too).

Thursday 29th October

This was a very important day: I was to be accompanying evensong that afternoon – the first time that I had played for a complete choral evensong service in any cathedral.  After breakfast, I headed over with Mr Saunders to set up the registrations needed for the service and have a bit of a practice.  There was little time for that, as very soon afterwards we dashed back to get a lift with Mr Galbraith to Arundel, where we were to be giving a lunchtime concert.  Arundel RC Cathedral is a truly picturesque building, with a stunning acoustic.  Our concert appeared to be a resounding (see what I did there?!) success, the highlight being the second performance of Ben Parry’s anthem.  I think it went even better than before.  After having lunch on the grounds of the cathedral, it was time to race back to Salisbury, once again in Mr Galbraith’s car, so I could have an hour or so’s time on the organ prior to the service.  The choir came in at 4:00pm, and there was an hour long rehearsal.  The music for evensong was Philip Moore’s Third Service and S S Wesley’s Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace.  After all this music, the psalm and the responses had been polished satisfactorily, Mr Saunders (conductor for this service) decided to have a look at the psalm and hymns for the next day.  Sightreading those in a cathedral was incredibly nerve-wracking!  The service itself appeared to be successful, and I really enjoyed myself.  Many thanks to all for this fantastic opportunity.

We followed up the service with a night-time Ghost Walk through the streets of Salisbury, and I must say that I found the majority of the stories complete and utter tosh!  It was still very entertaining, however.  The tour was flying by – only one day left.

Friday 30th October

The final day of the tour, and we began by tidying our rooms and loading up all our stuff onto the coach.  It was then time to head for Winchester for another lunchtime concert.  Winchester is a place that I hold in very high regard: we were resident choir there in 2007 and I have many happy memories of the cathedral and the town.  It was great to be back.  After a brief bit of spare time (spent by visiting Shake Away with Dave), we returned for a rehearsal.  It was all going very well and returning to Winchester had given the choir a very noticeable lift (or maybe that was just me).  The concert was a huge success, beginning with Dobrinka Tabakova’s Praise, before a selection of solos from Mr Saunders, Katie, Imogen and Pheobe singing a duet and myself on the organ.  My performance on Boëllmann’s Toccata from Suite Gothique was the best I have ever played it, and I found the organ at Winchester incredibly easy to just play.  The whole choir then sang James Macmillan’s excellent anthem A new song and This Lowly Ground once more.  The concert ended with our final performance of Ben Parry’s Heaven on the tour, and it was another splendid performance.  A truly excellent concert, and my favourite concert from the tour.  I do love Winchester.  Soon it was time to head back on the coach to Salisbury ready for our final service.  This was an evensong in aid of Amnesty International and we were to be singing Howells’ Gloucester Service, Tallis’  O nata lux and the aforementioned Macmillan anthem A new song.  Although not as many people attended as I thought might, we sang very well and the service was again very successful.

It was a brilliant tour, one of the best I have been on.  Many thanks to all members of staff, Messers Stansbury, Galbraith, Parry and Crowe and Mrs Steensma.  But most of all we have to thank our organist Mr William Saunders and our fabulous conductor Mr Andrew Leach.  Thank you for all the opportunities over the years, and it was a great tour to bow out on.

We began the morning by walking in the driving rain (the heaviest rain that I saw in 2009, easily) to St James’ Station where we were supposed to be meeting a family friend.  However, all the trains from Hoylake were cancelled (the best laid plans go awry!), so we ended up having breakfast in a nearby Pret a Manger.  We then got a taxi to the Cathedral (due to the terrible weather), before looking around Britain’s most modern and biggest cathedral.  The taxi driver also delivered Beatles tours and when he discovered why I was in Liverpool, he told me various interesting facts about the cathedral.  For example, Paul McCartney has had a classical work premièred there, and a large amount of the Cathedral’s stone came from a quarry behind John Lennon’s house.  (Yes, all his facts were Beatles-related…)

After our look-around, it was time to meet the Organist Titulaire, Professor Ian Tracey.  My mother wrote to Professor Tracey (without my consent!!) in the summer to ask if it was possible for him to show me the organ.  He very kindly agreed to do this, so he told me about Britain’s biggest organ, showed me round it, and even allowed me to play a piece or two on it.  I am incredibly grateful to Professor Tracey for allowing me to do this, and it really enhanced my day.  By this time, our family friend had made her own way to the Cathedral by car, and we all had lunch at the Cathedral with another friend who is currently studying at Liverpool University.

Immediately after this, I could hear the rehearsal for the afternoon’s service beginning.  Singing the service were St Albans School Choir and King Edward’s College Choir from Liverpool.  Mr Mick Stout from St Albans was conducting the service, with Professor Tracey playing the organ.  The rehearsal sounded very impressive and the massed choir were doing incredibly well to sing together for the first time in the massive Cathedral acoustic.  I met the other winner of the competition, James Day, and we both did interviews for local television news.  I then bumped into my headmaster, Mr Galbraith and it was soon time for the service.

