I very much enjoyed this year’s Woodwind Concert, writes David Gorodi, Director of Music.

The concert opened with a brilliant arrangement of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, a great choice as the Choir are singing the Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall on Remembrance Sunday! There were many excellent solo performances on a variety of instruments. Ella gave her best performance on the oboe that I’ve heard from her. indeed, she produced a really sweet sound with some beautiful phrasing (do listen to the recording below). Charlotte produced an excellent performance of Malcom Arnold’s Scherzetto; Charlotte really captured the humorous nature of this piece brilliantly. Abagael and Freya played different movements from Reade’s Victorian Kitchen, both of the girls played lyrically with careful attention to dynamics.

Some of the younger musicians also played to an icnredibly high standard during the Concert; Elih had excellent dynamics, Hannah and Elizabeth produced lovely tone and accurate intonation and Rosie delighted us all with a rich warm sound. It was Holly who stood out, she played with real maturity and poise. The Wind Quintet were excellent, some detailed phrasing and great articulation brought Mozart’s Minuet & Trio from Divertimento No. 9 alive. The concert was brought to a close by the Saxophone Ensemble; they played a lovely arrangement of Borodin’s Stranger in Paradise. My congratulations to all those involved; an album of photos and some audio recordings from the evening can be seen below.

David Gorodi - Director of Music