We opened the afternoon session with three Double Bass classes; the Under 12, the Under 16, and the Under 18. I find Double Bass is one of those instruments for which it takes a long time for a student to get really comfortable with it, and start to excel at the instrument, probably because of how big the instrument is, I'm sure it can be a bit unwieldy! However, there is some excellent work being done with the young Bassists on this Island, as evident by this class, with each of the winners receiving Highly Commended. Next we had the Orchestral Ensemble Open class contested by two Music Centre Ensembles; the Flute Choir, and the Clarinet Choir. Some good ensemble playing happening here, but there was a little bit of questionable tuning to be had by both groups, however the Flute Choirs' opening piece 'Agnus Dei, Manzoni Requiem' opened with some amazing octave work, which was stunning. Adrian talked about how, with groups like this, often the more advanced players end up together on the upper part, or on the bass part, which leaves the less advanced players to fend for themselves on the harmony parts - this is actually a big mistake, as it leaves the piece, as a whole, feeling rather insecure: you're only as strong as your weakest members after all! What Adrian suggested was that the stronger players should be dispersed throughout the group, so as to help lead the players who need more support. That way, the group sounds much more connected. This is sage advice indeed, and something worth considering in all ensemble work. Both entrants received a Highly Commended in this class, with the Flute Choir just pipping it to the trophy.
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| Winner of the Under 12 Songs from the Shows, Isabelle Lees |
- I do want to mention how incredibly well-behaved and sensible the Under 12 performers were both before and during this class. Normally I find myself needing to constantly remind young performers to be quiet while someone is onstage (it's understandable, it's all a bit exciting!), but these youngsters were as good as gold, and seemingly more interested in focusing on their own performance, and then going out to the theatre to watch their friends. I think this is a real credit to the parents and teachers of these students, who have clearly taught them about mutual respect in the world of music, which is lovely to see.
Rounding off the afternoon we had two choral classes; the Secondary School Choirs class followed by the Male Voice Choirs Under 18. Two lovely classes, with a huge variety in choral and vocal repertoire on show. Performing in the Secondary School Choirs class, The Guernsey Girls' Choir produced a choreographed rendition of ABBA's 'Mamma Mia', which was visually enjoyable, although it wasn't as secure as it could have been. There was a slight reminiscent air of Les Chansonelles (one of Guernsey's premiere Female Voice choirs who retired a few years ago) about them, and perhaps, with a little more precision (and perhaps a little bit less of the movement) they could really pull this type of performing off. Highlights from the Male Voice Choir group include Elizabeth College Close Harmony Group's unusual but rhythmically epic 'Geographical Fugue' complete with immense expressions from Ben Fletcher and Chris Brooks, and St Sampson's High School Boys Vocal Group's excellent core sound. St Sampson's really impressed me in fact; Their unison sound was warm and clear, although I do think a little work could be done in picking things which sit a little more central in the vocal range, just because this is a group of developing boys. I also thing this group sold themselves a little short on the harmony front - when they did split into harmony is was wonderful! I want more of that! There's certainly scope for 2-3parts with this group of 8 singers, so I hope they start to trust in their abilities and explore this a little more. A high standard of group singing overall, the winners of the classes were the Guernsey Girls Choir (Secondary School Age) with a Distinction, and St Sampson's High School Boys Vocal Group (Male Voice) with a Highly Commended.
The evening class started with another one of the Eisteddfod's more unusual classes; the Piano Sight-reading Open. The usual approach for this class is for the performer to be given the music, have 30 seconds to study it, and then play it and be adjudicated. This year, something a little different - Adrian decided to sit onstage behind John Morris as he played his piece, and then once he was finished he asked him to play it again. His reasoning for this was so that John could show his acknowledgement of his mistakes or missed moments in the piece, and have a second chance to include more of the information given on the page. Sight-reading is really hard, there's no questioning that! I've done it frequently in audition situations or for students, and I have my own way of getting out as much info as possible, and every pianist has a certain way of reading a piece the first time they see it. An amusing moment which came about from this class was Adrian performing the piece himself (which he stated he had not seen or performed in over 30 years), and being awarded an 86 by John Morris. Most amusing!
