"It was a bit scary.... in a good way!!"

Here we are, past the half-way point, and there's no sign of letting up in the awesome music making that is occurring at the Guernsey Music Eisteddfod.

Kicking off the morning we had the Choirs Unison Singing, for Junior School Age. As with the Infants yesterday morning, we had another 4 super choirs, this time from Amherst School, Forest School,  Blanchelande College and Elizabeth College Junior School. Some really great singing here from all of these choirs, as evident by the marks, in that all the choirs received a Highly Commended, except for the class winners, Blanchelande College Junior Singers, who won with a Distinction. I thought Blanchelande really delievered a stellar performance with their pieces 'The Seed' and 'The Truth about Tudors' - well done everyone involved! Calming the mood slightly, we next had the Viola Under 11. We had almost a full day of lovely Viola playing on Tuesday, with the Under 9s and Under 14s, so it was nice to see the Under 11s and 'connect the dots' a little bit in how players develop. A great class of 6 violists, with the three placed performers each receiving Highly Commendeds; Chloe Hodgson was the winner of the class with her fun interpretation of 'The Can-Can' by Offenbach.

Closing out the morning we had several instrumental group classes; the Orchestra, Band and Ensemble for Junior School Age, and two Chamber Ensembles for Junior School Age (one for duos/trios/quartets, and one for larger ensembles.) What was quite nice in this class was what I've coined 'Viobling' - a little bit of colourful violins, and blinged up string instruments with stickers and bedazzled cello bellies... and I mean, why not? This allows kids to express themselves musically, but it's lovely to see them doing it visually as well! Some great playing and teamwork in all of these classes, and lovely to see that the children were all having so much fun making music together. I particularly enjoyed Bellissima Melrose's performance of 'Poor Wayfaring Stranger', and Matilda Cole & Zara Stafford-Bell's performance of 'The Queen of Sheba' - I thought these teams showed excellent connection and understanding between them. The winners of each class were; The Vauvert String Group (Orchestra/Band/Ensemble Junior School Age), Matilda Cole & Zara Stafford-Bell (Chamber Duos/Trios/Quartets), and Bellissima Melrose (Chamber Ensemble).

Starting off the afternoon session was the Folk Solo for all voices 15 and Under 18. Another trio of lovely folk singing from Morgan Taylor, Louise Madden and Simone Ashplant. Some excellent story telling from these three singers, as you hope for in the folk song class. I thought Louise Madden showed particularly fine control of her voice in her performance of 'Single Girl', with a stunning purity to her voice, but on this occasion Simone was the victor for her performance of 'The Skye Boat Song', which was also beautifully delivered. All three girls received Highly Commended for their efforts, well done everyone. Next up we had two piano classes; Piano Solo - Film/TV Music Under 18, followed by the Piano Duet Under 15. Only one competitor in the Film/TV music class, which was a shame, however, the duet class competitors also played the theme from Star Wars, so that satisfied my love of film music a little more. Francesca Miller, who played a little medley of music from the film from 'La La Land', played with a lovely sense of grace and sincerity, earning herself a Highly Commended. Sadly, there was no trophy for this class - prime opportunity for someone to donate one! The Stars Wars Theme was then performed by brothers Harry and Benjamin Childs in the Under 15 piano duet. A really fun piece of music here, with lots of character coming out of this sibling partnership, who also won their class with a Highly Commended.

Self-accompanied Rockstars (... and some keen teachers)

