A large and appreciative audience filled the magnificent Cathedral of St John the Baptist on the night of 6th March 2024 to an unforgettable musical concert courtesy of the Norwich School Choral Society and members of Norwich Baroque. This annual public concert is a jewel in the crown of the school’s busy calendar of music and a cultural highlight for Norwich’s flourishing creative arts scene.
This event enables some remarkable and unique collaborations. The Norwich School Choral Society (being the school’ s adult choir made up of friends, former parents, and staff) performs with the school’s pupil choirs, combining to make up an impressive sounding 120-strong choir spanning ages between 12 to the over 80s. Similarly, our pupil instrumentalists practiced and played alongside the hugely experienced professional musicians that comprise Norwich Baroque, bringing together an orchestra of some 40 talented musicians. This ensemble included beguiling cameos from the glockenspiel and harp, as well as an especially rousing timpani. Such intergenerational and educationally beneficial collaborations are simply inspirational, resulting in music that was both sensational to listen to and of the very highest quality.
The programme kicked off and closed with modern works: Randall Stroope’s elegiacal Omnia Sol to open proceedings and Rutter’s well known and enormously moving Requiem to close the concert on a real high, all under the direction of their charismatic conductor Posy Walton. Between those segments, our audience was treated to a double bill of Mendelssohn. His Hear my Prayer featured two soloists : Year 8 pupil William Lambert, the Senior Chorister at the Cathedral in The Close whose angelic treble soared amongst the roof vaults and pupil Alice Platten’s confident soprano was a typically assured performance from a chorister well accustomed to the big occasion. The second of Mendelssohn’s pieces performed was his fiendishly challenging Violin Concerto in E Minor under the assured baton of Jonathan Stamp our Director of Music. Our solo violinist was Upper Sixth pupil Rosemary Zhang whose dexterous and sensitive interpretation was breathtaking and delivered all from memory. Later, she was also a solo soprano with fellow Year 13 pupils Antonia Williamson and Alice Platten in Rutter’s Requiem. All our young soloists acquitted themselves with great maturity and skill, to demonstrate the breadth and depth of musical talent within the school’s music department.
Commenting on their performances, soloist 12 year old William said:
“Singing Hear My Prayer by Mendelssohn was great fun and very enjoyable to do. I was a little nervous, but when it was my turn to sing, with the help of everyone supporting me, I did it!”
Soloist Rosemary had this to say on the night:
“Performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on Wednesday night was an absolute joy! I found that playing with an orchestra had a totally different dynamic compared to playing only with a piano accompaniment - there was a more brilliant and magical feel. Mr Stamp and the members of Norwich Baroque were all extremely supportive and the performance felt more like a collaboration rather than a solo. Fitting in practice alongside four STEM A Levels was no easy feat. Practising when I could during school breaks and before school proved to be the best way for me to fit in the hours. Doing practice performances in front of my violin teacher, Emily Sheldrake, and informal audiences prepared me well for the performance also.
Furthermore, I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to sing as a soloist in the last movement of the Rutter Requiem - Lux Aeterna. I enjoyed displaying two contrasting styles of music - both of which I am passionate about. Overall, it was a pleasure being a part of this concert and I couldn’t thank Norwich School enough for providing these great opportunities for me!”
Our guest of honour for the evening was music legend Colin Dowdeswell and his wife Tanni. Colin was the school’s Director of Music from 1983 – 2010. He had founded the Norwich School Choral Society in 1983 with it first concert delivered in 1984, hence the evening’s 40-year anniversary celebrations. This was graciously acknowledged by him at the post-concert reception as he expressed his pride in the longevity of his initiative and the musical achievements over so many memorable concerts. During his tenure, enthusiastic support for this initiative had been provided by former Headmaster, Chris Brown, who was in attendance with his wife Caroline to celebrate this anniversary concert.
A concert of this size and complexity, involving nearly 175 musicians was only made possible thanks to the generous support from a number of backers. Norwich School has long been a member of the national Choir Schools’ Association and their generous grant was hugely appreciated, as was the financial sponsorship of Keys Auctioneers, Hansells Solicitors, Savills, the Norfolk Club and Drury Vehicle Services. Our gratitude also goes out to Dean Fr Alan Hodgson from the Cathedral and his staff for being such welcoming hosts, to all the Choral Scoiety Committee for their dedication and to the hard-working members of the school’s music department to deliver such a spectacle. Finally, our thanks go to all those performers for their many months of practice that culminated in a flawless performance and to our supportive audience whose long final ovation showed just how much joy this event had brought them.