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| Just keep swimming... wait, is is swimming or singing? (Ruby-Jane Gill & Myself, 3rd place in the Songs from the Shows Open) |
popularly contested. Essentially, it exists so that performers from various age brackets can perform a duet (or trio or quartet) together. In the case of this class we had myself and Ruby-Jane Gill (Over 18 + Under 12), Lindsey and Mary Veillard (Over 18 + Under 18), Miriam and Ivy Botzenhadt (Under 18 + Under 15) and Scott Dorritty and Harry Giubelio (Over 18 + Under 18). Four brilliant performances, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting onstage dressed as a clown fish! Highlights from this class included Ruby-Jane's absolute command of the stage (she certainly does give me a run for my money!), and Miriam and Ivy's beautifully moving performance of 'Some things are meant to Be' from Little Women - I must say, it brought a tear to my eye. Harry and Scott created an amazing build in 'pressure' in their song, with a huge range of vocal colours, reaching an incredible vocal climax at the end of the song. Whilst being adjudicated, Adrian asked Scott if he wouldn't mind trying something, which resulted in Adrian taking Scott through a shoulder release exercise, which involved a slight amount of hands on aiding in getting Scott to rotate his shoulder. After performing this on one shoulder, he asked Scott to turn to the audience, which resulted in the most incredible gasp of amazement in the audience as we realised Scott's left shoulder (the one manipulated) had dropped a full inch lower than the other. After evening him up, Scott's posture was much looser, and he stated he felt more relaxed and even sat more positively in his seat. This just goes to show how important posture is to musicians, and also how important it is to release negative tension throughout your body as a performer. Most enlightening!
- Finishing off this section of the evening we had the Vocal Trio & Quartet Over 18 with sole competitors 'Chord Blimey'. These guys are a regular appearance at the Eisteddfod, and never disappoint. With lush harmonies, their rendition of 'Fix You' by Coldplay was heartfelt and thoroughly enjoyable, earning themselves 88 marks.
The Novelty Song Classes are, well, a real novelty! Such a joy to behold! Although spaced out in the evening's proceedings I've decided to talk about them simultaenously. First the Under 18's class, featuring only one competitor, Toby Giles. Toby was simply amazing! His comic timing is sensational, and his own personal take on Tom Lehrer's 'New Maths' had the audience in hysterics, and earned him a Distinction mark of 88. This is definitely a performer to look out for in the future! The fuller class of the Over 18's featured five performers, of which I was one, and, quite frankly, we're clearly all a little bit nuts! Lindsey Veillard delivered a short and sweet song about potatoes, and Stephen Keenan waltzed onstage in a snorkel to sing to us about Hippopotamuses! It was Julie Tostevin's uncanny performance of 'They Call me Pam' by the late, great Victoria Wood which brought the house down, and earned her the trophy and an Outstanding mark of 90. It is sad to think that such a shining comedic force as Victoria Wood is no longer with us.... but hey, we still have Julie Tostevin, so it's all good!
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| Five Special Potatoes..... hang on a minute..... |
- The final event of the night, the Choirs Ladies Voices Over 18 featured yet MORE need for a few 'ringers' as due to illness Johnny's Angel's found themselves short of a top Soprano and bottom Alto. As such, my mum, myself and Sam Nichols stepped in to help them out - nothing like a little bit of sight-reading to get the blood pumping! But hey, if John Morris can do, so can we all! Johnny's Angel's make a gorgeous sound, particularly in their performance of 'Seal Lullaby' by Eric Whitacare - a really warm, sensitive and maternal performance from these ladies, quite rightly earning themselves a Distinction mark of 87.
What a day! So much information and so much quality music making, particularly in the evening session. Most festivals would be winding down right about now, but not in Guernsey - we are pushing hard all the way to the finish line!
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| "Strangely Quiet...." Harry Giubelio & Scott Dorritty, winners of the Songs from the Shows Open with their performance of 'Lily's Eyes' from The Secret Garden |
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