2011 T H E C O O P E R S ’ M U S I C D E P A R T M E N T N E W S L E T T E R SEPTEMBER

As happens every year at Coopers’, September 2010 was filled with appre-hension as the top musicians of the

previous year left for University and other ventures, leaving the younger years to fill the gaps that emerged.

Thankfully, the younger talents of the

school proved just as willing and as able as ever, filling the music teachers with joy as once again rehearsals began and

ensembles started to bloom.

The year progressed, and the depart-ment outshone itself as it was once again invited to play at Mansion House

and St Botolph’s Church.

The annual music festival yet again brought new talent to the attention of the school, with composers being given

a platform for the very first time.

Successes within the school’s top Or-chestra and Big Band led to two day

trips to Birmingham as the ensembles

journeyed to perform at their respec-tive finals of the national Music For Youth competition.

As the year drew to a close, excitement grew as the department’s tour to Tus-cany, Italy came ever closer.

After a hard-working year with many

triumphs for the department, I think all involved would agree that Italy was the perfect ending!

Written by Tom Bryant

A Year in the Life of the Music Department

WANT TO LEARN TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?We have bursaries for en-dangered species, like the oboe, french horn, bassoon, viola and double bass.See Mrs Bristow in the Mu-sic Block, telephone 01708 255472 or email jbr@cooperscoborn.org.uk for more details.

MUSIC FOR YOUTH 2011 MUSIC TOUR TO TUSCANY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011

VIRTUOSO

After a competitive school heat on

18th March, the successful Big Band

and Gibson Orchestra gained the

opportunity to perform in Birming-

ham for the National Music For

Youth Festival.

And so, early on the morning of 6th

July, the tired members of Gibson

Orchestra boarded a coach to take

them all the way to Birmingham’s

Symphony Hall. After several hours

they arrived at the impressive venue

- able to seat over 2200 people - at

which they were to perform.

Under the direction of Mrs Jan Bris-

tow, they started with “Dance of the

Tumblers” by Rimsky-Korsakov, from

his opera Snow Maiden. This was

followed with “Una Donna A Quindici

Anni”, an aria from Mozart’s Cosi fan

Tutte, performed with soloist Jessica

Hope. This performance was com-

mended by the mentors. In a move

away from opera to give diversity to

the programme, Gibson concluded

with “Marche Slave” by Tchaikovsky.

This provided a chance for the

brass section to have some fun!

Buzzing from the performance, the

orchestra then split up into sections

for workshops with members and

tutors of the National Youth Or-

chestra, including John Miller for the

Brass players. During this they

worked on “Montagues and Capu-

lets” from Prokofiev’s Romeo and

Juliet (the well-known Apprentice

theme) which was exciting and in-

sightful for all.

Friday 8th July saw the smaller Big

Band travel to Birmingham, although

this time to play at the Adrian Bolt

Hall.

Big Band’s set, conducted by Mat-

thew Lorentzen, kicked off with the

chart “Cute”, followed with vocal

number “Ain’t That a Kick in the

Head”, featuring an energetic solo

from Connor Baldwin. “Here, There,

and Everywhere” contrasted with

the two previous numbers with its

slower tempo. Year 13 Louise Lee

performed the trombone solo.

To finish their set, Big Band re-

verted to an upbeat tune with a

playful performance of “Friend Like

Me” from the Disney film Aladdin.

An informative workshop on im-

provisation made the day complete,

with the likes of the National Youth

Jazz Collective imparting their

knowledge.

Both of these days were enjoyed

thoroughly by all members of Gib-

son Orchestra and Big Band, who

learnt new skills, as well as gaining

the opportunity to perform in dif-

ferent buildings and in front of new,

larger audiences.

Written by Jon Sheppard

Music For Youth 2011

VOCAL NUMBER “AIN’T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD”, FEATURING AN ENERGETIC SOLO FROM CONNOR BALDWIN.