This service, the centrepiece of the 2009 Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, was attended by headteachers from all of the HMC schools.  There were several hymns, readings and a sermon from the former Bishop of St Albans.  James’ excellent introit, The Church Porch, began the service, and my anthem came after the second reading.  A recording of its performance can be heard on the Lowly Ground page of this website.  The service was a resounding success, and the performance of Vaughan Williams’ The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune (All people that on Earth do dwell) sent shivers up my spine with some truly excellent trumpet playing, as did the closing performance of John Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You.

I would personally like to thank the HMC for this incredible opportunity, Mr Stout, Professor Tracey and all the singers for giving such an excellent performance, and all those at the Cathedral.  It was an incredible experience, one that I will never forget.  Thank you all.

1. Funky Town

This is the title track, and I’m of the personal opinion that the title track shouldn’t be the first on the CD (but, hey, I was outvoted on the issue and, to be fair, it is a good opening).  There’s something a little odd about the first note – it doesn’t quite start together, but apart from that the track is brilliantly played and mixed.  I like the way that the synth line is brought out right from the start (even though I don’t think I played it then!!) and the saxophone and trumpet figures are all bang in time.  A few very minor blemishes, but that’s to be expected from a band of this level.  All the solos are excellent (coming this time from Laura, Ashwin, Jim, Dave and Sam), and I just love the “Funky Town” drum fill, which leads into the coda.  All in all, a very solid start to the CD and a track to hook the listener in, as some of the later tracks aren’t as well known as this song.

2. A Night in Tunisia

I can’t remember if this was done to a click, but some of the rhythms seem a touch out of kilter between the saxes and the trumpets, only a touch, mind.  The intro is very well mixed with the piano and bass providing the bassline, with excellently played guitar chords laid over the top.  The solos are once again top notch, with the backing figures perfectly together, no mean feat with so many off-beats!  The ending works after many, many takes, although there’s still one small indiscretion between the bass and the saxes, but that’s very much nitpicking!

3. A Child is Born

Ah yes, my track – how embarrassing.  This track was meant to originally feature a trumpet solo from Tom Craggs-Ward, but unfortunately he only had limited studio time as he was involved with a school play that week, and the take that we took when he played the solo didn’t go too well.  So, the decision was made for me to record the solo on the French Horn, over the top of my piano solo which begins the piece.  The rhythm section returned to the studio on a Wednesday afternoon/evening to overdub several things, of which this piece was one.  I rerecorded the piano introduction on the acoustic piano – it did, however, have a noisy pedal – see if you can spot it (they have done a very good job of masking it!).  After some overdubbing of percussion parts (for a variety of tracks on the album), it was time to record the French Horn solo.  Trouble was, it was originally written for a trumpet’s range, so it lay either very high or rather low on my register – I opted for rather low.  It was also quite late by then (around 10:00pm), and it was a very hot, dry day in the studio.  I played like a drain, and the tuning was strangely off too.  That’s when we realised that some of the original trumpet solo had “bled” through onto the drum mikes (despite them being in a supposedly sound-proof booth).  Only one solution – rerecord the drums.  This proved rather harder than anticipated – we were all completely shattered by now, and it took several takes to get it to perfection.  So, 10:45pm, back in the studio to record the horn solo – hardly ideal.  It seems to have come out OK, although parts are a little forced in tone.  It was quite an effort though!  The rest of the track is fine, and is a nice interlude from some of the pulsating tracks on the album.

4. The Chicken

This is, in my opinion, one of the best tracks on the album.  Everything is really tight and the solos are electric.  It is also mixed really well too, helped by incredibly tight bass and drum playing.  The solos are excellent, provided here by Ben, Adam and Sam on the bass.  The bass solo is incredible, toeing the line perfectly between structure and virtuosity, ably assisted by Sam on the drums.  Perfection.

5. Soul Bossa Nova

There’s a nice acciaccatura in the intro by the trombones (what do you mean it was a split note?), before the piano solo is impressively in time.  I seem to recall this being recorded with a click, and this shows, seeing as we don’t speed up as we have on the other live recordings I have of this.  The solos are great (from Emma, Ashwin and Jim) and the ending is very tight too.  Another success, a track which will be popular to the general punter.

6. The Look of Love

This is the track where I lost the part 3 years ago, so it’s somewhat embarrassing that the piano is so high in the mix, given that I made it all up!  Away from myself, there seems to be some sort of filter over Charlotte’s voice (a bit like Cher’s Believe although not quite on that scale).  Still, it’s a fantastic vocal performance (and it should be stressed that this filter was something put on during mixing, rather than Charlotte herself – the original recording was by all accounts fantastic).  Ben’s sax solo in the middle is also very supportive and the backing figures are nicely in time too. Perhaps a touch too quick for my liking, but another very solid track, with a top-notch vocal line.  The ending works too (it took enough takes!).

