Choral and Orchestral Concert 2018

Sunday 29 April 2018 6pmSt John’s, Smith Square

WELCOME

St John’s, Smith Square will soon be celebrating its 50th year as a concert venue. During World War II, considerable damage was inflicted upon it in the Blitz but it was beautifully reconstructed as a concert hall rather than a church. JAGS has had the privilege to perform here for many years and we would like to acknowledge its role as one of the most auspicious platforms for the arts in London, particularly in its support of music in education.

We are also grateful for the Choral Society’s musical support of our larger concerts each year, enabling JAGS girls to sing mainstream choral repertoire, such as tonight’s epic anthem I was glad by Hubert Parry, who died 100 years ago this year. Parents are actively encouraged to join this friendly choir.

Music continues to go from strength to strength at JAGS: the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras have a strong reputation among London’s top schools with annual performances at prestigious London concert venues, somemembers from time to time also appearing in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the National Children’s Orchestra and the London Schools’ Symphony Orchestra. The Holst Choir has been commended in nationalcompetitions and has performed in the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Royal Festival Hall with the National Youth Choir of Venezuela. The three other ensembles in tonight’s concert - String Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra - share something rather special: they each feature the full gamut of JAGS year groups. What other educational activity can claim to do this and to such a high level of expertise and with such holistic benefit?

We are particularly grateful to those leaving JAGS at the end of the Summer Term for their unswerving commitment to school music.

Finally, we are indebted to all those who work behind the scenes, so it is a big thank-you to the school-keeping team which has assisted our Music Technician, Marc Welbourn, in guaranteeing that the transfer of so much equipment is achieved so smoothly, and to Samantha Clare-Hunt, our music co-ordinator, who has played a huge part in the organisation of tonight’s concert.

Director of Music

ProgrammeHMS Pinafore Overture Arthur SullivanSymphonic Wind Orchestra, conducted by Elinor Corp

Fly, Singing Bird, Fly Edward ElgarOld Man Variations Trad. arr. Bertaux orch. Gritton Holst Choir, conducted by Patricia Williams accompanied by Chamber Orchestra

Marcia, from Serenade for Strings Dag WirenString Orchestra, conducted by Kay Dickson

Harp Concerto, 2nd and 3rd movements Reinhold GlièreSoloist: Alice Milleraccompanied by Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Peter Gritton

Interval (20 minutes) Sweet honey-sucking bees John WilbyeMadrigalists, conducted by Patricia Williams

Violin Concerto, 2nd and 3rd movements Max BruchSoloist: Daniella Wuaccompanied by Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Gritton

Sinfonia from La Forza del Destino Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Elinor Corp

I was glad Hubert ParryHolst Choir, JAGS Choral Society and Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Gritton

In accordance with the requirements of Westminster City Council persons shall not be permitted to sit or stand in any gangway. The taking of photographs and use of recording equipment is strictly forbidden without formal consent from St John’s. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in St John’s. Refreshments are permitted only in the restaurant in the Crypt. Please ensure that all digital watch alarms, pagers and mobile phones are switched off. During the interval and after the concert* the restaurant is open for licensed refreshments. Box Office Tel: 020 7222 1061 www.sjss.org.uk St John’s Smith Square Charitable Trust. Registered charity no: 1045390 Registered in England, company no: 3028678

HMS Pinafore Overture Arthur Sullivan (1844-1900)H.M.S. Pinafore (or The Lass who loved a Sailor) was the operetta with which Gilbert and Sullivan shot to international fame in 1878. It was their fourth collaboration and paved the way for the similar success in both England and the States of The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. The purpose of a Sullivan overture was to present the most popular tunes in the most engaging manner, in order to excite the audience as well as render them quiet and attentive. The tunes presented in HMS Pinafore Overture are “Give Three Cheers For The Sailor’s Bride”, “Refrain, Audacious Tar”, “Never Mind the Why and Wherefore” and “A British Tar” which in themselves contrast sufficiently to enable Sullivan to create the most effective opener to the operetta. The fact that Sullivan’s tunes are still known to this day speaks volumes about his extraordinary gifts as a composer which are all too often undervalued in the Great British oeuvre.

Fly, Singing Bird, Fly Edward Elgar (1857-1934)Old Man Variations Traditional, arr. Bertaux,

orch. GrittonThat Edward Elgar set to music a poem written by his wife Alice poem in itself typifies the idyllic image we have of him as the greatest English muse of the late Romantic era. The breathless nature of the text is captured perfectly in this musical setting.

