BCS Young Musician
After a week of wonderful music-making, the BCS 2020 Music Festival reached it’s final cadence in a crescendo of incredible musicianship. We were delighted to welcome Mrs Iona Zuiderwijk to spend the day at Blue Coat, judging our 94 semi-finalists during the day and selecting the eventual 16 finalists to perform in a Gala Concert that evening.
Iona was a pupil at Chethams and Wells Cathedral School before going to the Royal Academy of Music to study violin with Molly Mack and Ralph Holmes and she also studied the harpsichord. After a career in playing, she diverted into a career in social work and probation, qualifying and working in various settings. Studying violin with Howard Davis during this time, Iona reverted back to music, becoming the Head of Strings for Oakham, Guernsey Music Service, Birkdale and Kimbolton schools as well as later a Head of music. She became a coach for the National Children’s Orchestra.
Mrs Zuiderwijk, our adjudicator, had the unenviable task of choosing the winner of the coveted title ‘BCS Young Musician of the Year’. And this year we crowned Jessie Hong (Y6) as our overall winner, with her breathtaking performance of ‘O Polichinelo’ by Hector Villa-Lobos (1887-1959).
It has been a real pleasure hearing so many children take part this year (144!), and there has been an atmosphere of mutual support and encouragement through all stages of the Festival. The depth and breadth of musical talent never ceases to amaze me; great things really do happen at BCS!
Mr Nicklin
Thank you to Rishul and Maggie in Year 6 for directing and producing the above video!
Pre Prep Concert
The week started on a musical high and by the end of the week the momentum was still going! On Thursday nearly ninety children from Pre-Prep performed in a music concert to a fully packed audience. Transition Music Makers started the show off, highlighting their progress in beat keeping and rhythmic repetition. Pre-Prep Guitar played a skilful Latin inspired piece in four parts, followed by Suzuki Groups and Fiddlesticks who continue to impress their audience with their precision as well as joyful playing. Soloist Brandon Lim led a challenging 3 part round performed by all Pre-Prep Recorders and concluded with a beautifully sung three-part version of ‘Kookaburra’ by the massive Year 2 Choir. A big thank you to the music team of Ms Carey, Miss Eastwood, Mr Gough, Miss Akehurst, and Mr Nicklin for putting on yet another first-rate concert!