7. Gonna Fly Now

The introduction to this track contains perhaps my favourite second of the CD.  Following the second phrase, Sam’s djembe fill goes across the stereo field from left to right – fab!  The keyboards are nicely high in the mix, too, so that gets my vote!  Sax solos are fantastic, but I’m not perfectly happy with the synth lead sound – it’s my fault, but it’s a touch too tremblo-ey.  Drum solo is fab from Tom (love the subdivision in the final two beats!), before the closing of the track.  The sax figures are perfectly together behind the trumpet solo – no mean feat.  This will be a favourite for many, I predict, as it is a very good recording of a popular concert track.

8. Mas Que Nada

The style switches to Latin, as the tempo remains impressively steady throughout this track, credit to Sam on the drums here.  The rhythms are once again very tight and the ending is all right (after (bass) Sam had to rerecord it due to playing the wrong note!).

9. Don’t Know Why

This more subdued track provides a break from the more up-tempo stuff, and Charlotte once again delivers a dazzling vocal performance.  There are still elements of the aforementioned filter, but this track seems to be more faithful to the original recording (pre-mixing), than The Look of Love.  I am very impressed with the mixing – rhythm section elements are brought out perfectly, with saxes and trumpets nicely in the background.  I think this might speed up a bit, but I could be wrong.  Another excellent track.

10. Children of Sanchez

The infamous percussion opening gives way to the sounds of a “Cathedral Organ” (at the request of Mr D Leach, might I add!) and saxes/trumpets.  This is another very tight track, although there are some elements of speeding up.  Good dynamic contrasts, also.  There’s something a bit odd about the phrase around 1:48 in.  I am playing the semiquaver as an upbeat, whereas the saxes/trombones are playing it on the beat (or it’s been mixed like that).  Perhaps I’m wrong.  The “hey!” has come out well, at least.  The organ solo is a little embarrassing (spot the Bach quotes, everybody!), before Adam delivers an excellent trombone solo, which is followed by Ben on the tenor sax.  Dave completes the solo set, before the return to the main theme and the closing of the piece with Sam’s tam-tam solo.  Brilliant – another excellent track, although not quite as tight as some others on the CD.

11. Moanin’

Almost there!  This is the Hammond Organ feature track, and for the first time I actually played it on a real Hammond!  It was an excellent experience going back in on a Friday morning in the summer holidays to record it, and it seems to have come across quite well, although there are one or two cringeworthy moments.  I felt that I was really pushed out of my comfort zone, which made for a better solo – it was unlike anything I’d ever done before.  There is good dynamic contrast in the later sections, and I like the ending too – a good track.

12. Watermelon Man

The ever-popular Herbie Hancock classic follows, and this contains possibly the best collection of solos on the album.  There is a funny note in the trombones which clashes with the piano (if you listen carefully), but it could well be deliberate.  Another well-mixed track, with the piano up when it should be.  Ben kicks off the solo section with a gem of a sax solo, before band director Paul Shepherd takes centre stage with another top solo.  Dave concludes with an excellent guitar solo.  I am also very impressed with how the backing figures sound – due to both fine playing and mixing.  Sam’s drum solo is captured fantastically, which turns a great live solo into a fantastic recording one too.  A fine penultimate track.

13. Beat It

While Strike up the Band ended with Beating the Skins, Funky Town ends with Beat It, arranged by Dave.  Trivia fact: we were recording this while Michael Jackson died on 25th June 2009.  Wow!  The fantastic guitar solo is a fitting end to the album, and Dave deserves credit for a top arrangement.  A superb finale!

General comments

This CD is undoubtedly a triumph.  The Big Band of 2009 deserved it as many members have now departed.  All will be missed, and this CD is a fitting end to it all.  Credit too to the school for funding the CD and giving us all the experience.  I, for one, loved it, and it is actually one of my highlights of the last academic year.  I am glad that it turned out so well.  Thanks to Mr Saunders for organising the project, and supervising us on the two main recording days.  There are two men who put tremendous time into the CD – Paul Shepherd, our director, did a fantastic job leading the recording sessions, and also producing and mixing the album.  Thanks also go to Pat Grueber at Gemini Studios, where we recorded the album.  It was brilliant to work with him, and he has done a marvellous job on this CD.  Thank you all, I shall look back on this CD in the years to come with genuine fondness and happy memories.

Funky Town is priced at £12 and available to purchase from the Ipswich School Music Department.

Prior to this summer, I had attended three Oundle for Organists Get Ahead days in London and the one in Ipswich in March 2008. I chose to attend the Prospective Organ Scholars’ course in July, to experience firsthand the life of an Oxbridge organ scholar. This year the course was based in Oxford, with accommodation at The Queen’s College.

Each day we had an ‘organ lesson’ in our groups, enabling us to receive expert advice on pieces that we were currently working on. Each session was themed; the first day of the course was ‘Bach’ (in my case, at Merton with William Whitehead), the second ‘Romantic’ (at Exeter with James Parsons), the third ‘Modern’ (at St John’s with Timothy Byram-Wigfield) and the final day ‘Own Choice’ (at St John’s with Erwan le Prado). I found all the teaching illuminating and instructive; I certainly aim to use the suggestions and guidance to further my playing.