Fly, singing bird, fly,From the wood where lies shelter’d thy nest,From the tree whence thou pourest thy song,Fly away, far away to the west,Tell my love that I wait,Ah! too long and lonely, I wait.

Fly, singing bird, fly,O’er the blossoming meadows, where growYellow cowslips and daffodils pale.Say I wait where anemones blow,Weary wait, till with waiting IFail, and failing, I sigh.

Fly, singing bird, fly,Leave thy nest ‘midst the wood, lone, unsought,Leave the cradling boughs, spread thy wing,And swift as my following thought,Onward speed, and swift flying, still sing,Come, or I die!

In stark contrast, the set of choral variations on “This Old Man” highlights the absurdity of the subject matter of this traditional Irish folk song which, on one level, can be seen as a silly counting song, but on another, probably aims to warn against over-consumption of alcohol. The version you hear this evening is a premiere in its use of a string orchestra as accompaniment.

Marcia, from Serenade for Strings Dag Wiren (1905-86)Swedish composer Dag Wiren was most famously known for his mantra: “I believe in God, Mozart and Carl Nielsen”. He was second best known for his compositional output, which is unfairly dismissive of a most effective and characterful writer. Wiren’s Serenade for Strings has the clarity of Mozart, as can be heard in the March, which is the final movement of the Serenade. Its popularity increased through its deployment as a BBC TV theme about forty years ago, owing to its catchiness and unpredictability. Moods in Marcia range from infectious jollity to blatant surprise tactics.

Harp Concerto, 2nd and 3rd movements Reinhold Glière (1875-1956)

Glière wrote his Harp Concerto in 1938. He could not have constructed such an authentic harp part without the assistance of professional harpist Ksenia Alexandrovna Erdely. Since she gave Glière so may tips on harp-writing, he wished to bestow the title “co-composer” upon her, but she refused. One of the significant facts about the Concerto is that the slow movement is in C flat major (7 flats!) – actually a very suitable key for the pedal harp. The slow movement itself is a set of variations on a sombre, Russian melody, but the mood is enlivened by a spritely and, at times, raucous finale in E flat major. The exoticism of Russia’s Eastern shores is occasionally heard in contrasting episodes, most notably played by a solo woodwind.

Tonight’s concerto soloistAlice Miller is a JAGS Major Music Scholar and studies harp with Gabriella Dall’Olio and piano with Timothy Barratt. Alice has been principal harp of SLYO and played with DYO since she was seven. She has also been a member of the National Schools Symphony Orchestra, Barbican Young Orchestra, National Children’s Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra with whom she has performed in all the top London venues as well as in Konzerthaus Berlin. She has collaborated with a huge number of young musicians through the ‘NYO Inspire’ programmes.

At JAGS Alice has been principal harp since Year 9; one of the highlights was performing Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with Holst Choir and Choral Society at Southwark Cathedral last Christmas.

In October, Alice will start medical school at Imperial College London, where she has also been awarded an Ash Music Scholarship.

Sweet honey-sucking bees John Wilbye (1574-1638)Sweet honey-sucking bees, why do you still surfeit on roses, pinks and violets, as if the choicest nectar lay in them wherewith you store your curious cabinets? Ah, make your flight to Melisuavia’s lips. There may you revel in ambrosian cheer, where smiling roses and sweet lilies sit, Keeping their springtide graces all the year. Yet, sweet, take heed, all sweets are hard to get: sting not her soft lips, O, beware of that, for if one flaming dart come from her eye, was never dart so sharp, ah, then you die. Along with “Draw on, sweet night” and “Weep, O mine eyes”, “Sweet honey-sucking bees” is one of John Wilbye’s best known madrigals and can be found in his Second Book of Madrigals, published in 1609. He was fortunate to have enjoyed the patronage of the Cornwallis family for almost the entirety of his life which allowed him to write much music. Unfortunately, Wilbye’s sacred music does not survive, possible due to the fact that the Cornwallis family was recusant and therefore had to hide their Catholicism; thus it can be assumed that many wonderful motets by Wilbye will never be uncovered.

Violin Concerto, 2nd and 3rd movements Max Bruch (1838-1920) Bruch actually wrote three Violin Concertos. This evening, we hear two movements from No.1, composed in 1866. The central movement encapsulates Romanticism in its long drawn out melodic lines and intense harmonic support. This slow movement is not without its virtuosic flourishes which often adorn the cantabile phrases eked out by the solo violin. The orchestra enjoys a melodic role too in both movements performed tonight, particularly as the music reaches climactic moments in the slow movement and then in the finale where tutti sections punctuate the movement with exciting renditions of the main theme. In between these heroic outbursts, the solo violin part dazzles the audience with spectacular wizardry, passages that stretch the player’s technique to an extreme.

