"Never louder than Lovely"

My title for this post comes from what seemed to be the theme of the day, a phrase that adjudicator Peter Hewitt used several times when talking about volume when singing - essentially, the concept is that when you sing loudly you must be sure not to distort the tone of your voice (unless it says so in the score!) - It's a great statement to consider, and yes, there are times when 'lovely' singing is not actually appropriate (I've done a few death scenes in Musical Theatre shows in my time - trust me, in order to be convincing, you can't sing those prettily!) I did also, however, consider the phrase 'Anti-penultimate' as a title. He used this when talking to a piano student this morning, meaning 'the bit before the bit before the end! I thought that was rather apt given that we're now on day 7 of this 10 day music festival!

Thursday morning started with two beautiful classes, the Under 8 and Under 10 Girls Vocal Solos. This really did show off some great potential in these young ladies, all showing their good grasp of story telling and pitch control, earning themselves all Highly Commended marks. Ruby-Jane Gill won the Under 8 class, and in a tough one to call, it was Lauren Varley's rendition of "The Frog" which won her the trophy in the Under 10s. Well done girls, great work! Following the vocal solos we were treated to two similar classes: the Chamber Music Duo/Trios/Quartets, and Chamber Music Ensemble, both for Junior School Age. This was some brilliant music making by these young musicians, another testament to the great teaching they are receiving. I don't think I've ever seen so many cellos and violins in one room (and one viola.... there's always one!) A particular highlight for me was where two cellists actually spun their cello's mid song - fabulously theatrical. I'd like to mention the Purdue brothers, Ollie and Archie, who not only show great promise on their respective instruments (Violin and Cello), but a good sense of how to lead an ensemble/section - an important skill to have, and not just in music, I think you'll agree! Well done to all in these classes.

Joe Mansell - happy to win the Under 10 Piano

- The first half of the morning was rounded off with some great young skill in the Piano Under 10. It was lovely to see this age group of performers allowed to get onto the stage before the class to have a sit at the piano, so as to get a feel for it. If you've never played that piano before, well.... there's a reason it's nicknamed "The Beast" - It's clunky in places, hard to get varied dynamics, and because it's a grand piano, the music stand is much higher than these performers are used to playing (many teachers will have an upright piano, where the music stand is much lower). This also gave these pianists a chance to figure out where, and how high the stool should be (although, not all of them got this right - but this is a learning process!). A brilliant class all round, and I was very pleased for my student Joe Mansell, who won the trophy in his very first Eisteddfod. Even though Joe had a small fluster mid-piece (and recovered brilliantly, I might add), the adjudicator praised him for his musicality and feel for the music. It was great to see Joe's look of absolute shock, followed by his beaming smile. Well done Joe, keep up the good work!

For the rest of the morning we were treated to the Under 14 Violin class, and the Junior Choirs Part Singing. The Under 14 Violins showed us their musicianship, with lots of great technique being developed alongside the tackling of much harder repertoire. Two performances stood out for me in this class: Jacob Wright's "Syncopation" showed us his lovely warmth of tone in his violin playing, as well as his great command of his fingers (fine playing indeed!), and Louise Madden, for her skilful interpretation of Vivaldi's Concerto in A Minor. They have different styles of playing, but it's clear they are starting to understand what music speaks to them, and what they are best at playing (remember, not all composers suit all players! I adore listening to Lizst but I can't play him to save my life!). Great work guys, I look forward to seeing more of you in the future.
- We finished off with the Junior Choirs. It was a lovely end to a great morning, with both the Guernsey Music Centre Junior Choir and the Beechwood Friday Choir performing confidently. Beechwood's final number "Life's a Happy Song" certainly left the audience in good spirit! A high standard of singing in this class, with Beechwood earning a Distinction, and Music Centre an Outstanding. "I have had a good morning!" Peter Hewitt exclaimed in his adjudication. Yes Peter, haven't we all!

