"Relax, have fun, and enjoy yourselves!"

It's that time of year again, when music lovers of all kinds flock to the Guernsey Eisteddfod, either to participate, support, or simply enjoy the 10 days of music Guernsey has to offer.

The afternoon session kicked off with the Orchestral Woodwind Under 18, and later we saw the Under 14 Orchestral Woodwind as well. Woodwind instruments, I feel, are a lot like singing. You need to be able to control and support your breath in order to create, not only well sustained sound, but also deliver a variety of colour within a performance. This is certainly something I heard from the Under 18's class. Two of the performers who are pretty well known now on the Guernsey woodwind scene, Annabelle Pizzey and Jack Tostevin-Hall both showcase this ability to provide a variety of tonal colour extremely well. Annabelle I thought, has shown a certain sense of maturing in her playing, and I wonder actually if it is related to her singing voice. I recently heard Annabelle sing, and was impressed by the development I heard. Perhaps there's a certain sense that her development in her singing voice has opened up her development in her Oboe playing? I know from my time at university that my improvisation teachers in particular were keen to get instrumentalists singing improvised ideas as well as playing them as it helped them express their ideas more freely, so it's a safe assumption that this would improve other areas of musicality as well - take note everyone, singing is really, really good for you, even if you're an instrumentalist! Annabelle went on to win this class with a well deserved Distinction, and the winner of the Under 14s was Madeline Vaudin with a Highly Commended.

Between these classes we heard the Vocal Duet 15 and Under 18. Only two competitors in this class sadly, but a lovely display of vocal duet work nonetheless. Duetting can often be harder than both solo and ensemble performances; as a soloist, you only really have to worry about yourself (and your accompanist if you have one), and in an ensemble you're within a larger group so there's a larger body of support to be found. In a duet you have to find a balance between being able to shine as a soloist, but also support and blend with another performer. There needs to be teamwork. Both competitors received Highly Commended's, but the duo that seemed to present the greatest sense of teamwork on this occasion to win the class were Louise Madden and Rosie Home.

Winner of the U18 Pop Song, Ivy Botzenhardt

Following the interval we had a short class, the Under 16 Piano class which was won by Henry Partington with a Highly Commeneded, and then the afternoon concluded with the 15 and Under 18s pop song class. This was a great class, which showcased some wonderful young voices developing. Our adjudicator for this year, Steven Roberts gave some very useful advice to the singers; in particular the need to explore the vocal range of the song. The trouble with pop songs is that they are often written by, and for, adult singers, which means that the ranges of these songs are often very wide, and for developing adolescent voices this can be difficult to navigate. A piece of advice I give my students is, 'the song should fit the singer, not the other way around', and we spend a lot of time finding the right key, and then adapting any section that isn't quite comfortable vocally (which you can do very easily in contemporary singing). Stephen emphasised that he likes seeing a performer who is focused, and displaying a sense of confidence... even if it doesn't feel that way! One singer who really embodied confidence in his performance was Elliott Hearne. Steven praised his starting posture before he'd even sung a note, stating how it really drew the audience in to his song right from the get go. Overall in this class, I thought everyone really showcased themselves beautifully. In particular, I thought Emily Andrijasevic showed wonderful development in her voice from last year - it was a joy to hear how much her voice has grown in 12 short months! Well done Emily! Two stand-out performances of the class, for me, were Elliott Hearne, with a smooth and focused performance of Chris Izaak's 'Wicked Game', and Ivy Botzenhardt's rendition of the Alicia Keys classic, 'If I ain't Got You'. Both of these singers let their own personalities shine through the songs, and it was a close call, but on this occasion, it was Ivy who took home the trophy with a Distinction. A super strong class on this first day of the festival! 