In addition to these ‘Repertoire’ sessions, we also had tuition in ‘Musicianship Skills’. These consisted of harmonisation (at Balliol with William Whitehead), score reading (at University with Katharine Pardee), sight reading (at Jesus with Sarah MacDonald) and transposition (at Queen’s with James Lloyd Thomas). At the end of the week we were assessed on these skills and given a mark out of ten, with a written report on how to improve further.

There was also plenty of opportunity for individual rehearsal. There were two evenings in which all course members had a twenty-minute slot on a college organ; mine were at Brasenose and Exeter. In addition to this, there was a room full of digital pianos with headphones for private practice. I found this very useful for working out fingering and also ‘note-bashing’ the choral repertoire.

We had a very full choral programme, starting on the first night with Compline in The Queen’s College Chapel, where the anthem was Tallis’ If ye love me. All of the singing, conducting and accompanying was provided by students on the course; the sheer volume of music meant that there were plenty of opportunities for everyone to participate. The following evening, I conducted Smith’s Responses as part of Evensong in Magdalen College Chapel. We also sang Weelkes’ Short Service, Batten’s O Sing Joyfully and Bullock’s Give us the Wings of Faith. On the third night of the course we sung Compline in Merton College Chapel, where we premièred a new anthem by Thomas Neal: Te lucis ante terminum. Evensong in Hertford College Chapel on Friday included Noble’s Service in B minor and Howells’ My eyes for beauty pine. Our final Evensong, concluding the course, took place in Exeter College Chapel, where the setting of the Canticles was Howells’ Collegium Regale and the anthem was Let the people praise thee O God by William Mathias. I accompanied the Nunc Dimittis on the fantastic organ, designed by David Sanger and built by J.W. Walker in the style of Cavaillé-Coll.

On the penultimate night of the course, there was a Presentation Recital in Christ Church Cathedral featuring those taking part in the Oxford and Cambridge Organ Trials this year. Since I am planning to apply next year, I instead played in an Assessment Recital in St John’s College Chapel, overseen by David Sanger and William Whitehead. Earlier in the week, David Sanger himself gave a spellbinding recital on the organ of Exeter College Chapel, on the theme of French Romantic music. Erwan le Prado (professor of organ at Caen Conservatoire) also gave a recital on the very different organ of St John’s College Chapel. His programme included early French music, Buxtehude and Bach.

At the end of the course, immediately prior to the final Evensong, ‘prizes’ of books, magazines, printed music and recitals were given out. I was very pleased to receive not only a book and online study guide entitled A History of Western Music, but also a recital award. I would like to thank the Suffolk Organists’ Association for their generous donation towards my fees for this extremely beneficial course.  Many thanks also to all the tutors and pastoral staff, especially James Parsons who has done so much for us all over the years.

Let me take you back 6 years to March 2003.  I was a young French horn player, still attending primary school and had been invited along to the South Suffolk Youth Concert Band by Sue Taylor.  Upon arrival, I met Tim and Frances for the first time, the horn section of the Band.  From then onwards we have always been the South Suffolk horn section.  We were disbanded for a time, as Frances moved up to the orchestra in September 2003, and Tim followed her a year later.  I “depped” at concerts a few times, before my full time arrival in January 2006.  The SSYO horn section was born.  We are all at a similar standard (all passed grade 8 with distinction), and get on very well.  There have been many in-jokes (Holton horn for the wind band!, mouth-piece dropping), laughs (transposition mix-ups in my first rehearsal for example) and some excellent playing.  For three and a half years this section was perhaps the strongest in the orchestra, and I greatly enjoyed my Friday evenings.  In September 2009 Tim and Frances will both move onto University, so the concert on 3rd July was to be our last together.

Proceedings began with Sibelius’ Finlandia Overture, fittingly including a big horn part.  The second piece of the first half was the first movement of Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, conducted by Mrs Appleton in her final performance with the orchestra – it’s been excellent working with her.  Now is also a good time to say thanks to Mr Appleton for coming to play Fourth Horn in so many of our concerts.  After the interval, it was the main piece – Matthew Curtis’ Paths to Urbino Suite.  I really liked this, as it was so much fun to play, and so exposed.  I was lucky enough to be playing first in this and there were many solos.  None of them went too badly either, which was nice.  This was an excellent way for the horn section to bow out.  It seems strange to think that when I return to SSYO, it will be just me on the horn.  I’ve had such a good time over the last 6 years, and much of that it due to Tim and Frances – many thanks and best of luck for the future.  The end of an era.

On first were the Intermediate Orchestra, playing a variety of Kaleidoscope arrangements of well known popular songs (and a shocking arrangement of Pomp and Circumstance marches 1 and 4 fused together!).  Can you feel the love tonight? and Deeper shade of pale were the other numbers, and it got the Soiree off to a fine start.  This was followed by the Symphony Orchestra, which I was conducting.  We began with William Mathias’ Processional before a medley of ABBA songs.  It all went fairly well, given the lack of rehearsal time due to exams.  Following this was the new school Brass Ensemble, playing a selection of movements from La Danserie.  Once again, this was an an excellent performance, especially given that the ensemble had only started rehearsing this year.  The Chamber Orchestra performed next, with Mr Leach at the helm, before the Flute Ensemble played Bohemian Rhapsody.  This wasn’t my favourite item – don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the Flute Ensemble playing baroque/classical music originally written for flutes, but on this occasion Queen just didn’t work.  School Choir sang the Teddy Bears’ Picnic and  Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.  The Rock Band sang a few songs, before the Big Band finished off the evening.