L-R: Hamis Glass, Charlie Brewin, Benjamin Fletcher, Jack Colley
& Jack Tostevin-Hall

After lunch, I must confess, I was excited to see the next classes: Piano Under 18, Versatility Under 18, and Cello Under 18. A quick read of the programme, and you already knew you were in for a treat. Starting us off for the afternoon were five young lads in the Piano Under 18, performing some incredible show pieces of music. It's clear these lads are not afraid to tackle the 'big boys' so to speak, as we were given, essentially, a wonderful concert of Chopin, Grieg, Liszt and Rachmaninov. What stood out for me in this class was how these lads really are in full control, not only of the music, but also of the piano! All of them had stunning moments in their playing, but I just want to point out my particular highlights. Jack Colley's beautifully delicate flowing right hand in Lizst's "Weldesrauchen" - honestly, I don't quite know how he managed to get that sound out of that piano (and I said to my mum, the last person I saw achieve that was Seb Grand - so that's fine praise indeed!). Jack Tostevin-Hall, a fair few years younger than his competitors really stood up against the rest of them, playing Chopin's "Raindrop Prelude" admirably, with some lovely colours. I think what Jack needs now is just a little more sense of 'breathing' with his music, and he'll be well on the way to phenomenal playing. And finally, Charlie Brewin's "Nocturne in Eb Major" (again by Chopin). There were moments in this where the notes were so well placed that I think I got a little tear in my eye! Just magical playing in my view! A tough class to call, the trophy went to Hamish Glass for his decisive and impressive performance of Rachmaninov's "Prelude in C#minor" (Bells of Moscow). Hamish made this piano sing, and it was all the more impressive from memory. Well done boys, truly promising work for the future!
- Continuing from this we had the Versatility Under 18, followed by the Cello Under 18. Particularly in the Versatility we saw incredible skill in performing, and an amazing variety in, not only instruments, but genre and musical style as well: Harp, Xylophone, Piano, Voice, Modern, Classical, Pop, Contemporary - It was quite literally all there, and with only two performers! My respect absolutely goes to Hannah Beacom, who accompanied her daughter Elizabeth for her Xylophone piece "Concertino" by Toshiro Mayuzumi, in what is not only an insane Xylophone solo, it is an insane accompaniment. Bravo indeed! (And thanks for asking me to page-turn... that wasn't in the least bit terrifying....)

Continuing on with the Brass Duo/Trio/Quartet Under 18 and Recorder Groups Open, St Sampson High School were back to showcase more of their work. It's great to see how well this school (and their music department) are doing this year, and I really hope that we see, not just more of them, but more of all music students from all schools. In my opinion, it's not a talent issue, as I know the talent exists across the island, rather a resources issue that needs to be addressed. But anyway, these two groups showed us a great selection of work. I do wonder if perhaps the Brass Quartet could have conducted themselves (I actually think you're meant to in this class?....). They certainly have the skill to be able to do it. Another suggestion for these performers is perhaps they should consider making a program of music which includes more than one composer, as I've noticed a few times that in one class they have performed pieces either written or arranged by the same composer. This is absolutely not a criticism of their playing, which is very good indeed, but rather a consideration for next year. Even when you play contrasting pieces in tempo, key and mood, if it's all by the same guy who wrote it, it can still 'sound the same' as each composer has their own voice/language. I think these performers will excel even more if they explore and program a wider variety of work in the same group. We then moved onto the Instrumental Bach Class, 16 and Over. In contrast to what I have just said, this class IS about one composer, J S Bach. There is this general consensus of 'if you can play Bach, you can play anything', and in many respects that is true. Particularly for this class we were treated to, not only Bach at it's purest (Jack Colley performing on the Piano), but Bach 're-imagined, with Benjamin Fletcher playing the infamous "Prelude in C" on the Bass Guitar.  It really is interesting to hear Bach on the Bass Guitar, and I think with some even further re-imagination of how to create better pedal notes, Benjamin will really excel at this. A wonderful class all-round. Closing out the afternoon we were treated to an array of more excellent choral work in three choir classes: Secondary Age, Male Voice Under 18, Secondary Age Madrigal. A treat for the eyes and ears, there was even seem choral choreography from Guernsey Girls Choir (a little reminiscent of 'Les Chansonelles' back in the day), if not entirely successful. There is definitely a sense (for me anyway), that, if you're going to do choreography, you need to ALL be 100% committed to it, and not at all embarrassed by it, as I felt was the case with some of these girls. However, it's understandable - you turn up to choir to sing and you're told you're going to dance?! That said, Guernsey Girls performed incredibly well. Elizabeth College's Close Harmony Group showed us some great promise in their more Barbershop Style. In particular I could hear great potential in their tenor (who, I'm afraid, I don't know his name, but he wears brown shoes!). I do think these boys could take a little more care in either picking, or arranging music to suit their voices, and not stretch themselves too far at this stage. As a vocal coach, I know that this is a delicate time for boys/young men's voices, and in fact they need some limitations in order to develop their voices safely and correctly. Finishing off the afternoon was the Madrigal class, with both Rhapsodie and the Guernsey Music Centre Youth Choir showing great command of this style of singing, earning themselves a Distinction and an Outstanding respectively.

