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The History of Music at Havergal
By Trilby Kent, Class of 2001
A
sk any Old Girl about her memories of school and—more
likely than not—music will figure in her reply. From mastering
the melodically unorthodox
Vitai Lampada Tradens
in Prayers,
to learning the jaunty
Forty Years On
for Candlelight, Havergal
students mark their days (and years) to music.
The school’s earliest musical highlights involved excursions to
Massey Hall, where students heard Paderewski and Rachmaninoff
play, and visits from such eminent performers as Ruby Gordon and
the contralto Clara Butt. Old Girls would later recall impressive
harpsichord recitals during the war years by Greta Kraus, a refugee
from Vienna who came to teach at Havergal in 1941. And in 1950,
a production of
Iolanthe
marked the first time a theatrical event was
enhanced by the musical contributions of “excellent male talent”
from brother schools.
However, it was in the 1970s that music at Havergal truly came
of age. When Elisabeth Muir arrived at the school in 1968, there
was just one choir and a piano group. As impressive as the piano
department was, Muir was determined to develop equally strong
Choral and Orchestral programs. A new choir was established and
the first choir trip took place in 1971.
“I organized seven choir tours to Britain, singing in such majestic
places as Westminster Abbey and York Minster,” she recalls. “But, I
was especially proud to resume connections with our sister school,
Cheltenham Ladies’ College (CLC)—Havergal’s founding fathers
had poached Ellen Knox from CLC to be the school’s first Principal
in 1894. In total contrast, we gave concerts in remote Astley, the
hometown of Frances Ridley Havergal.”
Muir’s greatest pride was establishing Havergal’s annual Carol
Service. This event, which usually took place at Havergal, was staged
at Roy Thomson Hall in December 1984 to mark the school’s 90th
anniversary; an event that was repeated in December 1993 for the
centennial celebrations. At the turn of the new millennium, owing
to a dramatic swelling in attendance, Carol Service was relocated
from the Brenda Robson Hall to St. Paul’s Bloor Street church.
In 2016, the event was live-streamed for the first time, making it
possible for Old Girls around the world to share in this perennially
popular tradition.
“The response was excellent,” says Lynn Janes, Havergal’s current
and retiring Head of Music. “So many Old Girls could watch
from their dorm rooms as many were still writing and preparing
Carol Service marking Havergal’s 90th anniversary at Roy Thomson Hall, 1984.
SPRING 2017 •
TORCH
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Traditions