It was an excellent night to be part of, helped by the weather (for a change!).  Let’s hope that next year is as pleasant, as our last.

The following day was the turn of Composition and Ensembles.  Composition was a very full class this year, with a tough decision to be made by the adjudicator.  It could have gone to any of the competitiors, and I was very impressed, in particular, with Oli’s Toccata on a French Theme, Sebastian’s Five Short Pieces and Sam’s Milton’s Lullaby.  In the end Sebastian was named as the winner, another worthy choice.  The Ensembles was great fun to be part of, as Sam and I played a two-piano arrangement of Bernstein’s West Side Story: Symphonic Dances.  Although I felt that it went very well, the prize went to the Saxophone Ensemble, for the second year running, with Irving Berlin’s Let’s Face the Music and Dance.  It was great to see the joy on director Don Jenkins’ face.

The next class took place on Friday, Woodwind and Percussion.  I was not in attendance that night, but Sam won Advanced Percussion with an excellent vibraphone piece, whilst Laura gave a winning performance on the Saxophone for Advanced Woodwind.

Monday 2nd March was the date of the first competition that I was entering seriously, the Organ class.  I competed with Phil and Oli, and all of us gave a good performance.  In the end, I was given the cup, but it really could have gone to anybody.  Prior to that class in the Chapel, Grace had won Advanced Strings in Great School.

The following day saw the Brass and Singing Competitions, and I was competing with Mark and Adam in Advanced Brass.  The adjudicator had already made it clear in his comments in the Intermediate Brass competition that he felt that brass instruments should give a singing tone.  This meant that Adam was instantly at a disadvantage, as he was performing a lively jazz number.  This was the performance of the class, but I felt that, due to the previous comments, this style of piece was unlikely to win.  Mark was up next, and he performed Sandström’s Sång til Lotta exquisitely.  I was sure, even before I performed that this was the winning performance, with plenty of singing tone as the adjudicator had requested.  I then performed, and played appallingly, at the end of every phrase notes failed to speak, and my top C completely dried up at the end.  I was very close to storming out of Great School, but luckily I didn’t, as the adjudicator opted to give me the Advanced Brass Cup.  I think that Mark should perhaps have won, and Adam gave a great performance too, but was disadvantaged by the adjudicator’s preferences.  Next year’s competition should be excellent.  Following this, both Advanced Singing classes featured performances of the highest calibre.  All the performers in the Classical section could have won, but the cup deservedly went to Ellie for an absolutely stunning performance – well deserved against stiff competition.  Imogen won the Light cup, for her show-stealing performance of a fantastic song.

So there we have it – the Music Competition of 2009.  The Winners’ Concert showed just how well represented the competitions were this year, and there were some great talking points, with sometimes the unexpected winning.  2010 has a lot to live up to!

This was an excellent tour, very well organised with plenty to see and do, and magnificent venues to sing in.  There were also, however, some amazing stories from this tour, which I hope to relay here!

Wednesday 18th February

We spent this day travelling, and it was very smooth.  We left from the Crown Street layby at 8:45am, arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 at around 12:00pm.  After check-in and security we had some time to roam the shops, before getting on our flight, which departed at 2:40pm.  The flight was a success, and we touched down after 2 hours or so in the air.  After a quick drive to our hotel, we settled in, and enjoyed an evening meal.  A great introductory day, the real action was to start tomorrow.

Thursday 19th February

After an enjoyable breakfast, we were off to the centre of Rome.  We met Massimo, who had organised much of the tour for us, and acted as an interpreter throughout, which was very useful.  We Choral Scholars carried the robes (a recurring theme of the tour) to the church where the evening concert would be held, All Saints, whilst the boys and some of the adults began sightseeing.  We soon joined them, and it was very special seeing many sights in the flesh, especially the Trevi Fountain (even though Joseph nearly jumped in it!).  After eating ice-cream from “Rome’s best ice-cream shop” (was Keith on commission?), we made our way to All Saints for lunch and an afternoon rehearsal.

It was now that we discovered that the organ did not appear to live up to the great billing it had got on the church’s website.  Although it sounded acceptable, it was not a joy to play, due to the lack of divisional pistons, a crescendo pedal, and many other quirks.  It reminded me of the St John’s organ in Ipswich, due to its slow speaking nature, but Ben Nicholas naturally made it sound like Rome’s best organ.  The singing was going nicely, and we were certainly all “up” for the concert that evening.

We all went to a very nice local cafe for Supper, before having another ice-cream from “Rome’s greatest”.  Straight away, it was back to All Saints to robe, and begin the concert.  This featured a lot of the same repertoire as the Story of Church Music concert, and I felt that it went very well, despite a few logistical things that would need to be ironed out (boys bending down to fiddle with music at the end of the piece whilst applause is given has always got on my nerves).  Particularly of note was the Purcell verse anthem My Beloved Spake.  I think that this was the best performance we gave of it, and congratulations to all of the solo quartet for such an accomplished performance.