Winner's of the Open Songs from the Shows
L-R: Rachel Dawson, Emmelie Wright, and Anya Tee

We started the evening with our first of the Musical Theatre classes, the Songs from the Shows Open. A class which, for some reason is not as well represented as it's counterparts, as you will see later in the week. I think there's some confusion as to what this class is for - it is available so that people who are perhaps in different age categories, but still want to perform together, can. For example, in this class we have a trio with two Under 15 and one Under 18, a duet with one Under 18 and one Over 18, and even myself performing with a student of mine (I'm over 18 and she is Under 12). This class, in my opinion could easily be filled with more performers, so, I urge you, if you have friends or family whom you want to perform with, but who do not fit into your age bracket, get in this class with them! Perhaps this is something that can be made clearer in the syllabus, that Open means... Open! Any combination of age groups can perform as long as they are from different age groups. Despite the small turn out, this was a wonderful class to kick off the evening. Steven was complimentary about all three groups ability to perform, and how everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves on stage - Steven is pretty big on people showing confidence on stage, whether you're feeling it on not! So, take note everyone, be confident with what you're doing! A great standard of class, with everyone receiving a Highly Commended mark, and the winners of this class were Rachel Dawson, Emmelie Wright and Anya Tee with their lovely rendition of 'I Wish I May' from The Witches of Eastwick. Although, Steven did hilariously remark how disappointed he was that the girls didn't fly - perhaps next time eh girls? 

We continued the evening with Piano Repertoire Over 18, showcasing some of Guernsey's 'old favourites' when it comes to pianists (although I think my mother will object to being called 'old'!). The premise of this class is that the pianist must perform a 15 minute program of a range of repertoire, which means it must include different composers, time periods and musical styles. It's a pretty big ask for pianists, and I sometimes think that pianists get a bit of a bum deal at these festivals, as the amount of technical skill required to perform some of this stuff is incredibly high to begin with. Performing in this class were Bob Perkins, John Morris, and Marilyn Pugh, presenting a range of music from Bach, Elgar, Beethoven, Dussek and Geoffrey Bush. On this occasion, John Morris won the trophy with a Distinction Mark of 87. 

Jazz Diva's galore for the Over 18's Vocal Jazz Class

After the interval we continued the evening with the Folk Solo Over 18s. Folk is one of those genres which really relies heavily on the ability to tell a story, which many of the performers in this class did quite well. In particular, I thought Joy Liggett performed really well, perhaps the best I've heard her, and Simon Howitt's voice really does lend itself to the folk song style, and I was pleased to see him take the trophy with a Distinction mark of 87.  The night was brought to a close by, possibly my favourite class, the Vocal Jazz Over 18. Steven commented on how much he enjoyed this class, and how it seemed to transport him to some late night jazz club somewhere and how he wished he had a gin and tonic (which, Lindsey Veillard jokingly said she'd make sure happened for every other class she's in this year!) A strong set of performances in this class, as I've come to expect, with Jo Marsh starting us off with a suitably sultry and sleazy rendition of 'Seven Nation Army' by the White Stripes, followed by a jazzed-up version of 'Sweet Child o'Mine' performed by Dominique Ogier, who I thought found a fabulous balance of both her own style, and an essence of Axel Rose from the original. Lindsey Veillard continued the class with a performance of Blueberry Hill, and I closed out the class with my more upbeat version of 'Feeling Good'. What was really apparent with all the performances in this class, as Steven said, was how comfortable we all looked, and how much we clearly enjoyed the style we were singing. Lindsey made a small comment about how she strangely felt more confident in this class over the previous folk song class, possibly because she enjoyed watching the rest of us perform jazz. In return, Steven said, "If you find a reason to feel relaxed when you're doing something, whatever that is, grab it and don't let go!" - Rather sage advice I feel, for everyone! Another high standard of class to round off the evening, I'm delighted to say I came away with the trophy with a Distinction mark of 89. Not a bad start in my books!

A really enjoyably start to the festival this year. It's clear to see that our adjudicator this year is fun loving, has great critiques to give in a constructive manner, is all about being entertained, and wants everyone to do their best - that's what I like to see in an adjudicator!

Keep up the good work everyone - only 9 more days left!