Category: Woodbridge News

Emily Hauser in conversation

Thursday 28 January, 7.30pm

Woodbridge Library

‘For the Most Beautiful’ is a brilliant debut novel, re-imagining Homer’s ‘Iliad’ from the perspective of the women who were there.

The author is Emily Hauser who grew up in Woodbridge, studied in Cambridge under Mary Beard and is now pursuing a PhD at Yale University. In her brief visit home from the USA, Emily will be visiting us to talk about her novel. Come and meet her!

Tickets £5 with refreshments. Tel: 01394 388890

Emily will also be visiting the school on the same day to talk to our Classics students in Y10 and above.

Many congratulations to Y7 Tobias Juszt who was part of the IES (Ipswich East Suffolk) Hockey U14 Boys’ Team that won the Suffolk Youth League Championships, earning their Gold Medals after a long and successful season.  Congratulations also to Y9s Oliver Juszt and Alex Weir-Simmons who have made it into the Suffolk County Hockey squad for the second year running and have even been asked to play up a year, joining the U15s.

Mozart’s Divertimento in F offered a charmingly crisp opening to an evening of rich and passionate music making.  The precision of Mrs Carlson’s Chamber Orchestra, and the piece’s interesting tricks and turns, made for attentive listening – Mozart experimenting a little, I thought, and very enjoyably so.  It paved the way for ‘bigger’ works with the Symphony Orchestra under Mr Penny’s baton.  Beethoven’s Pastoral – the magnificent first movement – was… magnificent.  How brave for a school orchestra to test itself on such grand yet familiar music: how well our musicians rose to the challenge.  It was simply beautiful.  Carwithen’s Suffolk Suite offered something a little more rustic, simple, almost frivolous and gambolling, but nonetheless richly entertaining: the discovery that the music had started life accompanying a film about East Anglia made perfect sense.  Evita’s main themes are well known; the evocation of Argentinian hurly-burly, heat and passion in the lesser known melodies was if anything even more striking than the occasional realisations of ‘Don’t cry for me’.  Terrific, sweeping music to end a wonderfully natural – pastoral – trio of pieces.

And then Faure’s Requiem: reflective; peaceful; deeply dramatic but contained and almost introspective.  Owen Butcher, Rhiannon Humphreys and Charlie Green each added magnificently to the landscape of the piece with truly beautiful, innocent solos – clear, floating voices so well suited to the clean emotions of a piece unfettered by the judgmental nature of many of the other well-known Requiems; and Harrison Cole as organist added his own stunningly impressive contribution. Outstanding.  Who could not be moved?  Singing, I had been a-tingle throughout; the audience was the same, I have no doubt.  Many congratulations Mr Penny, Mrs Carlson, the Choral Society and the Orchestras for a wonderful evening.

It was an unadulterated pleasure to attend our extraordinary run of concerts last November and December, from the intimate lunchtime recitals to the spectacular orchestras and choral society.  And the last concert of all was as fine as any: the Bands put on a wonderful show, full of seasonal joy and virtuosic energy.

St John’s played excellent host first to Mr Shepherd’s Swing Band, reprising some of its top numbers from the recent Felixstowe excursion.  Fantastic! Slick, quick and ‘terrifick’.  The Band has a unity to it at the moment as fine as at any time in its distinguished history.  The performance set the tone for what was to come, as the smaller ensembles took to the stage: clarinets, recorders, brass, saxophones, trombones, and to round off a sumptuous first half, the Percussion Ensemble with its typically and mesmerizingly hypnotic… (is that a tautology?  Surely I am allowed one in Advent?) … Mr-Hubbard-arrangements.  Following the themes from one player to another; the interplay and the interweaving; it’s a visual delight as much as an auditory one.

And then after a delightfully convivial interval over mulled apple juice, we were back in our seats for Mr Hubbard’s Concert Band which celebrated and remembered Mr Stafford both through the arrangements it played, the carols it led (good heavens, Mr Hubbard… what a voice you have to inspire your audience to sing back), and the stellar performance it put in.

This was a sparkling evening, and a sparkling conclusion to a term of music making in concert.  Our enormous thanks to go everyone in the music department, staff and pupils alike, for all that they have achieved under Mr Penny’s fine leadership and in such difficult circumstances this term.  Mr Stafford would have been very proud.

All the Queen’s House children enjoyed a fabulous Christmas party complete with musical statues, pass the parcel and a dance competition that would have impressed the Strictly Come Dancing judges!  The children paired up with a friend and pirouetted, waltzed and twirled their way around the hall to festive music and all dressed in their best party outfits.  This was followed by a sumptuous tea party; tables groaning with sandwiches, cakes, flapjacks, sausages, crisps and crudités. It wasn’t long before bells could be heard and Santa appeared bearing gifts for each child.  The children were so polite and grateful and even offered Santa some carrot sticks for his reindeer! Merry Christmas.

Before Christmas the Y12 and Y13 drama students headed down to Shoreditch to watch Kneehigh’s new production of the ‘Dead Dog in a Suitcase’. Kneehigh are a theatre company of storytellers who create work on both a small and epic scale. ‘Dead Dog in a Suitcase’ is based on the Beggar’s Opera, the satirical musical’s plot is based upon the corruption of a seemingly surreal world, and how all the inhabitants are affected by and play their parts in the villainy. As an A-leave student, it was refreshing to have the opportunity to see a really modern style of theatre which confronts contemporary issues with comedy, music and puppetry. I believe that trips such as these, and in fact all the trips we go on in the drama department, are so important at exposing students to new, different and possibly challenging styles of theatre…which aren’t often seen in Suffolk. We were also very excited when we spotted Mike Shepherd, the director of the show, when we were having dinner. If you look carefully you can spot him in the photo!

Flora Douglas- Year 13- Drama Prefect

The Christmas season has truly kicked off. The School House Boarders enjoyed their Christmas Dinner with staff and guests treated to some entertainment and fun. A mix of classical music and modern pop was blended with some dance before culminating with the School House band. Such is the talent in School House that all were very well entertained.