After disrobing and transporting robes and music back to the coach, it was a journey back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep, to prepare for the next day.

Friday 20th February

This was the day that we had all been waiting for.  St Peter’s Basilica is a name that resonates with every Christian, whether a Catholic or not, and it would be a fantastic honour to sing mass there.  We began the day with a rehearsal at the Salesianum, before the coach journey to the Vatican, and it was very special to stand in St Peter’s Square.  We had free time, which for the Choral Scholars meant a trip to a local Pizza takeaway and then write some postcards and buy Vatican stamps (moral of the story: never buy stamps from anywhere other than a Post Office, otherwise you may end up with collector’s stamps, useless for posting letters).  We all met up again in the Square, before going up the Tower.  The view from the top was amazing, and it was also very exciting to see the interior of the Basilica from high up.

On our descent, it was straight into robes for our rehearsal.  We were in full flow, when the organist turned up, and instructed us that we were to be singing for another service prior to the Mass.  This involved singing a Plainchant melody to organ accompaniment at various points during complex liturgy.  This was actually a great way of settling nerves, and then it was time for the mass to start.  I was very pleased to have a good view of the organ throughout the service, and see what the organist had to do.  It was mostly accompanying chants in this service, but he was a very lively man, and showed his disapproval when the priest came in on a completely different note to the one he had just been given!  The main mass was chanted by six cantors, and we joined in for the occasional response.  We also sang four anthems on our own, which went very well.  After the service ended, we all met the British Ambassador to the Holy See, who I was very pleased to be introduced to as “Organ Scholar”.  He was very nice, and had many a story to tell.  His name-dropping was fantastic, and he told us that “[he] would have come to [our] concert last night, but [he] was entertaining Mr and Mrs [Gordon] Brown”, and when asked if he ever met the Pope, he answered “I was speaking to him just yesterday”.  It was a real privilege to meet the Ambassador and sing at St Peters, the highlight of the tour, without doubt.

Saturday 21st February

This was the day with the best stories, and the day when the tricky logistics expected of any foriegn tour kicked in.  We were to begin by singing Mass at the church of Sancta Maria Maggiore, highly recommended by the Ambassador the day before.  Upon arrival, we were told that we could no longer rehearse at the time we were given, since there was an extra service taking place.  This facilitated extra sightseeing around the church, and we eventually robed up, ready to sing the Mass without rehearsal.  It went remarkably well considering, the only let down being the electronic organ that was used to accompany the singing.  We were given a great reception, and after the service, we all processed outside to sing Bruckner’s Locus Iste on the church steps.  There was a crowd gathered taking photos of us, and we were famous for three (or so) minutes.  The main priest there was a friend of the Ambassador that we had met the day before, and he was very welcoming.

However, it was now that the logistical problems kicked in.  We were not able to leave the robes at Sancta Maria Magiore, therefore we carried them to the house of the (half-Italian-half-Welsh) Director of Music of the church of Chiesa degli Artisti, where she had kindly agreed to store them.  She had pnumonia, so was unable to attend the concert, and it was very nice to meet her.  It was here, however, where our plans for the evening concert began to disintegrate.  When Dr Nicholas asked her about how to get access to the organ, she replied “Oh, don’t you know?  A few days ago it went ‘poof’ and now it doesn’t work!”, she told us that the best way of getting to the church was by “the number 30 bus, it goes every 30 minutes, and takes about 10 people”.  But in her next sentence, she remembered, “Oh no, it’s a Saturday – the bus doesn’t run!”  We were just about to leave, when she said “the opera recording should be over by the time your concert starts, if not then kick them out!”.  “What about the rehearsal?” Dr Nicholas asked worredly, “Oh never mind, they shouldn’t be too loud, tell them that if they aren’t finished by six that they go, and they cannot use the church again!”.  It was going to be an interesting afternoon.

We then went to another pizza restaurant for lunch, before going into the Colessium.  This was a great site, and we managed to blag our way in as a school group, which was enterprising to say the least.  This building was fascinating to go inside, and it really was very enjoyable.  After our look round, we got the Metro to the nearest stop to Chiesa degli Artisti (four other Choral Scholars had gone to get the robes via taxi).  It transpired that the steps of the church were the meeting place for the “goths” of Rome.  Many were smoking and drinking alcohol on the steps, and we bravely made our way through them to witness an incredible sight.

Ben Nicholas had arrived, and the organ was not able to be fixed.  As a result, he was using an electronic piano on organ sound.  Whilst trying out various volumes and sounds, the opera recording team had come down to tell us that they were recording and we were too loud.  We managed to negotiate a half-hour delay to our rehearsal, and the negotiator then appeared on a balcony with the director of the recording, and had a massive argument.  It looked at one stage as if one was going to throw the other off the gallery!  We began rehearsing anyway, and things were going fine, considering the circumstances.