INSIDETHIS ISSUE

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OFFRONT PAGE

MUSIC FOR YOUTHPAGE 2

MUSIC TOURPAGE 3

DATES TO REMEMBERPAGE 3

MUSIC CAPTAINSPAGE 4

COOPERS’ MUSIC FESTIVALPAGE 4-5

SUMMER CONCERTSPAGE 6

YEAR 6 WORKSHOPPAGE 7

YEAR 13 LEAVERSPAGE 6-7

MUSIC CLUB TIMETABLEBACK PAGE

PAGE 2

The summer of 2011 saw the Music department pack up its instruments

to take its biennial tour, returning to Italy to play 4 outstanding concerts.

Gibson Singers, Symphonic Wind

Band, Gibson Orchestra, Take Four, Big Band, Piano Trio and Senior

Choir all enjoyed a week performing in Italy, even if it did rain once or

twice!

They played concerts on the Monday and Wednesday, and as the Tuesday

night concert had been cancelled, rushed to play two concerts back-

to-back on Thursday night!

The musicians played two church concerts in San Gimignano and Flor-

ence and two evening concerts; one in the Gambrinus Café, Montecatini

Terme, and one in Montecatini Alto.

All of the concerts were filled with brilliant musical talent!

The Monday and Wednesday con-certs were of a classical nature and

were per formed in s tunn ing

churches. These concerts showcased the Gibson Orchestra (Music for

Youth National Festival finalist 2011) as well as the Piano Trio, Gibson

Singers and Senior Choir. The sound

of music drew in a crowd!

The Thursday night concerts high-

lighted Symphonic Wind Band, Take Four, Senior Choir and Big Band

(Music for Youth National Festival

finalist 2011).

Thursday night was a chaotic evening

but who else would be better to pull it off than a group of budding young

musicians?

The musicians were a credit to the school and worked extremely hard

throughout the week. They also spent perhaps too much of their free

time plotting against Mr Cornish!

Tour wasn’t without its old tradition, Peach Moment, where the person

who managed to embarrass them-selves the most each day was

crowned Peach and left with a smelly

tour shirt to wear!

Tom Bryant managed to win twice

this year, being accused first of inap-propriate use of a Bidet on the

Monday and managing to fall over

the double bass after claiming that “all his peach moments had been

counteracted” on the Wednesday.

Hollie Haddon won the top on the

Tuesday for getting changed in front

of an open window whilst at the church concert, and Mr Cornish

won it on the Thursday for asking a random group of Italians if they

wanted their bags carrying, thinking

they were the tour guides we were following!

The final award for Peach Moment went to Katie Miller, who had the

pleasure of wearing the t-shirt for

the 25 hour journey home. Having tidied and emptied her room, she

managed to pack her room key!

All in all it was an extremely enjoy-

able trip for all involved, and I’m sure

that it will stay a fond memory for a long time to come.

Written by Hannah Walker

Tour to Tuscany, Italy

THE MUSICIANS WERE A CREDIT TO THE SCHOOL AND WORKED EXTREMELY HARD THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.

DATES TOREMEMBER

REUNION WEEKENDSEPTEMBER 17TH/18TH

OPEN EVENINGSEPTEMBER 28TH

RICHARD MEYRICK P IANO MASTERCLASSSEPTEMBER 29TH

MR L’S BIRTHDAYSEPTEMBER 29TH

MISS W’S BIRTHDAYOCTOBER 10TH

CLOKER SERVICEOCTOBER 12TH

LOWER & UPPER SCHOOL PRIZEGIVINGOCTOBER 20TH

ABRSM THEORY EXAMSNOVEMBER 2ND

LODGE HILLNOVEMBER 14TH-16TH

CHRISTMAS CONCERTSDECEMBER 6TH/7TH

PRIZEGIVINGDECEMBER 9TH

ST LAURENCE’S CAROL CONCERTDECEMBER 14TH

ST BOTOLPH’S CAROL SERVICEDECEMBER 15TH

PAGE 3

2011 saw no exception for the

huge amount of talent from the

students of Coopers’.

