String Quintet

The String Quartet, for pupils Grade 6 standard or upwards meets on Thursday mornings at 8am and represents the school at public functions.

The String Quintet, comprising of Lucy Hamilton 14 TG2 (Violin 1), Ruth Sellar 13 TG5 (Violin 2), Tyler Smyth 13 TG5 (Viola), Karl Kirkpatrick 13 TG5 (Cello), James Magrath 14 TG5 (Double Bass), performed at many functions and events during this academic year.

To start off the year they played at Grosvenor’s Annual Prize Distribution where they played from their normal repertoire consisting of pieces such as ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles and ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing’. At Christmas, the Quintet was invited to play at the Ulster Chartered Accountants annual charity lunch at the Europa Hotel where they performed a collection of Christmas Carols and songs, for example ‘The First Noel’.

Upon returning after the Christmas holidays, the String Quintet played at Grosvenor’s Open Evenings for prospective pupils wishing to go to the school. This was followed by a performance at the Eastside Awards held at the Hastings Stormont Hotel, prior to the award ceremony. As the year drew to a close, they performed ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ from the movie ‘Titanic’ and also the ‘Game of Thrones Theme,’ at the annual music evening, held to honour all of the musical activities which take place throughout the year. All of this would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of both the string players and Miss Foster who organises all musical events which take place in the school.

On Friday, 7th December Grosvenor’s esteemed String Quintet was invited to perform at the annual ‘Chartered Accountants of Ireland (Ulster) Christmas Charity Lunch’ at Belfast's Europa Hotel. The String Quintet’s performance at this event has become a yearly tradition and, once again, the standard of musicianship on display did not disappoint as Ruth Sellar 13 TG5 (Violin 1), Kara Purdy 13 TG4 (Violin 2), Tyler Smith 13 TG5 (Viola), Karl Kirkpatrick 13 TG5 (Cello) and James Magrath 14 TG5 (Double Bass) wowed those in attendance with their expertise.

Each year the Chartered Accountants’ Christmas Lunch sees invited guests bring a high-quality toy or children’s gift which is then distributed by the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul, helping to ensure an enjoyable Christmas for the less fortunate; with this in mind it was, once again, an honour for Grosvenor to be associated with such an event as its selected musicians played their part in making the day a huge success once again.

Congratulations to Grosvenor’s esteemed String Quintet, comprising pupils Lucy Hamilton 14 TG2 (Violin 1), Ruth Sellar 13 TG5 (Violin 2), Tyler Smyth 13 TG5 (Viola), Karl Kirkpatrick 13 TG5 (Cello), James Magrath 14 TG5 (Double Bass), who were invited to perform at the prestigious ‘Eastside Awards’, held at Hastings Stormont Hotel on the evening of Friday, 25th January 2019.

The third Eastside Awards provided an opportunity to celebrate the best that East Belfast has to offer, in categories ranging from ‘Best Food Destination’ to ‘Top Retailer’; ‘Employer of the Year’ to ‘Volunteer of the Year’.

The GGS String Quintet, accompanied to the event by Head of Music Miss Foster, did the School proud with an assured and entertaining performance prior to the main ceremony itself.

Tyler Smyth 13TG5