Before the concert, Dr Nicholas decided that we should perform to the “goths” outside, and try and persuade some to come into the concert.  We sang Bruckner’s Locus Iste again, but this time we had abuse shouted at us, and there was one bloke wondering around with a massive pair of scissors!  This was rather disconcerting, but we emerged in one piece, and thankfully none followed us in and made any noise.  The concert was a success, and we were just in the thick of Bruckner’s Christus Factus Est when the Rock Gig sound testing started up outside!  The concert was still enjoyed by the audience who were there, and we headed back to the hotel on a high note, knowing that we had got through the toughest day with flying colours.

Sunday 22nd February

This was our final day in Rome, and we were determined to make the most of it.  We returned to All Saints to sing a morning Eucharist there (the entire service was in English), and I was playing the organ, as Ben Nicholas had returned to the UK.  The organ was challenging to manage, as I mentioned earlier, but I was used to the slow-speaking action from playing at St John’s in Ipswich, and I soon got used to the tab stops, another feature shared with St John’s.  The rehearsal was going well, but Dr Nicholas spend a great deal of time on the hymns, including saying very disparagingly about Be Still for the Presence of the Lord, “It’s always done by a bloke called Dave, isn’t it!”.  The rehearsal over-ran, and we had the fantastic scenario of the Vicar and Dr Nicholas having the exchange, “It’s time for the service to start,” “Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m the Vicar!”  It meant that the Psalm especially was under rehearsed, but it all seemed to work in the service, and I didn’t make any stupid mistakes, apart from dropping down to the Great too soon in the Sanctus, but that wasn’t noticed by too many people.  I’m not sure whether the Vicar heard Dr Nicholas’ put down of Be Still, or whether it was a happy co-incidence, but he thanked afterwards “Dr Dave Nicholas”, which raised a smile in the choir stalls.

The church provided us with a lunch afterwards, and it was very nice to meet people connected with the church, some of whom had enjoyed my playing.  The Choral Scholars then went off to try and attempt a bit of busking, although we didn’t raise any money, and after one song the Rock Gig sound testing started up again, just like the night before (All Saints and Chiesa degli Artisti were on the same road).  It was then a ride back to the airport, check-in and free time in the terminal and a flight back to the UK.  After traffic problems on the M25, we finally arrived back at Crown Street at around midnight Monday morning, just 8 hours or so before the start of the school half-term.

Many thanks to all who made the Rome trip possible.  It was such an action packed trip, and I could have written so much more here, but I think that 2,100 words is quite enough!  Thanks to Keith for organising the sightseeing, Canon Charles for being  an overriding presence on the tour, Lis for organising music and all the choristers, Alan Way for looking after us Choral Scholars, Ben Nicholas for playing the organs (and electric pianos!) and Massimo for being our interpreter throughout the trip.  But most of all we have to thank Dr Nicholas who led a fantastic tour, my first with the Tower, and it was such an experience.  Thank you, all.

I arrived in the early afternoon for the rehearsal, where I discovered that the programme not only compromised Dvorak 8, but also Mendelssohn’s Die Hebridies overture and Weber’s Clarinet Concerto.  All of these pieces had busy horn parts, especially the Weber where the second movement features a trio between two horns and the clarinet soloist, which would have sounded particularly bare with no Second Horn.  All was sounding good, and I felt very priveliged to be playing with such an excellent orchestra.

There was then a rehearsal for Evensong, and then the service itself.  Ed very kindly arranged with the Director of Music and the Organ Scholar for me to be able to sit in the organ loft for the rehearsal and the service.  Thanks to all concerned for this marvellous opportunity.  It was very exciting to hear such an accomplished choir and see what the organ scholar had to do in terms of accompanying.  This service was mostly very simple music (chanted Canticles), and the rehearsal featured mostly unaccompanied music, but it was still brilliant to be there.  The Director of Music played the hymns and the voluntary at the end of the service, and I can categorically state that it was the best hymn playing I have ever seen!

It was soon time for the concert itself, and there was a great sense of anticipation in the orchestra, not least because Professor Stephen Hawking was meant to be present.  I don’t think he came in the end, because we waited an extra ten minutes for him to arrive, but we started without him present.  Die Hebridies went well, conducted by the Organ Scholar, and it was next time for the Weber.  The clarinet soloist was amazing, and our exposed passage in the second movement went alright, despite some dodgy tuning from me.  The Dvorak was played after the interval, and this was too a great success.  The orchestra really responded to Ed’s conducting and there was magnificent colour there.  This was also the piece with the busiest horn parts, so incredibly fun to play.  Overall, the concert was a great success and I was glad to play a small part in such a fantastic orchestra.  Thanks once again to Ed for asking me to play, and to the Leach family for kindly taking me to and from Cambridge.

Thursday 29th November

This was the School End of Term concert, and it came after a busy day at school.  Because the Chapel Choir have a lot of important of events to work towards there was a rehearsal after school as usual, before food was provided for us in the dining hall.  Then it was a set of hectic rehearsals, starting with Big Band, before Symphony Orchestra and finally Intermediate Orchestra.  I was one of the only people to be in all three, making it very rushed!