This evening, do forgive me, I'm not going to talk about these classes in order, I'll talk about them in sort of, genre clumping! Starting the evening were Fourtissimo performing in the Vocal Trio/Quartet Over 18, with a cracking piece called "Name That Tune", a delightful piece that gave the audience a chance to try and guess all the tunes they were performing, performed humorously, and intricately, earning them a Distinction mark of 89.  The Instrumental Jazz Open class, although only contesting two performers was a stunning class showcasing some wonderful Jazz talent in Pippa Cordall and Benjamin Fletcher. I particularly enjoyed Benjamin's performance of Victor Wooten's "Amazing Grace" on Bass Guitar (a piece I have heard my brother perform before), and Benjamin's command of his left hand in finding all those harmonics was fantastic. Pippa won this class with her suitably gypsy-jazz violin solo, and a Distinction.

My next selection of the evening includes the Operatic Solo Over 18, the Lieder Over 18, and the French Song Over 18, all more classical in nature. This really has been a great Eisteddfod for Soprano singer Deborah Bideau, who received two more Oustanding Marks (and two more trophies to boot) with her Operatic, and French Song performances. However, Tina James and Marilyn Pugh narrowly defeated Deborah and her Lieder Partner James Henderson, just denying Deborah an Eisteddfod hat-trick. It's worth explaining a little bit about the concept of a Lieder, I feel. It is meant to be, as the Voice and Piano classes are, a duet for voice and piano... but all in German! Both partnerships in this class showed great connection and understanding, which was really lovely to see. Next up, we had the Mixed Voice Choirs Over 18, featuring The Accidentals and GYT Choir. A great class all round, I think what really struck me, certainly from a performing point of view, was the camaraderie between these choirs. The Accidentals performed first, and as we left the stage, GYT applauded us from the dressing rooms as we made our way to the theatre, and likewise The Accidentals applauded GYT as they came off the stage. It's wonderful to see (and hear) such friendship in music making on the island. Peter Hewitt has stated several times how impressed he is with the choral work here in Guernsey, stating that it is "alive and well, and long may it remain so!". It is certainly alive an well in these two choirs, each showcasing their unique skills as choirs. Full of praise for both choirs (and happily for me, my choral writing for my piece "April"), there were Outstandings all around, with GYT earning a 90, and The Accidentals a 91 and the trophy.

Jazz Winners, 4 years running

Closing out the night in a suitably smooth and laid back way was the Jazz Voice Over 18. With only three of us competing, like the folk song class this is another one that seems to have fizzled out a bit this year, which is a real shame. There used to be dozens of us in this class, and I hope there's bit of a jazz-comeback in the future! That said, it was another 'small but perfectly formed' class, with three performers performing three classics: "He's a Tramp", "Autumn Leaves" and "St James Infirmary Blues". Peter Hewitt was full of praise for the performers understanding of the genre, and I'm pleased to say that I won the trophy with a Distinction mark of 89. Thank you Chris Taylor for accompanying me (again!) - That's one of the really nice things in the Eisteddfod, being able to showcase a great working partnership, year in, year out.

All in all, another successful (and long) day at the Guernsey Music Eisteddfod. We're reaching the home-stretch of the music now, but there's no sense of winding down, that's for sure. There's still some excellent music to come!