Tonight’s concerto soloistDaniella is a Major Music and Academic Scholar. Having co-led the JAGS Symphony and Chamber Orchestras from Year 9, she has led both orchestras during the Sixth Form. She studies violin with Susan Collier and piano with Eva Doroszkowska at the Junior Royal Academy of Music. She has played as soloist in the Purcell Room, St Bride’s, Fleet Street and St Martin-in-the-Fields. Most recently, Daniella was the leader for the Foundation Schools performance of Britten’s War Requiem at the Royal Festival Hall.

Daniella is passionate about all three Sciences and Maths and enjoys being a JAGS Biology prefect. Daniella’s talk about music and the brain and its potential roles in medical therapy will be published in Medic Mentor’s Student Stories anthology. She hopes to study medicine at UCL after leaving JAGS.

Sinfonia from La Forza del Destino Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Interestingly, Verdi’s opera La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny) was first performed in Russia in 1862. By then Verdi was enjoying fame across Europe; while St Petersburg was on the Eastern periphery, it was a huge cultural oasis. It is most likely that the Overture you hear this evening was not performed until Verdi revised the opera a few years later for a run in La Scala, Milan, when it is said that he replaced a short prelude with a more substantial overture.

The opening three tonic notes represent Fate and are used motivically in the opera as a whole. Almost immediately we hear the most striking melody in the piece - a meandering one in the minor which does potters its way towards the major, but only temporarily. The overture is changeable in mood and at times pushes the orchestra to its technical limits. There are characteristic Verdi colours that foretell those to be written by him in his famous Requiem in the early 1870s. While much of the music is exultant, the tragedy of the opera’s plot pervades many sections of the Overture.

I was glad when they said unto me Hubert Parry (1848-1918) orch. Peter Lawson

Written for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, Parry’s anthem I was glad without fail stirs patriotic feelings. It is particularly fitting that Parry’s music is enjoying a large revival in 2018 since we are remembering his contribution to the musical life of Great Britain 100 years since his death, as one of our most celebrated composers. I was glad has been sung at several 20th century coronations, including that of the present monarch. The central

section “Vivat Regina Elizabetha!” is omitted this evening since it is said that it is only to be sung in the presence of royalty.

Psalm 122I was glad when they said unto me, we will go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity in itself. O pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls : and plenteousness within thy palaces.

Symphonic Wind Orchestra PiccoloGrace Muldowney

FlutesHana ColemanBozena Fanner-BrzezinaAniela Cummings-KonwickaMillie ShawHilary LeungAnnabelle KnutsonSusannah TrowellCecilia BogleTamara TymczyszynMadeline LiEllen Roxby

OboesDora Gawn-HopkinsMyfanwy MeeranAnjola Adesina

ClarinetsCharlotte Clare-HuntHelena GreenwellFrancesca JohnsonRosie Russell

Bass ClarinetLaura Wood

Flutes Liliana SierraGrace Muldowney

Oboes Eilah KolvinDora Gawn-Hopkins

ClarinetsLaura WoodCharlotte Clare-Hunt

This evening’s performers

SaxophonesIsla CampbellOreoluwa OgundejiLydia KoleoshoDaisy SimpsonCarmen Morrison

BassoonIsabella Guilar

TromboneJessica Odetola

TrumpetEmily Clare-Hunt

HornsIsabel WattsCatherine Walter

PercussionPoppy ThwaitesLiberty RogersJonathan Lee*

CoachAndrew Tait*

Bassoons Jessica LynessIsabella Guilar

Horns Catherine WalterAmelia MarshallSarah Maxwell*

TrumpetEmily Clare-Hunt

Chamber Orchestra (Woodwind & Brass)

*Indicates guest performers and members of staff

Violin 1 Daniella Wu (leader)Imogen Squire Betania Johnny Clara TuffreyKatie KammFelicity LeungJohn Dickinson*

Violin 2Robyn LoViola FarbachSophia HasselZara UddinElla CoatesAmarachi OhanusiMarina Stamouli SimoncioniEilah Kolvin

Violas Niamh HeneghanKaitlin Stangroome Jeanette SzetoMadeleine WoolleyNishika Sood Emma-Rose FawzyLiliana Sierra Kay Dickson*Sophia MacGregor

Holst Choir [* Madrigalist]

Cellos Rhiannon DewJuliet ElsonKathryn BowersSydney LoSaskia SierraPolina EkaetteOla KiezunMair Dew*

