St Edward's Rhubarb Issue 5_web (2)

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Join the St Edward’s Singers
St Edward’s Singers is a non-auditioned
choir designed specifically for parents,
staff, OSE, neighbours and friends. It
usually meets on Friday evenings and
rehearses in the School Hall for two
concerts a year (October and April) given
in the School Hall or Chapel together
with a professional orchestra and School
choirs. Founded in 2003, programmes
have included Mozart’s Requiem,
Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Verdi’s Requiem,
Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast and
Orff ’s Carmina Burana .
Our next concert on Sunday 16th
October is inspired by Shakespeare and
will feature Walton’s Henry V Suite and
Vaughan Williams' In Windsor Forest.
Rehearsal details are as follows:
Friday 9th September 7.30 – 9.00pm, Hall
Friday 16th September 7.30 – 9.00pm, Hall
Friday 23rd September 7.30 – 9.00pm, Hall
Thursday 29th September 7.30 – 9.00pm, Hall
Friday 7th October 7.30 – 9.00pm, Hall
Friday 14th October 7.30 – 9.00pm, Hall
(Joint rehearsal with Chapel Choir)
Sunday 16th October, Final Rehearsal:
2.30 – 5.30pm Concert 7.30pm, Hall
To find out more, contact
7
Spitfire and a Tornado fighter jet. During
the performance we were staring down
the face of a Lancaster Bomber! It was
particularly special considering the
Dambusters connection with the School;
I was there in 1993 when it was the 50th
anniversary of the raid, and we witnessed
a flyover across the Quad with a Spitfire
and two Lancasters, and we sang a
Commemoration Service. It was the classic
experience of hearing the planes before
you can see them! We also did some
work with the RAF volunteer choir, the
Spitfires, and one of their singers, an Air
Commodore, flew in the Tornado
we were standing alongside during a tour
of Afghanistan.
Aside from singing for the BBC,
you have also appeared several
times as a soloist in concerts with
the St Edward’s Singers, a choir
formed of parents, staff and friends
of the School. How does it feel to
return to sing at your old School,
and which has been your favourite
performance?
I love coming back here to sing. When I
came back I felt like I had never left; the
smell of the curtains in the Hall is still the
same! It is great to see that music here
is still flourishing, not only amongst the
pupils, but also the wider community. I
sang in the Mozart Requiem, and my wife
also sang whilst we were expecting our
second child, so it was nice for her to be a
part of the experience.
When you are not singing, we hear
that you are a keen marathon
runner. Is this beneficial for your
singing? How do you balance
physical training and rehearsals for
concerts?
I feel stronger and healthier with the
training, and I find that when I am singing
well I run better, and vice-versa. The
balance can be difficult, but running allows
me to explore a new city easily when I am
away singing.
Our new Music School is due to
open next year, and we hope you
are able to join us in the opening
celebrations.
Of course, it would be great to put
together a cast of St Edward’s musicians
past and present. There will be much more
space, no more battling for a music room!
F E A T U R E S
ST EDWARD’S r hubarb
St Edward's Singers perform in Chapel
© Will
Webb