Vocal Self-Accompanied Under 18 was next, and for a change, I actually got to sit back and watch my students perform - when you're their teacher, more often than not you're on the piano or accompanying them in some way, so although you're present and observing, you don't always get to really see what they can do. This was a lovely moment for me to really listen and take it all in. A well represented class, with 5 performers, all choosing to perform with acoustic guitar. Steven commented on the wide variety of music that was presented, from old classics like 'Travellin' Light' through to more modern songs like 'Youngblood'. He also said that he really enjoyed the individuality that each performer brought to their songs, and how they adapted the songs to suit their voice and playing styles. I also agree with him that Ivy Paris Smith (incidentally, the student in this class that I don't teach!) has a wonderful tone to her voice; it's rich with a lot of depth, and I think she shows a lot of promise in her singing. I also over-heard her saying that she's only been playing the guitar for a few months, so well done Ivy for putting yourself out there and performing so well, and even coming in 2nd! The class winner was Rachel Dawson with a Distinction for her hauntingly beautiful performance of 'Fields of Gold'. It also happens to be Rachel's birthday today, so happy birthday Rachel, you can celebrate twice now! We followed the vocalists with the Piano Sonata Under 18, in which MC Benoist performed a classic piece of repertoire, the 'Moonlight Sonata (1st Mvt)' by Beethoven. MC gave a performance which was technically very sound, although Steven suggests (and I agree) that allowing a little more space in the playing would take this piece to the next level, and is definitely something to consider. MC earned a Distinction mark for a superb rendition of a classic piece.

The Elizabeth College Close Harmony Group

After the interval we had three choir classes running back-to-back; Choirs (Unison & Two Part song) for years 7-11 competed for by Les Beaucamps High School Choir, the Male Voice Choirs Under 18 competed for by the Elizabeth College Close Harmony Group, and Folk Choirs for Secondary School Age competed for by Guernsey Girls Choir. Three completely different groups in three completely different classes, which made for a wonderful little concert of choral singing. Les Beaucamps performed their two pieces, and rather successfully I thought, to backing tracks. The first piece, 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by the band Greenday was strong and energetic, and they performed positively - perhaps, in the future when they perform it again they could try it with a live band? That would sound amazing! I thought their second piece, 'Is It Music', had a lovely sentiment, and they successfully found the light humour in it as well. A lovely program of music, earning them a Highly Commended and the amazing Violet Grace Shield. Well done Les Beaucamps! The Elizabeth College Close Harmony Group certainly lived up to their name, performing two a cappella pieces, poles apart in style and time period! I particularly enjoyed their version of Billy Joel's 'And So it Goes', and I want to make special mention (as Steven did) of the lad singing counter-tenor - I thought he handled those high notes really well, and there's a lot of promise in his high falsetto voice. They won their class with another Highly Commended, taking home the Seren Trophy (which incidentally, my mother donated to this class 10 years ago!). The final choral performance was from the Guernsey Girls, performing two folk songs in 'My Lagan Love', and 'Dancing Song' by Zoltan Kodaly. A lovely unified sound from the girls here, and a lovely solo from Annabelle Pizzey. The second piece in particular showcased some amazing diction and focus, with a superb last top A from the sopranos. Quite rightly, the Guernsey Girls won with a Distinction.

Finishing off the afternoon, we had the Chamber Music Open. Now, you may remember that in Sunday's blog I mentioned a group, The Fortuna Trio, that performed on Sunday evening as they were unable to perform today due to work commitments. This isn't as unusual as you might think for the Eisteddfod, and I do think it's great for the festival to be accommodating when circumstances are out of the performers' control. But first up, we saw three performances from Nicole Wyatt with three of her students - yes that's right, Nicole performed THREE times so that she could perform with each of her students - quite an admirable feat! Some fine playing from her students, and in particular I thought Katie Connolly really held her own and played with a lovely warmth and maturity. Marilyn Pugh was present as a representative of The Fortuna Trio, who performed for the class on Sunday. Steven said of their performance that there was a lovely communication with this group, and some nice duet moments between the clarinet and the soprano voice. The overall winner of the class was Katie Connolly & Nicole Wyatt for their performance of 'Duo No. 1, 1st & 2nd Mvts.' winning with a Highly Commended. Well done everyone in this class - fine chamber music playing indeed.

