These are a few of my Favourite Things.....

It's been a fantastic music Eisteddfod for 2015 - and after a few days of winding down and reflecting, I thought I'd look back and share with you all some of my favourite moments of the festival, and some of the valuable information passed on by the adjudicator Ian Hytch, as well as some of the most memorable quotes.

One thing we have in Guernsey is a fantastic array of choirs, ranging from primary school to *ahem* getting on a bit, we've a great tradition of singing in groups here, and it's certainly something we do really well. But I've picked three that I want to mention as my personal favourites.
- Forest School Junior Choir, led by Elaine Chapman performed a beautiful song, 'Can you Hear Me?', complete with sign language. What struck me most about this performance was not only how incredible their use of very quiet singing was, but the way the children were able to include the signing without help from Elaine, leaving her able to conduct the choir musically. I think this highlights some great teaching going on here - it really was a spell-binding moment for me.
- New to the Guernsey Eisteddfod, Alderney Community Choir (directed by Marilyn Pugh... AKA, 'Mum') took to the stage at St James, in their first ever competitive performance (and after forming only 15 months prior, these guys are still 'rookies' to choral singing). But what really shone for them was just how much they all really wanted to be there, and how proud they were to be singing at all, let alone on stage at St James. Opening their programme with a specially commissioned piece, 'The Alderney Anthem' (written just for them) their pride shone through, and in some way I think that gave them the edge and helped them win the class. On winning the class, the eruption of squeals and cheers was amazing. A really wonderful 'Cinderella Story' unfolded that day, and delightful it was too!
- My final mention of choirs is for Le Rondin's School Choir, directed by Juanita Byrne. I love hearing Le Rondin perform, because, like the Alderney Choir, they all appear so happy and proud to be performing, and really, that is what music should always be about, for anyone. I particularly enjoyed their song 'Blame it on Brian', which added a fabulous sense of humour into their programme. What was the cherry on the cake was for their director Juanita Byrne to receive a special mention during the special awards (in contention for the Longmire Baton) for her immense skill: conducting, piano playing, singing and signing - Juanita does it all, and all at the same time, whilst captivating young children and helping them perform. Simply amazing.

Winning the Miriam R le Page Prix D'Honneur Trophy was Marie-Claire Benoist for some outstanding Harp playing. Marie-Claire received the first outstanding mark of the festival with a performance of 'Nataliana' in the U18 Harp class. From her absolute command of her instrument and sense of maturity in her playing, you'd be forgiven for thinking she's older than she is, but when you remember she also won the U13 harp class, it only makes her playing more incredible. A very well deserved winner of the special award for 'most memorable/excellent performance' indeed.

Every year, people manage to impress everyone by being inventive with how they present things, and one such example that stuck in my mind was GATE's musical scene 'Bonnie & Clyde', where the tap-dancers were in fact used as gunfire. Amazingly percussive (and musical, in fact), I thought this was an ingenious use of dance to compliment one of the most iconic scenes from the film - well done to them!
 - Also in the category of 'inventive' was a certain Michael Sullivan and Josh Gabriel's rendition of 'One Day More': where, between the two of them, they covered all 8-parts, complete with the voices and some nimble footwork. What I think was the most amazing about this was, comedy aside, these guys still managed to sing it really well (including some hilarious, but 'beautifully' sung falsetto for the female parts). I think that's the key to music comedy, and these guys nailed it. 

Some brilliant moments that spring to mind, often have no relation to music whatsoever - but they happened, and they made the festival what it is! For example, the bubbly wonderfulness that is Lindsey Veillard. Lindsey is a prime example of the local performer who supports the festival by being in it every year, and always upon always giving us a great show. Lindsey's also the type of performer who's not afraid to poke-fun at herself, be silly and enjoy entertaining, and waltzing onto stage in a kilt and an orange wig certainly stuck to that mould for this year's festival! Another such moment was the delightful sight of four adult women in pink tutus singing 'The Sugar Plum Fairy' - I'm not sure how many other musical festivals would let you get away with these types of antics, but I've not heard one complaint yet, so let's keep the fun in shall we?
 - A wonderful moment for this festival was when our adjudicator Ian Hytch chose to present the ladies who move the piano and run the classes all outstanding certificates for their 'entertainment between classes'. One such moment (that blink and you might have missed it) was when one of them broke one of the theatre seats, completely removing the seat from the rest of the chair. I mean, I know we all complain about the theatre and are desperately wishing for a better one, but I'm not sure vandalism is the answer! - Still, incredibly funny, thank you ladies!
 - I think what never fails to impress me is polite wit, and nowhere was this truer of Jack Colley. A young up-and-coming pianist, Jack showcased his gentlemanly wit whilst being adjudicated for the Open Piano Duet Class, in which he performed with his mum, Laura Colley. In discussing the tempo of the piece, Ian Hytch asked Jack, "Did mum go off a bit too fast?..." in setting the speed. With great style, Jack simply replied, "I couldn't possibly say..." #Classic

A relatively new class highlighting the fun of performing together is the Corporate Class. Featuring 5 organisations taking to the stage to show us what they can do, it was an excellent way to round off the festival, with my particular favourite being The Fire Department. Safe to say, these guys had me physically crying with laughter, and were pretty musically competent as well. If you missed it, there is actually a video circulating on facebook for which I've provided the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/GuernseyFireAndRescueService?fref=nfhttps://www.facebook.com/GuernseyFireAndRescueService?fref=nf

*HOWEVER - I really should point out, that video and photography that's not official (as in the Press/Media etc) is actually forbidden (Tut Tut, *slap on the wrists*) - BUT, hey, I've warned you for next year, so watch the video and enjoy yourselves.

And finally, for an incredibly personal favourite, I think being asked onstage whether the adjudicator could have a copy of my composition to perform in the UK with his own choir was definitely my highlight of the festival. As a composer, getting your work performed is incredibly difficult, and I certainly wasn't expecting someone to just outright ask for some of my work, let alone in the middle of adjudicating it! And, according to my mum, my face was an absolute picture, so I hope that's stuck in a few people's minds as well.

I'll leave you with a few phrases that were said by none other than this year's adjudicator, and hope you've all had a great music Eisteddfod for 2015

"They were jolly the Victorians, weren't they?..."
"Jazz cannot be written down"
"Smile & Yawn"
"Just because you can't write my chord down doesn't mean it isn't music (Debussy)"
"I'm a great believer in making your audience wait"
"Oh, I know what trumpeters are like, I'm married to one"
"Why is music in the curriculum? - Because it teaches children how to listen"

And of course, not to forget....
"Everything is really, really lovely."