14 / 28
14
ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
Gaudy Review
By Neville Creed, Director of Cultural Activities
Gaudy Week 2015 began with excellent
performances given by the leaving
musicians in the splendid surroundings
of the Holywell Music Room in central
Oxford. The leavers entertained us with an
impressive range of music: from Purcell’s
Dido and Aeneas
through Mozart’s
Fantasy
in C minor
to Piazzolla’s
Kicho
and lighter
items by Sondheim and Van Morrison.
Music continued with the newly introduced
Warden’s Recitals providing a showcase for
our finest performers: Aaron Gruen (cello,
Munich International
), Ella Davis (voice,
Kingston Grammar
) and Tom Powell (trumpet,
St Andrew’s, Pangbourne
) representing the
Lower School and Lucienne Young (violin,
Sophie-Barat, Hamburg
), Sammy Virji (cello,
New College
), and James Carter (voice,
Dragon
) represented the Sixth Form.
Drama featured strongly during the week
with the Lower School giving an excellent
account of Terry Pratchett’s
Mort
. Sam
Shuker (
St Hugh’s
), Eleanor Bates (
The
Brigidine
) and Jack Verschoyle (
Lambrook
)
were particularly impressive in their leading
roles and Max Brennan (
Dragon
) wore an
extraordinary costume to deliver his role as
Death. The Sixth Form production,
Love and
Information
, was simply outstanding – see P6
for news of its subsequent run in Edinburgh.
The exhibition spaces were packed with
fine pupil work. The leavers were given the
prime site of the North Wall Art Gallery
and displayed extensive talent through
wide-ranging media. The Art and Design
Departments were resplendent with
the Mixed Years’ Exhibition and both
exhibitions were launched with busy
receptions.
The Dance Showcase was scheduled
for one performance but the demand for
tickets was overwhelming and a second
performance was hastily arranged. In spite of
an exhausting schedule the pupils gave dazzling
performances. The second half consisted of a
wonderful kaleidoscope of dance styles in an
item entitled
Around the World
.
The week closed with another sequence
of musical performances: the Close Harmony
Showcase revealed the extent of singing talent
in pupil-led groups from the Lower School and
Sixth Form. The Gaudy Concert was split into
two. On Thursday evening the Chapel Choirs,
Chamber Choir, Concert Band, Chamber
Orchestra and Orchestra performed a varied
programme. Highlights included Lucienne
Young playing Handel’s
Harp Concerto
, the
choirs and orchestra performing Gabrieli’s
In ecclesiis
, the Chamber Choir amusing the
audience with
Italian Salad
and the Concert
Band expanding its repertoire to include
Glinka’s
Russlan and Ludmilla
. The Friday
evening concert featured a choir of leavers
dressed in rakish hats performing Gilbert
and Sullivan’s
Pirates of Penzance
as well as
excellent jazz items from the Big Band and
Modern Jazz Ensemble.
The week displayed the quantity and
quality of the activities undertaken by
pupils across all year groups and it was a
fitting end to a magnificent year of music,
drama, art, design and dance.
Water
, a GCSE exam piece by Jemima Littlehales
(
Pinewood
)
Celia Hodgson
(Westbourne House)
Celia Hodgson
(Westbourne House)