Confuzzlefied!!

.... and I'm sure you are reading that title! It was a comment that came about in the opening class of today's Eisteddfod, when Peter Hewitt was talking about quaver passages to the Orchestral Woodwind Duet/Trio/Quartet Junior class - sometimes, when you're nervous, and going at speed, "quavers can become confuzzlefied...." - well, I know what he meant at least.... I think.... haha!

The opening afternoon session was a delightful one, beginning with some lovely groups from Melrose in the Orchestral Woodwind Duet/Trio/Quartet Junior Class, and continuing with the Under 16 and Under 18 Violin Classes. These two classes showed some brilliant violin playing at a very high level. In particular, Kirsty Dempster and Charlie Brewin showed excellent command of their instrument, both with very different styles, tones and nuances, but both to a high quality - so much so, the adjudicator couldn't separate them, and awarded them both the trophy. Following the violins was the Voice & Instrument Open class, in which myself and my student Harry Giubelio performed a song for voice and ukulele, "Sleeping By Myself" by Eddie Vedder. From a personal point of view, I'm really enjoying working with Harry, both as a teacher and as a fellow musician, and we've really enjoyed working on this song. Very pleased we came away with a Distinction mark of 87 as well - but how sad there was no trophy (*hint hint*). Next was the Novelty Song Under 18. A new category of class for this year (there's also and Over 18 class, yet to come on Saturday Night....), this class was essentially 'invented' for people who have a song they would like to perform, but the song in question doesn't actually fit into any other category. Over the years people (myself included!) have managed to squeeze said songs into other classes, so this class was created to allow these brilliant songs to be performed. Sad to see only Elizabeth Beacom in the Under 18 class, although I suspect it's because there's not too many Under 18's who are willing to put themselves out on a limb and do something a bit mad/off-the-wall/unknown etc etc. Elizabeth performed fantastically in her song, with a brilliant rendition of Tim Minchin's "F Sharp", performed self-accompanied on piano with expert comedic timing as well, and suitably 'off key' F sharps! Brilliant!

Another class with only one entry was the Male Voice Choirs Under 14, where the Grammar School Boys Vocal Group came onto stage to perform "See you Again", a lovely powerfully lilting number (with great rhythmic accompaniment), and a somewhat 'straight' rendition of "Johnny B Goode." My praise goes to the lad with the maraca - again, I can't tell you his name, but I couldn't take my eyes off him for how happy he seemed to be when singing, and even more so once he had a maraca to shake! And I'm also incredibly jealous of the lad with the beautiful hollow-top guitar, because now I want one! This young vocal group showed great promise in their performance, and I hope they all continue to sing in the future. Rounding out the afternoon were the Orchestral Woodwind Ensemble for Secondary School Age, the Chamber Music Ensemble for Secondary School Age, Orchestra/Band/Ensemble Open, and the Secondary School Choirs (years 7-11 only). A great way to end the afternoon, seeing more young musicians working together in ensembles and choirs. In particular I was pleased to see The Grammar School Lower School Girls Choir receive a Distinction for their performance in the last class of the afternoon. This young choir make a great sound, and it's clear they've worked very, very hard for this Eisteddfod. Well done girls, keep up the great work.

My mother and I opened up the evening session with our yearly tradition of the Two Pianos Open. Some of you may remember that we've just finished (last year) our seven year saga of playing Holst's "Planet Suite" for two pianos, so we needed to find something new to perform! Happy to say, we've chosen Richard Rodney Bennett's "Four-piece Suite", starting with movement four (naturally!). I loved learning and performing this piece, it's a complete contrast to the fabulous classical music of Holst, and is much more rooted in Jazz/Rock (which suits me down to the ground!). The main downside of performing in the two pianos is that there aren't two pianos that match - the main piano is a Boudoir Grand (not quite a full grand), and the only other available is the upright from the dressing room.... not ideal, as they really don't compare! One day... ONE DAY, I hope the Eisteddfod will have two beautiful Steinways for us ALL to play (**again, HINT HINT HINT!!**). That being said, the two pianos is amazing fun, and I'm very pleased we got a Distinction mark of 88 for our first piece of this new set. 1 year down, 3 to go! Before the interval we had two classes, the Orchestral Woodwind Duet/Trio/Quartet Open, and the Country and Western Over 18s class. Small classes again, but with a nice selection of music from all competitors. I particularly enjoyed Andrew Hyde's performance in the Country and Western class - I feel this genre really suits him (of all the genre's I've heard him perform in this year), and I hope he explores this style more.

Winner of the O18 Songs from the Shows, Stephen Glencross

After the interval, we were treated to the Over 18 Songs from the Shows - quite literally, treated! It was a fantastic night with a glorious cross-section of Musical Theatre Songs. It was unfortunate though that so many performers needed to drop out of this class - I do hope more people in the future really consider whether they can commit to performing (particularly for classes like this, as they are scheduled on nights that people book tickets for!) None-the-less, this was still a great class. Even Deputy John Gollop got up to perform tonight, which was great to see - anyone and everyone can (and should!) have a go, and support the local Eisteddfod. It would be lovely to see a few more of our Deputies coming up to support this wonderful festival, even if only from the auditorium!
- My personal highlights of the evening included Lucy Cave's rendition of "Unusual Way" from Nine, and my friend Scott Michel performing in his first ever Eisteddfod performance, "I need to Know" from Jekyll and Hyde - well done Scott, safe to say, you earned your pint! The show-stopping number of the night was most certainly class winner Stephen Glencross with "I only want to Say (Gethsemane)" from Jesus Christ Superstar. I've had the great joy go getting to know Stephen these last few months, as he and I are working on Les Miserables together, and he asked me to coach him through this song. It's been wonderful to see someone who's always had a pretty great voice develop as an actor, and quite literally knock it out the park in his performance, earning himself the trophy and an absolutely well deserved Outstanding mark of 90. Well done Stephen! Hope to see you again next year!

A shorter day, but jam-packed full of great music and show-stopping performances. Only two days left of the Eisteddfod, we're in the home stretch for 2016. Last chance for music!