Eight students from Year 7 at Burgess Hill School for Girls visited local care home Edward House on 2nd December to sing some Christmas carols to the residents. The Carols included ‘Away in a Manger’, ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and ‘Silent Night’. They also sang two songs, ‘Torches’ and ‘Carol of the Children’ which they have been learning, as members of the Lower School Choir, for the Carol Service that took place on the 9th December. They finished with a resident’s request for ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. Anna Bruell said, “We really enjoyed the occasion, All of the residents said that they enjoyed hearing us sing and we hope to do it again next year.”
The Senior School Carol Service is one of the highlights of the Burgess Hill School for Girls calendar, and this year it lived up to the high expectations. The evening at St Andrew’s Church on 9th December commenced with the traditional first verse of ‘Once in Royal David City’ being beautifully sung as a solo by Year 7 student Alyshia Banayoti. The Senior Choir sang two pieces from Britten’s Ceremony of Carols accompanied by Emma Gadd, an Upper Sixth student, on the harp. The Chamber Choir gave angelic and atmospheric performances, which included pieces from Rutter, Bullard and an original composition by Chloe Miller, an Upper Sixth student. The Lower School Choir gave beautiful renditions of ‘Torches’ by Joubert and ‘Carol of the Children’ by Rutter. A special mention must also go to all the readers who helped make the service a truly magical evening. It was a fantastic way to conclude the autumn term and officially start the festive season.
Thirty three girls travelled to Gatwick Airport to sing Christmas carols to raise money for Chestnut Tree Hospice, one the schools’ nominated charities on 10th December. The repertoire included many of the traditional carols plus a few of the songs that the choir had sung the night before at the Carol Service such as ‘This Little Babe’ from Britten’s Ceremony of Carols.
After weeks of rehearsing, on the evening of the 11th December, Burgess Hill School for Girls held their annual Senior Christmas Concert with the orchestra opening the event. The strings were on top form throughout the evening, with performances from the Violin Quartet, String Quartet and the String Ensemble playing pieces by Mozart and Monti. After the interval, where guests were treated to traditional mulled wine and mince pies, the orchestra kicked-off the second half with some epic pieces from Star Wars. A particular highlight of the night was an angelic performance of ‘Away in a Manger’ and Winter Wonderland from the singing ensemble Findlay Forte. The concert was rounded off with the Sax Band playing some jazzy versions of famous Christmas tunes and with the Orchestra playing a medley of Christmas pieces to send everyone home in a joyful and festive mood.