St Mary's Calne
A wonderful group of Year 4, 5 and 6 girls from Prep and Primary schools joined us for our annual Orchestral Day, with this year’s theme being Music of the Stage and Screen.
For many of the musicians, this was the first time they had played in an orchestra, so the day gave everyone a range of new experiences and chances to make new friends. The girls worked on two popular pieces of music, Edvard Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King – well-known for being the music used at Alton Towers and in the movie Fantasia – and the pioneering theme tune to Doctor Who.
‘Music can sometimes feel like a solitary pursuit, particularly as a young beginner or in the early stages of learning an instrument, so it gave us great delight to be able to bring young musicians together to make new friends, and to also experience the magic of playing in a larger ensemble,’ said Mrs Loveridge, who co-ordinated the day for the young musicians.
The morning session saw the girls split into sectional rehearsals, with the strings being conducted by Mrs Loveridge, Head of Strings at St Mary’s; the woodwind and brass players being led by Miss Arthur, Director of Music; and the percussion players being led by Mr Allard, peripatetic percussion tutor. This was followed by a morning break, where the visiting girls were given a tour of the Year 7 boarding house, School House, met with pupils and enjoyed a much-needed snack.
The girls went back into sectionals until lunch, where they continued to work on the two pieces. Alongside this, the percussion group took on an extra challenge by learning a Samba routine that they would also perform at the concert.
After lunch, and some fresh air playing in the beautiful Lime Kiln Garden, the ‘One-Day Orchestra’ (renamed the 'Stage and Screen Superstar Orchestra' by the girls!) rehearsed together for the first time with everyone coming together in Chapel. It was wonderful to hear the results of everyone's hard work in the morning sectionals and the orchestra soon had both pieces sounding wonderful.
Then it was time for the grand performance! Starting the show with a bang - and a whistle! - were the percussionists with their samba drumming. Once the audience had recovered from the loud and energetic Samba rhythms, they were treated to performances from current St Mary’s girls – Eleanor (UV) playing a beautiful Debussy piece on the piano and Charmaine (UVI) performing a lovely waltz by Chopin on the flute – showcasing the wide range of music on offer at St Mary’s.
Then came the time for the whole orchestra to perform the two pieces they had been working on throughout the day, the Doctor Who theme and In the Hall of the Mountain King.
All the girls performed brilliantly, and the audience gave a large round of applause to bring the performance to a close. The girls, their families and St Mary’s staff then enjoyed refreshments together and talked about the wonderful day.
Thank you to all of the St Mary’s students who helped throughout the day.
Mrs sarah Loveridge - Head of Strings and leader of Orchestral Day