Mrs McKinnell (Deputy Director of Music)

On Friday 4th March, the Music Department held its termly Senior Informal Lunchtime Concert. The event was a wonderful celebration of the wealth of musical talent possessed by our students. The concert was particularly timely, as it preceded the Bedfordshire Festival, ABRSM exams and Trinity exams all of which shortly followed the concert. This gave the musicians a valuable opportunity to practise performing their pieces in an informal environment, in front of a welcoming audience prior to these more high-pressure events.

Students all the way from Years 7 to the Upper Sixth performed, with solos from a number of singers, pianists and flautists, as well as a performance from our BGS Piano Trio. Of particular note was an unusual performance given of a piece of experimental 20th century art music (The Golden Flower Piece for Keyboard) by Athena Kurrti (Lower Sixth), from a graphic score. Athena showed the audience her score and explained how the composer, Tom Phillips, had instructed the performer to interpret it. The audience really enjoyed being challenged by music out of many of their comfort zones.

Congratulations to all that performed, and thank you to Adrian Boynton, our accompanist.