"The woodblock freaked me out...."

So we're into the 2nd week of the Guernsey Music Eisteddfod, starting the day with a morning off, which I'm sure Steven will have appreciated - he's had a lot of music thrown at him the last 4 days!

Quick Study competitors; Joseph Stoller and class winner
Rahil Anees 

The Monday afternoon session started with somewhat of an unusual class, for those in the audience at least; the Quick Study Under 18. How this class works is that the competitors are each given a piece on Saturday morning, and then have the rest of the weekend to practice the piece for performance on Sunday afternoon. It's pretty intense (I've done it on piano several times in my youth!), and a real crash course in learning how to sight-read if you've never been that good at it! Steven made a point to both performers in this class (Joseph Stoller on Violin, and Rahil Anees on Snare Drum), that doing a quick study or a piece of sight-reading every day as part of your regular practice is a great way of building, not only your sight-reading skills, but your general musicianship. So often, sight-reading is seen as something you only need for exams, but actually, it's a vital skill, especially if you want to work as a musician! I know I sight-read at least weekly, and sometimes daily, in my job as a voice teacher, because a student will bring me a new song and I have to play the accompaniment immediately. And singers - you're not off the hook, you too should be sight-reading and quick studying! But back to the performers. I thought both of these lads did extremely well with their material, and in particular, their attention to detail, which is what tends to separate the wheat from the chaff in sight-reading music; so many people will focus solely on one thing, which is usually the pitch, when in actuality there are so many things to take in. You should be looking at pitch, rhythm, time signatures, tempo markings, dynamics, articulations... and if you're a singer, lyrics! Learning how to process all of this information quickly is an amazing skill to develop, and I would certainly say that both Joseph and Rahil are doing this already, so well done boys! A tough one to call, but Rahil came out victorious with a Distinction mark, and was presented with the newly donated trophy for this class. You may remember, Liz Childs, our adjudicator from last year? She is in fact the person who donated this new award, the 'Quintessimo Trophy'. How nice to have a continuing connection from a previous adjudicator! 

The ensemble is everything!

Next up we had three Cello classes; the Cello Under 14, Under 16, and Under 18. As a cellist myself (although I admit, I don't play as much as I used to!), I always appreciated hearing all the wonderful cello repertoire there is out there. Particularly in the Under 14s class, it was lovely to hear three pieces I've played myself in the past. It's also worth mentioning that these are three grade 8 pieces, which gives you more of an idea as to the standard that these young players are at already! Some fine playing developing here, and I particularly enjoyed Naomi Kewell's performance of 'Elegie', in which she demonstrated a lovely tone and wonderful dynamic control. She went on to win the class with a Highly Commended. The next two classes (which ran consecutively), were the Under 16 & Under 18, which were both won by Evie Hart, with fellow competitor Elisha Horsepool in the Under 16 as well. I also thought Evie produced a fabulous tone in her pizzicato. Well done to all the cellists who performed this afternoon. After a short interval, we had the Piano Duet Under 18, featuring two completely chalk and cheese duets. The first, a lilting piece of Faure, 'Berceuse' performed by Annabelle Pizzey & Jack Tostevin-Hall, followed by a rousing 'Mama Mia Medley' performed by Amelia Hudson & Francesca Miller, complete with matching 70s outfits. Two lovely partnerships here; it's clear to see that each of these duets enjoy making music together, which is essential for good duetting. I thought that Annabelle and Jack created a beautiful atmosphere with their playing, with the parts well balanced and ensuring the melody was always heard regardless of which part it was in. Both duets received Highly Commended for their performances, but it was Annabelle & Jack who won the class.

Finishing off the afternoon, we had another great choir class, this time for Choirs from school Years 7-11. Perhaps it's just the age of the performers in this particular class, but I felt that, although the sounds that each choir produced were wonderful, there was a bit of a lack of enthusiasm for what they were doing! A smile would have been nice at the very least! That's not to say that their performances were not good; far from it, but I think there's an important lesson for young performers here. You need to commit whole-heartedly to your performance, even if you think what you are doing is a bit silly - for example, some of the performances utilised actions/choreography, which can look great and really enhance a performance.... if you give 100% while doing it! If you look embarrassed, then the audience tends to feel a bit embarrassed for you, but if you go at it with full attack, then it comes across brilliantly, and everyone will enjoy the added performance element. One group I thought delivered what I was personally looking for, was the Guernsey Music Centre Intermediate Choir, particularly in their second number, 'Double Trouble' (a song from the Harry Potter films). This group had excellent facial expressions, and the right kind of body posture to sell the number. Steven, however, awarded the trophy to Schola Contorum of Blanchelande College, who did perform with a lovely choral sound, excellent harmonies, and enthusiastically lead by their conductor Neil Houston. I hope to see more from these choirs in the future, and I hope they all just loosen up a little bit, and not take themselves so seriously!

