Multitudes Marvel at Magnificent Musical Maestro
October 17, 2024
A huge audience of pupils, parents, ONs, staff and friends of the school enjoyed a musical treat of unrivalled brilliance in the Chapel on 17th October. Internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso, Tyler Hay visited the school that day to astound audiences with his brilliance on the piano.
His long day on site kicked off with a musical masterclass with senior scholars, and after lunch this was repeated with junior music scholars. He proved a demanding tutor and his help to guide and improve the performance of young musicals was exemplary and inspirational.
Later that day, a packed Chapel enjoyed An Evening with Tyler Hay, where without the aid of any sheet music, Tyler entranced his audience with two hours of astonishing skill on our grand piano. Two of Chopin’s best-known polonaises were interspersed with a fiendish but entertaining Czerny variations piece and two of Beethoven’s best loved sonatas: the Pathétique and the Appassionata. The evening concluded with a breakneck rendition of Liszt’s exuberant Hungarian Rhapsody No 2. The programme was simply breathtaking.
The audience ranging from 10 to 90 year olds was held spellbound by his dexterity and very much warmed to his character as a musical educator with his witty and erudite introductions to each piece.
The recital was the brainchild of friends of Norwich School Gill and Bob Repper, organised to commemorate Bob’s 75 birthday. In line with Bob’s wishes, his generous sponsorship of the evening enabled ticket sales to go towards bursary support for music scholars at the school, to pass on the musical baton to the next generation,. The school offers sincere thanks for their kindness and vision.
The interval allowed the audience to enjoy a private viewing of the beautiful “Symphony of Colour” exhibition in the Crypt curated by talented local artists Emma Wilkinson and Denise Canderton showing their own original artworks. Their exhibition is on until 26th October and is free to enter.
All upcoming cultural events this Michaelmas Term can all be found in our publication At Close Quarters. See: Publications | Norwich School (norwich-school.org.uk).

