Annual Spring Concert 2019
On Wednesday 27th March Grosvenor’s much-heralded Music Department staged its annual and greatly anticipated Spring Concert in the William Moles Hall as a wide selection of its talented pupils performed for a large and expectant audience of pupils, parents and associates of the school. The event, always one of the highlights of the school calendar, saw over one hundred pupils from some thirteen different acts perform, with a number of contemporary compositions such as ‘Careless Whisper’ by George Michael and Sting’s ‘Fields of Gold’ proving especially popular, alongside some older classics such as ‘Mack the Knife’, ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Be Still, My Soul’.
Grosvenor’s numerous musical groups are in constant demand throughout the year and Wednesday’s concert provided a unique opportunity to enjoy all of its talented musicians performing under one roof. In recent years the event has been notable for, in particular, its show-stopping finale and this year proved no different, with the Senior and Junior Choirs combining to deliver a jaw-dropping performance of a Queen medley, featuring such instantly recognisable numbers as ‘Don’t Stop me Now’’ and ‘We are the Champions’.
In addition the School’s Chamber Choir, which earlier in the year reached the semi-final stage of the prestigious BBC School Choir of the Year competition, treated those in attendance to memorable performances of ‘Down by the Riverside’, arranged by Ryan O’Connell, ‘I’m gonna sing till the spirit moves my heart’ by Moses Hogan and ‘Be Still, My Soul’ by Sibelius, arranged specifically for the School by Jonathan Rea. Elsewhere notable performances were also delivered by, amongst others: the Senior Girls Choir, which performed ‘Amazing Grace’, arranged by Will Todd; the Guitar Club, directed by Mr Flanagan, which performed ‘Youngblood’ by 5 Seconds of Summer along with ‘To Know him is to Love Him’ by Dolly Parton; as well as the Brass Group, conducted by Mr Thompson, which provided impressive renditions of ‘The Can-Can’ by Jacques Offenbach as well as ‘Zambezi’, by Nico Carstens and Anton de Waal, and arranged by Derek Broadbent.
Congratulations to everybody who helped to make this year’s Musical Evening such an overwhelming success, including Year Fourteen pupils James Magrath, Garrett Robinson and Adam Blair who served as Masters of Ceremonies for the evening, keeping proceedings moving with aplomb throughout thanks to their impressive reserves of wit and professionalism. In addition to the many pupils who participated on the night, particular praise is also reserved for Grosvenor’s phenomenally dedicated Head of Music Miss Rosemary Foster, along with fellow Music teacher Mr Jonathan Arnold, not to mention the many peripatetic teachers who have also contributed to the musical development of Grosvenor’s pupils throughout the year.
Well done to all involved in this year’s Spring Concert, which served as a perfect showcase for the considerable array of musical talent present within the School – we look forward to enjoying continued musical excellence within Grosvenor for many years to come.