The 3rd annual Junior Music Festival was held on Wednesday 19 March at the Anvil in Basingstoke and as two Newbury schools were taking part, I was delighted to have been invited to attend.
It was organised by the Berkshire Maestros and the Newbury Music Centre which is based at Trinity School. The two Newbury schools taking part were Speenhamland Primary and St. Nicolas Junior.
When I arrived at just before 7 p.m., the Anvil was packed with children, parents and teachers and there was so much excitement that it was difficult to speak above the noise. I met up with Councillor Andrew Royles, Chairman of West Berkshire Council, and Mrs Wendy Carpenter who had both been invited to the concert.
It began splendidly with the massed singing of the schools of We’re Gonna Make Music for You under the baton of conductor Gwyn Arch. This was followed by a dance group from Lambourn school performing Flying Free and subsequently the Flight of the Bumble Bee from Aldermaston Primary school all dressed up as bumble bees. They performed a bee dance and then buzzed off into the wings to rapturous applause. The mood changed like the weather to rain associated numbers; a poem the Rainbow mystery, followed by the songs Over the Rainbow and Raindrops keep Falling on my Head, complete with umbrellas. The mood changed again to Space travel and Speenhamland performed Fly me to the Moon, followed by a poem from Holly Choules from Welford entitled Moonbeam. Next was a song and dance routine Silver Moon performed by Emma Meakin from Bradfield and Adam West, St. Nicolas and dancer Amber Bromham from Bradfield. This was a very polished performance, considering their ages. There followed the Hampstead Norreys dance group performing, yes, Stars!
Another slight change of mood gave us Performance Poetry in the form of a Soliloquy of a Weatherman from St Nicolas School. There were two poetry readers and six weathermen and they did so well. We were treated to a recorder ensemble from Burghfield St Mary’s playing the Dance of the Cuckoos and this preceded everyone singing a Jamaica Farewell, Island in the Sun. Another complete change of mood was the Welford Percussion Ensemble who with mainly African drums performed an item with the marvellous title of Impuku Nekati Mali and a splendid dance by Bradfield performed to El Cumbanchero. The last item on the programme was a vocal quartet singing One Voice written by Barry Manilow, which everyone joined in. What a terrific concert. We all enjoyed it and after the concert, teachers and the organisers, the conductor and the band all gathered for a reception. Among them was the Headteacher of St Nicolas school, Tricia Whiting who had helped with the music teacher Heidi Davies for the concert. She was delighted with the school’s performance and it was a fitting tribute to her that she is retiring at the end of term and going to live for a part of the year in France where her husband Rob and her have bought a house.
The concert was a great credit to all the schools and the performers and I am sure that the Berkshire Maestros and the Newbury Music Centre will continue with their success well into the future.
It was organised by the Berkshire Maestros and the Newbury Music Centre which is based at Trinity School. The two Newbury schools taking part were Speenhamland Primary and St. Nicolas Junior.
When I arrived at just before 7 p.m., the Anvil was packed with children, parents and teachers and there was so much excitement that it was difficult to speak above the noise. I met up with Councillor Andrew Royles, Chairman of West Berkshire Council, and Mrs Wendy Carpenter who had both been invited to the concert.
It began splendidly with the massed singing of the schools of We’re Gonna Make Music for You under the baton of conductor Gwyn Arch. This was followed by a dance group from Lambourn school performing Flying Free and subsequently the Flight of the Bumble Bee from Aldermaston Primary school all dressed up as bumble bees. They performed a bee dance and then buzzed off into the wings to rapturous applause. The mood changed like the weather to rain associated numbers; a poem the Rainbow mystery, followed by the songs Over the Rainbow and Raindrops keep Falling on my Head, complete with umbrellas. The mood changed again to Space travel and Speenhamland performed Fly me to the Moon, followed by a poem from Holly Choules from Welford entitled Moonbeam. Next was a song and dance routine Silver Moon performed by Emma Meakin from Bradfield and Adam West, St. Nicolas and dancer Amber Bromham from Bradfield. This was a very polished performance, considering their ages. There followed the Hampstead Norreys dance group performing, yes, Stars!
Another slight change of mood gave us Performance Poetry in the form of a Soliloquy of a Weatherman from St Nicolas School. There were two poetry readers and six weathermen and they did so well. We were treated to a recorder ensemble from Burghfield St Mary’s playing the Dance of the Cuckoos and this preceded everyone singing a Jamaica Farewell, Island in the Sun. Another complete change of mood was the Welford Percussion Ensemble who with mainly African drums performed an item with the marvellous title of Impuku Nekati Mali and a splendid dance by Bradfield performed to El Cumbanchero. The last item on the programme was a vocal quartet singing One Voice written by Barry Manilow, which everyone joined in. What a terrific concert. We all enjoyed it and after the concert, teachers and the organisers, the conductor and the band all gathered for a reception. Among them was the Headteacher of St Nicolas school, Tricia Whiting who had helped with the music teacher Heidi Davies for the concert. She was delighted with the school’s performance and it was a fitting tribute to her that she is retiring at the end of term and going to live for a part of the year in France where her husband Rob and her have bought a house.
The concert was a great credit to all the schools and the performers and I am sure that the Berkshire Maestros and the Newbury Music Centre will continue with their success well into the future.
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