The Chapel Choir and All the King’s Men, ably directed by Gina Sanders, Steven Rapana and Denzel Panama, gave assured performances of several works, accompanied by Paul Chan (organ) and Jack Williamson (Year 13, Averill) on trumpet. These culminated in Chris Artley’s hauntingly beautiful Kyrie, which was accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra, with violin soloist, Reagan Luo (Year 12, Greenbank) and organist, William Wei (Year 12, Peart) playing the brand-new Great Hall organ, generously donated by Old Collegian, Michael Flanagan.
The String Orchestra and Symphony orchestra, directed by Alex Eichelbaum and Chris Artley, gave accomplished performances of Bartok’s Romanian Dances and The William Tell Overture respectively, with fine solo performances from Clement Chan (Year 12, Major) and Marcus Ho (Year 11, Peart). The Concert Band and Premier Concert Band, under the direction of Warren Baas and Alex Eichelbaum, provided some rousing items, including ‘Mambo' from Bernstein’s 'Westside Story' and ‘Mars' from Holst’s ‘The Planets’. The latter virtually raised the roof, with the combined forces of both concerts bands, featuring a large percussion section and the new organ with all stops pulled out! Leo Cui and Danny Cui (Year 9 Selwyn), provided a stunning display of Chinese drumming, which displayed wonderful musicality, combined with stunning choreography.
The final session of the evening was devoted to blues and jazz, with energetic and polished performances from The Blues Band, Late Night Jazz, The Burtones and Little Big Band; groups directed by Gary Burton and Chris Artley. It was great to see not only the fine ensemble playing in these groups, but also the sizeable number of accomplished improvised solos on offer.
Thanks also go to Head Girl, Harriet Butt (Year 13, Taylor) and Sophie Turner (Year 13, Taylor), for being excellent comperes for the evening. A big thank you to the students involved, many of whom were involved in several ensembles and of course, many thanks, to the directors of the music groups.
Our next musical event in the calendar is the Northern Club Music, Dinner and Dance Evening on Friday 7 September. This is highly recommended; a wonderful meal in a great setting, with musical entertainment provided by Late Night Jazz and The Burtones. Just a few tickets left at the time of writing.
You can hear eight of Chris Artley’s choral compositions being performed at St Benedict’s Church Newton at 2.30pm on Sunday 9 September. This is part of the Music in the NEWS concert, which includes performances from several King’s College students, Gina Sanders (Director of Chapel Choir) and Paul Chan (College Organist).