Professional musicians provided

inspiration for all as they took on

the tough task of judging each of

the music festival’s whole school

and lower school categories. Al-

though only a select few pupils made it through to the final of the

competition, the standard of

music-making was incredibly high,

and every performer gained

unique valuable guidance from the

professionals.

This year saw the introduction of a

new category of the competition -

a composition class. This gave the

opportunity for all of the students in the school to get an opinion of

their work. Many A-level students

and GCSE students took up this

priceless opportunity to get valu-

able feedback from another per-

spective, along with lower school

students who had just finished

their songwriting project.

The final was held at the end of

the two week festival. The evening

was a great event for both the

audience and the participants. All

of the performers played fabu-

lously and the adjudicator was

very impressed with the level of

musicianship at the school.

After a long wait, the winner of Coopers’ Young Musician of the

Year 2011 was announced as Tara

Gulrajani and the Junior Young Mu-

sician of the Year, Evangeline Tang.

Written by Jon Sheppard

Coopers' Music Festival 2011THIS YEAR’S

MUSIC C APTAINS

ALEXANDER BOTTOMS

CHARLOTTE ROBINSON

JONATHAN SHEPPARD

HANNAH WALKER

THE ADJUDICATOR WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE LEVEL OF MUSICIANSHIP AT THE SCHOOL.

PAGE 4

PHOTOS

LEFT, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:- GIBSON SINGERS, ENSEMBLE CLASS WINNERS- TARA GULRAJANI RECEIVING THE MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD- ALL OF THE CLASS WINNERS

RIGHT, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:- TARA GULRAJANI, YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR- EVANGELINE TANG RECEIVING THE YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

PAGE 5

Last July in the middle of the Music

Department’s busy schedule, the

annual summer concerts were per-

formed in the school theatre. For

the first time ever, a musical inter-

lude was enjoyed in the canteen

while refreshments were being

served, which was warmly wel-

comed by yet another large audi-

ence.

Gibson Orchestra had a chance to

“warm up” for their performance at

the Symphony Hall in Birmingham

while Symphonic Wind Band, Big

Band, Jazz Quartet, Senior Choir

and Gibson Singers all had a chance

to perform their respective reper-

toires before going on the Music

Tour to Tuscany.

Over the two concerts we heard a

number of soloists perform, includ-

ing solo and ensemble perform-

ances from year 10 and 11 GCSE

classes which were very well re-

ceived, the hard work and commit-

ment of the students paying off as

all the performances were a great

success.

A big thank you to all of the sixth

formers who helped make these

concerts run smoothly and the

Senior Concert was an emotional

farewell to all of the year 13 leavers

whose contributions to concerts

over the years have been greatly

appreciated.

Written by Alex Bottoms

The Summer Concerts 2011

THE HARD WORK AND COMMITMENT OF THE STU-DENTS PAID OFF AS ALL OF THE PERFORMANCES WERE A GREAT SUCCESS.

YEAR 13LEAVERS

FAITH ADAMSONTAKING A GAP YEAR TO TEACH IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

DANIEL BHATTACHARYASTUDYING CLASSICAL CIVILI-SATION AND ENGLISH LIT-ERATURE AT ROEHAMPTON UNIVERSITY

SARAH BERRYSTUDYING ANIMAL BEHAV-IOUR AND WELFARE AT HARPER ADAMS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

ALICE BRYANTSTUDYING HISTORY AT CAR-DIFF UNIVERSITY

JESS DAVISONSTUDYING MUSIC AT CAN-TERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY

BILLY ELLIOTTSTUDYING MUSIC PRODUC-TION FOR MEDIA AT RAVENS-BOURNE UNIVERSITY

ANDY GUPTADOING AN APPRENTICESHIP IN ENGINEERING

JESS HOPESTUDYING MUSIC THEATRE AT ‘ARTS EDUCATION’

CHRISTIANNE KNOWLESSTUDYING MEDICINE AT ST. ANDREWS

LOUISE LEESTUDYING PSYCHOLOGY AT WARWICK UNIVERSITY

PAGE 6

COME TO THE MUSIC BLOCK AND SEE IF YOU CAN FIND OUR TURTLE

MASCOT, WAYNE!