The Monday evening session started, as it usually does, with the Composition Classes, Under 18 (school entry) and Over 18. Each adjudicator has a completely different way of adjudicating the class. This year, Steven chose to play each piece (as the competitors must provide a recording), and then talk about the piece directly to the composer - I like this approach, as it gave the audience a chance to hear the piece (even if that means in MIDI format), and then there's context for his thoughts and critiques for the piece. He also stated that, "my opinion is only my opinion, and it's entirely subjective", just reiterating that he was there to pick a winner, but at the end of the day, his opinion doesn't really have anything to do with whether the piece is successful or not - that's down to the composer and the reason it was written! The Under 18s class fielded 6 composers, all from St Sampson's High, as part of the GCSE music class. Steven made a point of saying that he, as a teacher, would be very pleased to have this level of composition present in his class. And I agree! The level of composition in this class was wonderful to see, as well as the variety from each composer. We had everything from epic rock instrumentals (from Harry Esteves), to a beautiful singer-songwriter ballad (from Valerie Ryan), through to more fully orchestrated pieces (from Hannah Bourgaize and Caitlin De La Mare, who incidentally is the composer with the creepy woodblock that freaked Steven out so much), and finally music which would not be out of place in TV or Film (from Harry Reade and Alex Kaill). I was particularly fond of Harry Esteves rock piece, 'Rocquaine Roll', which I thought had amazing drive and and excellent understanding of the genre - but I agree with Steven, it needs vocals now! High standards in this class, with everyone receiving either Highly Commended or Distinction, and the winning piece being Harry Reade's 'Probe the Suspects', which, I think everyone who heard it will agree, had a definite essence of a thriller or TV cop-show. Well done all, and well done the music department at St Sampson's High - some fine composition work being written here! We then moved on to the Over 18s section, which technically had 7 competitors, although one was talked about at the end of the evening (which you will see why at the end of the blog), and the other 6 entries were actually written by 3 competitors, 2 a-piece for Elizabeth Beacom, Steve Richer, and myself. A really high standard of writing here, with a variety of styles being presented. Elizabeth's work, which is currently making up part of her compositional portfolio for university, showcases much more '20th Century' techniques (the likes of Serialism), which is an acquired taste, but if you know anything about composition you'll hear that she does them very well, which Steven was complimentary about. Steve Richer's pieces, I thought, were beautiful; his 'Meditation on Hymn Tune 'Michael'" for Cello and Piano is achingly haunting, and very much the style of composition I love to listen to. His choral work 'First Light' immediately grabbed me, and I thought instantly that this was a piece that The Accidentals should have a go at (and trust me, I've already asked Steve for a copy of it!) Steven Roberts said of this choral piece that it was very accessible with excellent choral writing. Coming to my pieces, which included a Male Voice choir piece 'Invictus' (setting of the William Morris poem), and a SATB choir piece 'Your Words Give Light' (setting of Psalm 119), Steven's general comments were that my text setting is confident, and I use rich vocal colours in my writing of the voices. He also said my psalm setting was reminiscent of the composer Lauridsen (who I've actually never heard of, but will now look up!) - Elizabeth and myself received Distinctions for our pieces, with my Psalm 119 coming in 3rd, whilst unsurprisingly to me, Steve Richer came in 2nd with his 'Meditation on a Hymn' (also with Distinction) and also won the class with his piece 'First Light' with an Outstanding mark of 93. Truly well done Steve, I look forward to performing it soon! 

Continuing on with the evening, I had about a minute or two to breathe before taking part in the Piano Solo; Film/TV Music Over 18 class. Three vastly different performances; John Morris with ragtime, myself with a lilting emotional ballad, and Jenna Sweelyn Kok Shun in her first ever performance, with the 'Wouldn't it be Lovely?' from My Fair Lady. Steven Roberts came down to adjudicate the class quite giddy with excitement it would seem, stating "I'm just loving the classes at this festival!" - I think he's a big fan of film music! I'd like to praise Jenna for her first ever Eisteddfod performance, and I thought (as did Steven) that she played the piece well with a lovely feel for the theme, earning her a Highly Commended. Myself and John Morris received Distinctions, with John just pipping me to the trophy with 88 marks. Next up we had several vocal classes; Vocal Senior Music Making, followed by the French Song Over 18, and I'll skip ahead a little bit to the Vocal Class Superieure Over 18 as well. Some fine singing in each of these classes, with a particular highlight for me being Lindsey Veillard's 'Elegie' by Gabriel Faure, which she performed with suitable drama and mournfulness. I said to Lindsey, it sounded like the kind of song you would hear at the end of an Opera, right before the main character decides to throw themselves off a bridge because they've lost their love... in a good way! Lindsey went on to win the French Song with 85 marks, along with Linda Fermont winning the Vocal Senior Music Making with 84 marks, and Joan Le Flem winning the Classe Superieure with 85 marks also.

To finish off - two ensemble classes; the Brass Ensemble Open featuring 'Thrown Together Brass' who won their class with a Highly Commended, and the Folk Song Groups Over 18 which had only one competitor in Maree Migniet. Now, getting back to earlier in the blog, you may remember I mentioned a 7th composition in the Over 18s composition class. It turns out, the piece that was submitted was in fact written by Maree Migniet, which is a folk group from Alderney! They wrote the piece as a collaboration, setting a poem. Once this was explained at the beginning of their Folk Song performance, it all made a bit more sense (at least for Steven it did!). He went on to adjudicate both their live performance, and the composition, stating that he liked their confidence, and how they transported him to a small pub somewhere where they might ask the audience to join them. He also said of the composition, 'Midnight Tides' that it had a lovely melody, which had a certain sense of familiarity about it, which is a positive in this style of music. He also enjoyed the incorporation of spoken word into the composed piece, to great effect. Maree Migniet recieved Highly Commended for both their composition and their performance, taking home the 'Margaret Laws Cup' for Folk Song Groups.

A shorter day, but no less jam-packed with music making, and in particular, music writing. As a composer, I love seeing how many people are writing new music, and in particular seeing that such great work is being written by young composers, and female composers as well! We clearly have an amazing ability to produce music here in Guernsey, and not just in replicating other people's work - we're clearly capable of writing our own as well, and long may that continue!

Winner of the O18 Composition class for 2019, Steve Richer, awarded an amazing 93 marks for his piece, 'First Light'