I left Wilton Church on Saturday evening with Mozart’s unfinished Requiem ringing in my ears. The combined choirs from 4 schools managed to fit (just!) in front of the altar, and in front of them a full orchestra with perhaps 90% student membership made for a magnificent wall of sound and a magical performance. The soloists were amazing, and the programme of pieces put together by Lewis Edney (BWS’ Director of Music) and his counterparts created the space for youngsters to really shine. After the ovation ended the audience was left feeling that they had witnessed something really special, and event that the young singers and musicians will no doubt remember for their rest of their lives. It was that good.
Collaboration between schools is great when it works well, but quite often a relationship that a Head might bang on about makes little difference for the vast majority of young people. That’s not the case here. It was absolutely obvious that the young people from BWS, Godolphin, KES and Bishop Vesey’s were having a good time and, as Mr Oldham often says, the different classroom was delivering in spades. I really do hope that this large scale musical collaboration forms the foundation of a sustainable relationship for future years, as hundreds of students stand to gain if it works. I understand that a Choral Evensong is already booked in Oxford for later this year which is a very good omen…for the moment thank you to the staff and all of you amazing singers and players – you made us all, staff, parents, governors and friends very, very proud.
SDS
