SING, SING, SING

There is really nothing better - we have heard some great singing in the last few days at CGS:
Y7&8 Christmas House Music Competition [including some really good original compositions]
Whole School Christmas Assembly on Friday - ably led by an augmented orchestra and Senior Choir
Recital by the Chamber Choir at Axmouth Church at lunchtime today.

And there is more to come tomorrow with the two annual Carol Services in St. Andrew's Church, Colyton - 2.30pm for Y7, 8 & 11 and 7.30pm for Parents, Governors, Friends and former students.  With approaching 200 students taking part it should sound wonderful.

Check out this article about the value of singing Chorus of approval

The picture here is of the Senior Choir enjoying some open-air singing at Hadrian's Wall during the 2012 Choir Tour to Carlisle and Durham.

Sir Patrick Moore the famous astronomer has died.
For many years he presented a programme called 'The Sky at Night' on TV.
He was also renowned for his xylophone playing and this YouTube clip is of a recording of his own piece  -  Penguin Parade - a remarkable man.

Dave Brubeck - jazz legend, has died aged 91.

There is a good tribute here 

His own website has a great recording of him playing Jingle Bells 

Time to explore his amazing contribution to Jazz.

Interval Song  - join in, you know it makes sense!

Lead sheet available for you to have fun trying it out yourself too and, with a nod towards the Festive Season, here are the original lyrics:

Octaves roasting on an open fire,
Major sixths nipping at your nose,
Major seconds being sung by a choir,
Chromatic alterations of the scale.

Diatonic scale.
A turkey and some mistletoe
Major sixths make the season bright.
Major seconds with their eyes all aglow
Will drop a perfect fifth tonight.

There's minor sevenths on their way.
They've loaded lots of minor seconds on their sleigh.
And every minor sixth will want to spy
To see the supertonic prolonged over five.

And octave offering this simple phrase
To major sixths one to ninety-two.
Although it's been said many times, many ways,
Meet the Flintstones. To you.

Eighth line the way Tormé sings it:
Will drop diminished fifths. Tonight.

Y13 [and anyone else] please enjoy . . . Jazz Club  

NICE

Great concert on Friday night.
Thank you to all who sang and played with such confidence and musicality.  The audience were impressed and I am very proud of you all.

Now on to preparations for the Festive Evening, Christmas Assembly and Carol Services.

Two weeks without a blog.  Apologies for this, but the Music Department has, however, been as busy as ever.

There have been two evenings of Carol Singing with members of the Chamber Choir at The Royal York and Faulkener Hotel in Sidmouth, as part of their 'Turkey and Tinsel' weekends.

The Chamber Choir also travelled to Winchester Cathedral to sing Choral Evensong on Wed. 14th November.  This was a great occasion with the music consisting of Smith responses, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G by Stanford [with two Y13 soloists] and the anthem "The Lord is my Shepherd" by Rutter.  A large congregation enjoyed the singing and we enjoyed the playing of the organ scholar Jonathan Hope  who, in addition to having relatives in Honiton and Chard, has a cousin who is a Colytonian!  Small world.  The obligatory meal followed this evensong and we were looked after very well by the staff at ASK .

Glyndebourne Touring Opera's performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro was the next event, with a group of nearly 30 students and staff attending the Theatre Royal in Plymouth. [A different production to the one in the earlier link but performed with real joie de vivre]  The chorus included Colytonian Daniel Rudge.  Five proud staff were sitting in the audience watching a former student starting to make his way in the musical world.  Next we will hear him singing the Bass solos in the forthcoming CGS Senior Choir performance of Messiah on Saturday 20th April 2013 in Exeter Cathedral.