The golden age of American music was recreated when 200 of Felsted School’s most talented musicians staged the biggest concert of the year to a packed audience of toe-tapping family and friends.
Choirs, orchestras and bands made up of pupils aged 9 to 18 raised the roof of the school’s Lord Riche Hall with a celebration of some of the biggest names in American musical history, from Glenn Miller to Jerry Lee Lewis.
The tone for the musical evening was set when the Felsted Orchestra performed a selection of Cole Porter classics, followed by ‘My Fair Lady’ and a tribute to Henry Mancini. Felsted Prep’s Young Voices choir then got into the swing with a jazz and blues tribute, followed by the Senior Choir singing tunes from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Carousel’ and the Gershwin favourite ‘I Got Rhythm’. The choirs combined to relive the silver screen triumph of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ with confidence and panache.
After the interval, Felsted’s steel bands got into the groove with American classics including Herbie Hancock’s ‘Watermelon Man’, Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’ and a rendition of ‘In the Mood’ by Glenn Miller. ‘La Bamba’ as well as ‘Louie Louie’ and ‘Lucille’ were on the playlist for Felsted Prep’s talented jazz band, showcasing their powerful guitar and horn sections. Year 9 band Six of Spades then made an appearance, performing a spirited version of Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’.
Big band tunes and songs from the shows made up a lively set by the Senior Jazz Band – highlights were definitely Glenn Miller’s ‘Little Brown Jug’ and Coleman and Fields’ ‘Big Spender’ – and the evening ended with a raucous rock and roll finale by the Jazz Band and guests of ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’.
‘This was such an enjoyable evening and did real justice to some of the most iconic music of all time,’ said Felsted Preps’s Director of Music, Owen Rees. ‘It was also a celebration of the musical talent we have at Felsted – performing in front of such a supportive and enthusiastic audience is a great experience for our young musicians and spurs them on to hit new heights with their singing and playing.’
All Felsted pupils are involved in music in some way, whether it is singing in one of the formal or informal choirs, or through individual musical interest, with roughly half of all students learning at least one musical instrument – the whole of Year 3 learn strings and all of Year 6 learn brass. The school partners with London Junior Guildhall to offer international standard tuition in percussion, which takes place in the school’s professional quality on-campus music school. Learn more about music at Felsted here: www.felsted.org/music.