The concert went well, and I should thank Tim and Frances, fellow Horns at SSYO, for coming to augment both orchestras.  The Intermediate Orchestra began proceedings with It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and the Dambusters March.  This was followed by the Flute Ensemble and the Saxophone Ensemble.  The Chamber Orchestra played Sentimental Sarabande from Britten’s Simple Symphony, before it was time for the Symphony Orchestra.  We performed an all Tchaikovsky programme, beginning with Marche Slave, before playing the taxing Romeo and Juliet Overture.  We then treated the audience to his Sleeping Beauty Waltz, a favourite from the ballet of the same name.

Next, the Big Band, and we enjoyed performing five numbers.  We began with A Night in Tunisia, featuring a solo from Tom on the trumpet, before Charlotte’s singing solo, Cheek to Cheek.  This was followed by Dangerman, a harpsichord feature, and then Moanin’, which was arranged by Mr Shepherd himself.  Our encore was the ever popular Starsky and Hutch, featuring a solo from Dave on the guitar.  Quote of the night comes from Don Jenkins our former Big Band director and sax teacher.  When asked what he thought, he replied “Big Band was good; rest was a little dodgy!”

Friday 28th November

After one of the worst days of school I will have for a long time, I travelled down to the Corn Exchange for South Suffolk Youth Music’s annual Gala Concert.  I was playing in the South Suffolk Youth Orchestra and depping in the South Suffolk Youth Concert Band.  The Concert Band began the night with Major Murray, a concert march, and we then played a Cats medley (which was one of the first pieces I played when I joined the Band at the age of 11!) and finished with a medley of Big Band music.

The Orchestra finished everything off, beginning with extracts from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.  This was followed by Kenneth Platts’ Music for the Maltings, originally commissioned by Bedfordshire County Music Service for when their Youth Orchestra played at Snape Maltings Concert Hall in the 1980s.  This very nice piece went down well, and we finished with a medley of songs from Les Miserables.  Full marks to Tim for forgetting his music on the night, and full marks to my dad who went to Northgate to pick me up, instead of the Corn Exchange!  It was, however, a very successful occasion, well attended.

Saturday 29th November

You probably noticed that the School Choir did not take part in the School Concert, and that was because we were singing with the Aldeburgh Music Club Choir and Orchestra in a performance of Mozart’s C minor Mass.  I am happy to admit that this was the event of the week I was least looking forward to, but it was an uplifting and exhilirating experience.  It was the first time that I had sang with a truly massed choir and semi-professional orchestra, with an excellent conductor.  We sang Haydn’s Insane et Vane Curae on our own, with Mr Saunders directing.  Edmund Fivet then took over for the Mozart, and it went very well.  It was probably the least comfortable musically I was to be all week (I got lost at least four times!), but it was a fantastic experience and one I hope to be part of again.

Sunday 30th November

This was Advent Sunday, so very busy for any church musician.  I was playing for the Communion service in the morning, which was unaccompanied, so just hymns.  I did, however, have the somewhat bizzare experience of giving notes and then turning around to sing Alto from the organ loft.  I ended up playing for Choral Mattins too, after a mix-up, and this was once again just giving notes.  I then dashed off to St Edmundsbury Cathedral, where I was accompanying a congregational Evensong.  This was just two hymns and two chants for the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, but it was once again a privelige to play for a Cathedral service.  It was then another mad dash down the A14 to get back (albeit slightly late) for the rehearsal for our Advent Carol Service at church.  It was somewhat un(der)rehearsed, but we got through it, and many members of the choir now felt that Christmas had come.  Another fully hectic day!

Monday 1st December

After school I had a long dress rehearsal and photo session for the Senior School play, Blood Brothers, which I was providing music for.  This consisted of photos and a couple of run throughs (there was a different principal cast each night), before going home for the night at around 9:30pm.  I then had to do a long Economics essay, which I got less than 24 hours notice for – great!

Tuesday 2nd December

The first night of Blood Brothers and nerves were running high.  I was pretty relaxed – for me, the most complex part was the song at the start of each half.  The first half was fine, but at the start of the second half, as the house lights dimmed, I realised that I had not turned my light on.  Still, no time for that, so I played the chord at the start of the song.  The singer came in a couple of tones too high – the first time that it had ever happened.  I took the split second decision to transpose up a tone.  So, I had no music anyway, I had no light, and I was completely guessing what chords to use.  In the end it came together, but the first few bars were utter hell.  Only her singing teacher noticed, which was good, but it was incredibly nerve wracking!  The rest was fine in comparison.

Wednesday 3rd December

The second and final night of Blood Brothers, and I was hoping that the song catastrophe would not happen again.  It all was fine, and one of the stars of the show was fellow musician Sam Wilson, playing Eddie.  I was close to tears in the end, and just held it together to play my final bit of music.  It was an excellent production to be invovled in, and no musical ensemble has ever matched the sense of cameradere you get in a drama production.

So there we are, what a week, I was lucky to be involved with so much – thank you to everybody, and here’s to more in 2009!