On Saturday the 15th March Loughborough School’s Music took to De Montfort Hall, Leicester for the eagerly anticipated annual Spring Concert. This year certainly lived up to the ever-rising expectations and celebrated the 175th anniversary of Loughborough High School by featuring female composers, from Florence Price to Cecilia McDowall and through 6 of our 7 Year 13 soloists being students there.

The concert started with an eloquent introduction from this year’s compère Mrs Donna Tolly (LHS Assistant Head), before String Ensemble, conducted by Head of Strings, Mrs Kate Burns took the hall by storm with the enchanting folk melodies and driving rhythms of the Danish String Quartet’s ‘The Dromer’. This was swiftly followed by 2 pieces from the Indian classical music world. Lament by Jasdeep Singh arranged for string orchestra and soloists by Ashok Gupta, and Kirwani written by LSM Indian Classical Music teacher Mr Bindarjit Singh who also performed these pieces on the tabla alongside Year 13 student, Kaavya on the sitar. The duo performed with finesse, accuracy and a real understanding of the music. This was then followed by Anya and Nia’s rendition of Zipoli’s Adagio for Oboe, Cello and strings. The pair worked together with great unity, played with musical maturity and stunned the audience with their beautiful unfolding melodies.

Following on from this LSM Director of Music Ms Nicky Bouckley took to the stage for the first (but certainly not the last) time this evening to conduct Senior Chamber Choir. They started with Kerry Andrew’s haunting ‘O Nata Lux’. The choir masterfully contrasted the rigid chorale-like section with the aleotoric cell (a short melodic idea in which the sopranos would choose when to start singing). The audience particularly enjoyed the artistry of the sopranos wondering round the stage before settling in position for the lush harmonic landscapes and captivating melodies of Elaine Hagenburg’s ‘Alleluia’.

Noah played the first movement of Lalo’s cello concerto with Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mrs Burns. He was incredibly expressive as always and captivated the audience with his lyrical playing. After this Ms Bouckley returned to conduct the 3rd and 4th movements of African American composer, Florence Price’s 1st symphony. The orchestra professionally mastered this technically fiendish piece and thoroughly enjoyed the eccentric percussion, numerous woodwind solos, brass comments and vibrant string lines.

After a short interval, the orchestra and Ms Bouckley came back on stage to accompany Natalie and Laura, playing the first movement of Poulenc’s concerto for 2 pianos. They both mastered the tricky notes and demanding ensemble work in this piece, leading to a beautifully polished performance.

Next up, Symphonic Wind Band took to the stage, where Jessica performed the final solo of the evening: ‘Treasury for Piano’ by Harry Richards, which is packed full of catchy syncopated rhythms. Conducted by Mr Aidan Geary, this was a real treat for the audience. Mrs Victoria Watson then led Symphonic Wind Band in ‘Celtic Voyage’ by Melanie Donahue, with a haunting flute solo to open the piece, and a beautiful melody throughout. Mrs Alison Bean, a former teacher at LSF, returned to watch the exciting debut of her piece, ‘Postcards from Spain’, which depicts various traditional Spanish scenes.

To conclude the evening, which had already showcased the talent of so many female composers, Ms Bouckley conducted the massed choirs of the Senior and Junior Chamber Choirs, the Loughborough Singers and our Year 7s in a performance of Cecilia McDowall’s ‘A Time for All Seasons’. Ms Jenny Saunders delighted with the enchanting soprano solo, and Ms Reinhard and Mr Geary provided the accompaniment.

Although, as we sang, there is ‘nothing new under the sun’, this concert was something unique and wonderful, and has been our favourite De Montfort Hall concert during our time at school. There was such a wide array of music, and it was an amazing experience due to the vast amount of time and effort inputted by everyone involved.

Noah & Anya (Year 13 Music Prefects)