Opening up the evening class, we had another of the big piano classes; the Piano Classe Superieure Over 18, and again, our 'old favourites' were back, in the form of Bob Perkins, John Morris and Marilyn Pugh. I call this a 'big' class, because it requires an intense amount of focus and energy to deliver two contrasting works at a high standard of playing, especially on the piano, and these three performers certainly did that. Steven praised all three of the players for their excellent playing, stating it was clear that they were obviously very good pianists. He also praised the them for having the guts to get onstage and showcase what they could do, and said he hoped it would inspire a few more people to give it ago. The class winner was  John Morris, who showed incredible technique in his delivery of 'Pavanne & Galiarde, The Earl of Salisbury' by William Byrde, and '6 Variations on a Ukrainian Folk Song' by Kabalevsky, earning himself 89 marks. Preceding the interval we had the Choirs, Madrigals class for Over 18s, featuring sole competitor State of Harmony. This choir have really tested themselves this year, performing in more classes than I think they ever have before, and with a wide variety of choral styles as well, which is great to see. As a result, I think they've improved quite measurably, and in this class it showed the best. Madrigal singing is not easy, and they handled this style extremely well, with some good grasp of the harmonies as well. For their efforts, they were awarded 86 marks (Highly Commended), and the Canon Hickey Cup. Well done!

Winner of the Pop Song with 90 marks (Outstanding)
Lucy Cave

We started after the interval with two contemporary classes, the Pop Song Over 18, and Pop Song Duos/Trios/Quartets Over 18. A rather busy evening for me I might add, as not only was I performing in both of these classes, but I was accompanying almost everyone else as well! Big thanks to Ashleigh De Jersey-Moore for allowing me to perform before her so that I could have a breather! Steven said of this class, "There's always one class in every festival... and this was it..... why you six? you've made my job so much harder than it already is!" - I mean, I played for most of them, and I wouldn't have wanted to call which one of them should have won! Steven was particularly complimentary of Stephen Glencross's rendition of 'Grace Kelly' as usually performed by Mica - honestly, the accuracy of Stephen's sound in emulating Mica is quite uncanny and, in Steven's words "a bit scary!... in a good way!" - Steven Roberts had lovely things to say about each performer, and ended up awarding 1st place to Lucy Cave for her emotional and dramatic performance of 'Hello' by Evanescence. I'm so pleased for Lucy (who looked a little bit shocked that she won), as she worked extremely hard to both sell the emotional context of the song, and deliver the more contemporary vocal sound which is in fact not her usual way of singing (she's usually a classical soprano). Truly well done Lucy, you deserved that Outstanding 90 marks! Following the pop solos, a Pop Duo in the form of myself and Jo Marsh. We performed our arrangement of 'Titanium', self-accompanying on both guitar and ukulele, along with our friend Scott Dorrity providing some percussion accompaniment on Cajon. A little bit of a shame to be the only ones in the class, but none-the-less, Jo and I (and Scott) had a lot of fun performing this. Steven said it felt remarkably casual, almost like we said, "Hey, we've got a spare 5 minutes, shall we get on stage and perform a song?", which I think is actually a compliment! Steven also suggested that we go ahead and record this version - you know Steven? I think we will! We've been thinking about doing a few recordings anyway, so thanks for giving us another excuse to! Delighted to say we won the class and the Sorelle Trophy with a Distinction mark of 89. Closing out the evening was the Lieder Over 18. A little bit of unfortunate programming in my honest opinion, as I thought the pop song classes brought the evening to a natural finish, and to then suddenly do a complete U-turn back to the classical genre (and heavy classical at that) was a little challenging, for the performers, the audience, and even Steven. None-the-less, the sole competitors Alison Bourgaize & Jane Martine performed their piece 'An Den Mond Op. 57 No. 3' by Schubert very well, and were awarded the P W Kimber Cups with a mark of 86 (Highly Commended).

Another great day in the can at the Guernsey Eisteddfod, with only 4 more to go. Sometimes the festival can feel like it takes a little lull at this point, but I don't think that's happened this year, it's been an incredibly strong day of music making - keep the energy up everyone, we're in the home straight now!

Yeah... we're having fun!