Our junior musicians, quite rightly, had St Mary’s bursting at the seams, the audience (which generously donated £238.43 to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices) delighted to be part of celebrating a fine term’s work. The concert also happened to give us the first hint of Christmas Woodbridge-School-style…
The Seckford Sinfonia’s Marches, first Through the Mud, then Hungarian, were delightful, and raised smiles and pulses in equal measure. Some of the percussion instruments were clearly as much fun to play as they were a surprise to hear! Corelli’s Vivace, played by the Year 7 string quartet, was wonderfully dignified by contrast, yet equally spirited and impressive.
Soloists Joanne Garnett (clarinet), Rebecca Yardy (violin) and Charlotte Dinwiddy (flute) were each quite outstanding playing German, Tchaikovsky and Fauré respectively, while Stringvitation, the Flute Group and the Year 9 String Quartet (Boccerini’s Minuet and Trio played with considerable maturity, having clearly benefited from Miss Jessica Hall’s guidance in the strings competition masterclass just the week before) all played with marvellous aplomb and variety further to exemplify the extraordinary range and talents of our young musicians.
And so to the double finale: first the foot-tapping swagger of Just Jazz: great fun and much enjoyed (watching the Year 7s and 8s in the audience bopping innocently and enthusiastically in their seats was a hoot!); and then the Junior Choir romping through the Old Testament via Goliath and Daniel, and ending with… yes… our hint of Christmas: It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Indeed it was, and the joy with which this final number was delivered summed up a wonderful early evening’s entertainment.
Our enormous thanks and congratulations go to all the performers, and of course to the conductors and teachers of the music department under Mr Penny’s sure leadership who have helped them achieve so much.