Following the success of last year’s

Year 6 Workshop, Thursday 2nd

June saw around 50 Year 6 pupils, all

ready to join Coopers’ come Sep-

tember, join together in the Music

Theatre for a fun-filled three hours

of music making.

After a few minutes of making

friends, the orchestra was set up

and a vocal warm-up had started -

the well known “Oh When The

Saints” 3-part round.

Then the orchestra, consisting of

the usual orchestral sections of

Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Per-

cussion, joined with some electric

guitar, acoustic guitar and keyboard

players to play some well-known

tunes, including “Oom-Pah-Pah” from

Oliver, the Star Wars theme and

“Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter.

The pupils were able to perform all

three pieces in an informal concert

to their parents, after only a few

hours rehearsal - though this was

not the only performance given as

throughout the break we were

treated to several lovely piano per-

formances, some by pupils not even

playing with the orchestra!

Overall it was a pleasant experience

for all involved, and we look for-

ward not only to the Music De-

partment being graced by the pres-

ence of these promising students

throughout their time at Coopers’,

but to a 3rd Workshop next year!

Written by Charlotte Robinson

Year 6 Workshop

WELL-KNOWN TUNES INCLUD-ING “OOM-PAH-PAH” FROM OLIVER, THE STAR WARS THEME AND “HEDWIG’S THEME” FROM HARRY POTTER.

YEAR 13LEAVERS

ALEX MILLERSTUDYING PRIMARY TEACH-ING WITH SPANISH AT EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY

GEORGE MILLERSTUDYING COMPUTER SCI-ENCE AT GREENWICH UNI-VERSITY

TIM ROGERSSTUDYING EUROPEAN SO-CIAL AND POLITICAL STUD-IES AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

ADAM SELLSTUDYING THEATRE PRO-DUCTION AT BATH SPA UNI-VERSITY

CHLOE SIMSSTUDYING CIVIL ENGINEER-ING SURVEYING AT UNIVER-SITY OF EAST LONDON

JESS STARESSTUDYING MEDIA AT CAN-TERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY

NATHAN WESTONSTUDYING COMPUTER GAMES DEVELOPMENT AT SUSSEX UNIVERSITY

EMMA WILLIAMSSTUDYING ART AT HAVERING COLLEGE

JESS WILSONSTUDYING MUSIC AT CAN-TERBURY CHRIST CHURCH UNIVERSITY

Good luck f rom ever yone in

the mus ic depar tment in

the future , and thanks for ever y th ing you ’ve done!

PAGE 7

Music Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular ClubsMusic Extra-Curricular Clubs

Day Club Years Time Room

Monday Contemporary Vocal Ensemble All 13:30 G1

Year 7 Band 7 13:30 Music Theatre

GCSE Music Help 10/11 13:30 M2

Wind Quintet Invite Only 13:30 G2

Percussion Ensemble All 15:45 Music Theatre

Tuesday Senior Choir 10+ 13:30 G1

Ratcliffe Wind Band Grade 1+ 13:30 Music Theatre

Gibson Orchestra Invite by Audition 15:45 Music Theatre

Wednesday Coopers’ Singers 10+ (Male) 8:00 Music Theatre

Coborn Singers 9+ (Female) 13:30 G2

Brass Band All 13:30 Music Theatre

Symphonic Wind Band Grade 6+ 15:45 Music Theatre

Music Theory All 15:45 G2

Thursday Palmer Orchestra 7-11, Grades 1-6 13:30 Music Theatre

Senior Choir 10+ 13:30 G1

Big Band Grade 5+ 15:45 Music Theatre

Brass Ensemble Invite Only 16:45 Music Theatre

Piano Trio Invite Only 15:45 G1

Aural Training Grade 5-8 15:45 G2

Friday Junior Choir 7-9 13:30 G1

Little Band 7-11 13:30 Music Theatre

Music Tech Club 10+ 13:30 M2

Come and talk to anyone in the music block to find out more about any clubs!

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