Sunday, August 22, 2010

St Cuthbert's College Senior Showcase Concert - account

18 August 2010, 6.30pm.

It was free!
It lasted 2 and a half hours!
It was delightful, varied, stimulating.

Really could have done with a bigger audience - people seemed to be in the habit of leaving once their daughter had played...
Very unsporting and unsupportive, I reckon.

With St Cuth's, it's amazing to see the huge number of students learning traditional orchestral instruments.
This allows for tremendous variety within the trad repertoire and a high quality of string playing.

Jazz is also particularly well represented in terms of participation, with highly skilled readers - it will be good to see these performers gaining confidence and taking more risks with their improvisation.

The choirs were outstanding (lovely to see and hear a piece by one of my earliest O.C. students - Steven Rapana, currently over in Europe), and great fun - we were shocked and saddened to hear that Jane Tankersley is leaving...hopefully someone very good will replace her!

Personal fave?
Sebatian Squad performing Jonathan Besser, Saxophone Quartet, and Festival Sanctus.
Time could be shaved (and possibly encourage more people to stay) by reducing each act to one or two items - what to cut, though?
A terrific night of talent and energy.

2 comments:

  1. I agree - an audience should stay for the whole performance. It is not fair for those whose turn comes near the end of the programme. At our school production last year, Barrie made one father sit down again when he said he was going to collect his child!
    The song that Patricia sang was 'God Will Take Care Of You'. It took me back to Sunday mornings nearly 50 years ago when Roseanne and I were in Uncle Tom's choir which broadcasted live every Sunday morning from Broadcasting House in Durham Street. That song used to conclude the programme each week.

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  2. Coralie,
    I can picture Barrie doing that!
    Thanks for identifying Patricia's song - what a lovely way to finish a radio programme!
    Nearly 50 years ago......
    The world turns...

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