May 24th 2018
The much-acclaimed five day Sherborne Abbey Festival went into full swing earlier this month. Opening the Festival was Sherborne School’s Chamber Concert, held in the stunning backdrop of the Abbey, involving thirty-two of our boys. Here the audience were treated to a variety of ensemble performances by the String Orchestra, Brass Consort, Wind Quintet and the Saxophone Quartet—in repertoire ranging from 16th century Gabrieli to Dizzy Gillespie’s jazz classic A Night in Tunisia. Outstanding solo performances by three of the school’s ATCL performance diploma holders were given by music scholars, including Sam M (U6c) Peter F (U6a) and Charlie S LTCL (U6g).
Later in the afternoon, the Sherborne School Swing Band assembled for yet another highly successful and well-received show, performing repertoire both with and without vocals. Superb saxophone improvisations by music scholars Peter F ATCL (U6a), Freddie G ATCL (L6c) and brothers Sam M ATCL (U6c) and Matt M (4c), with several guitar breaks by Charlie S LTCL (U6g), created an hour of foot-tapping and exhilarating jazz. Vocalists Harry V (U6g) and Charlie B (U6b) doubled as Sinatra, Bublé and Williams, with old-time favourites from the 1950's and 1960's. As ever, the concert ended with the crowd-pleasing Pennsylvania 65-000 to raucous audience participation and applause.
Rounding off Sherborne School’s participation in the 2018 Sherborne Abbey Festival was the Chamber Choir and Barbershop presenting their concert Somewhere Over the Rainbow on Saturday morning. The light repertoire of the Chamber Choir included an arrangement of the BBC Radio 4’s Sailing By, by the masterful Andrew Johnstone of Trinity College, Dublin, as well as an arrangement of the famous Frank Sinatra recording Witchcraft by Paul Drayton of King’s Singers fame. Continuing the theme of jazzy vocal harmonies, the Barbershop sang a humorous arrangement of Postman Pat while Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World moved some in the audience to tears.
