The Woodwind concert was outstanding, it was probably the best instrumental concert I’ve heard at King’s.
So many of the musicians were at the top of their game. Here are some of my favourite moments. Holly White played movement III from Bach’s sonata in G with real passion; beautifully phrased, this was an excellent performance. Sam Young performed two movements from Francaix’s Cinq dances Exotique. Sam played them on the Baritone saxophone rather than the alto; it worked really well, he brought out the humorous nature of the piece whilst paying attention to the difficult rhythmic patterns and unusual phrasing. I also really enjoyed Henry Smith’s performance of movement III from Binge’s saxophone concerto; he played with detailed articulation, neat trills and some great use of dynamics. Both the clarinet and saxophone ensembles played really well - the saxophone ensemble’s version of Cantaloupe Island was really “cool”.
My thanks and congratulations to all of the musicians and to their teachers.