Basses Sophie MascarenhasGeorgie BurrJulie Buckley*

Chamber Orchestra (String Orchestra)

Sopranos*Kathryn BowersOlivia Burman*Olivia Greenwell *Kika Hendry*Niamh HeneghanRuby Jensen-JonesZara KermallyErin MayhewElla McCoy*Holly MortimerElla PurdonLily RoseMartha Shaw*Liliana Sierra*Chloe Stiens*Stella Stylianides Da SilvaIona Tompkins

Zara UddinLily Walker Titley*Ella Wood

Altos*Maeve FitzpatrickAnnabelle KnutsonLydia Koleosho *Jessica LynessAmarachi OhanusiMedina RahmanElizabeth Rix*Katherine Rix*Poppy ThwaitesBeth WarnerLaura Wood

Symphony OrchestraFlutesHana ColemanHolly MortimerGrace MuldowneyKatie RichardsLiliana Sierra

OboeDora Gawn-HopkinsEilah Kolvin

ClarinetsCharlotte Clare-HuntHelena GreenwellFrancesca JohnsonLaura Wood

Bassoons Jessica LynessIsabella Guilar

Horn Catherine WalterAmelia MarshallIsabel WattsSarah Maxwell*

TrumpetsMathilda SimpsonEmily Clare-Hunt

TrombonesEmma Bassett* Jessica Odetola

TubaSusannah Trowell

Harp Chloe StiensElla Wood

TimpaniNell DonnellPoppy Thwaites

Percussion Liberty RogersPoppy Thwaites

First Violins Daniella Wu (leader)Imogen Squire (co-leader)Clara Tuffrey Katie KammBetania JohnnyStella Stylianides Da SilvaFelicity LeungGabrielle LiRobyn Lo

Second ViolinsLilyRose WallaceImogen OsinibiRebecca McPhersonRuhi LahotiTara AzarZara UddinJuliana BennettSophia HasselTaliesin AngelAnusha JalanLily Walker TitleyLydia TaylorHanna D’SouzaJohn Dickinson*

Violas Niamh Heneghan Kaitlin StangroomeJeanette SzetoNishika SoodMadeleine WoolleyKay Dickson*Sophia MacGregor

CellosRhiannon DewJuliet ElsonSydney Lo Kathryn BowersZenisha PeterkinEleanor SwissJoanna PhillipsMair Dew*

Basses Sophie MascarenhasGeorgie BurrJulie Buckley*

SopranoCornelia BrandauerSarah DennisAnn DuntonMaureen ErnyYasmin FitzpatrickHilary GreengrassJane GregoryDorothee IrvingAlex MauleMary MoraleeClaire NichollsPat Price-TomesElaine ShackletonAnne SmithCatherine SmithSarah VinczeSue Whittaker

AltosMari BarnesLiz BegleyLiz BorowieckaLouise CramerKate GarmesonHelen GrayEdda HendryAnna HenryCharmian HornsbyLisa Kerr MuirSarah KnightNadia LassersonIrene RiddellPauline SimpsonSusanne SivagnanamLaura SparkesMargaret VaizeySladjana Vuckovic-GrantFlorence Waterer

TenorAlex BlaydenAndy BradshawKeith FitchettMark IrvingKen MartinDave Williams

BassAlec BartonJohn BrittonRoger CorderyJulian GrayDuncan PrattAndrew ThomasPeter VennGraham Warren

JAGS Choral Society

Parents, Staff, Governors and local musicians can get involved in JAGS-based choral and/or orchestral music.

Please check out the websites www.jags.org.uk and www.jagschoralsociety.com (email info@jagschoralsociety.com)

Photography and FilmingPhotographs and short films taken by parents should be kept to a minimum to avoid distracting the girls who are performing and members of the audience. All images should be for personal use only. In respect of our Safeguarding policy, under no circumstances should any images be uploaded onto social or online media of any kind. Thank you for your co-operation.

Forthcoming Events:

JAGS Choral Society and James Allen Community Orchestra

Special guests JAPS Orchestra

The Needles Overture – Matthew TaylorThe Rio Grande – Constant Lambert

Jupiter from The Planets – Gustav HolstMy soul, there is a country – Hubert Parry

A Trip to Mars – Peter Gritton [world premiere]

Sunday 24 June, 6.00 pmVaughan Williams Auditorium,

James Allen’s Girls’ School

Friday Night Live!

Friday 22 June, 7.00 pm, Holst Hall

Founder’s Concert

Tuesday 3 July, 7.00 pm, Vaughan Williams Auditorium

www.jags.org.uk