Performance Block Numero Deux!

The last week of December was our first week of the next performance block. As it was a week before Christmas, most of the material which we were performing was Christmas pieces. The week was going to be tricky as all of us had to learn at least four pieces in the matter of days and then perform it to the whole college of the last day of term.

I was involved in the Concert Band, Chamber Choir and Rock Choir. In Concert Band, we performed O Holy Night and a fantastic edition of Mary's Boy Child. It was great fun though challenging when having to learn the music in about six hours in total.

Next came the Chamber Choir. We performed The Seal Lullaby which is a beautiful piece by Eric Whiteacre. We had been rehearsing on Monday nights for about three weeks before the concert as it was a tricky piece. However, we pulled it off and it was lovely to have been given the chance to perform such a beautiful piece.

We then had the Rock choir which had been created specifically for the performance block. This was a great experience as we had to learn two Christmas songs using only the lyrics. It was different from normal choir and it also made the choir use a new medium of learning music. It was great and I hope we have more opportunities to perform!

After the Christmas break, we had a further two weeks of performance block. For this, I was involved in Choir, Concert band and I also took part in a Singing Masterclass held by Annette. The singing class was very beneficial, as breathing techniques and support tips were given along with performance directions.

For choir, we performed The Nightingale and Elziekl Saw A Wheel. I loved The Nightingale but I was not keen on the second one. Choir is very enjoyable though and it's great that we no longer have to dance and sing at the same time!!

Concert band was trickier this time as we were learning the overture from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. This involved a lot of flats and jumping between octaves, but the end result went very well! We also did an arrangement of Lord of The Dance, which was a less challenging and didn't involve quite so many flats!

Until next time!

Bye!