"I always like a man in a sparkling dickie..."

First full day of the Eisteddfod 2020, and we are off and rolling into a great festival of music, and entertainment. We started off the day with the entire morning session given over to young string players, from the Under 11 Violin, the Under 9 and Under 11 Cello, and the Under 9 and Under 11 Viola classes. An amazing array of young musicians on show here this morning, which adjudicator Nancy Litten said she was thoroughly impressed with, as well with the excellent teaching here on the island. As she stressed with the singers yesterday, she spoke about the importance of using dynamics to show the rise and fall in the music, but also to express the emotions of the piece, just like we do with our voices when we speak. Some really fine playing indeed with these classes, with 3 Outstanding marks in the Under 11 Violin for Joe Prince, Mia Guilbert, and class winner Isabel Whitford with 'Wild West'. We then followed the violins with young cellists, in the Under 9, and Under 11 classes, for which the winners were Imala Bearder (Under 9), and Florence Glynn-Riley (Under 11), both with Highly Commended. This was swiftly followed by the Under 9, and Under 11 Viola classes, which also proved to be of a high standard, which was great to see. The Viola is often the forgotten instrument in the musical world, quite unjustly in my opinion, as they offer such vital depth and warmth of sound to a string quartet or an orchestra, so it's wonderful to see young players starting out so well. The winners of their classes were Alfie Cooper in the Under 9s, and Susie Costley in the Under 11s, both with Distinction.

Starting off the afternoon session, we had Sam Cole performing the ever popular, 'Moonlight Sonata' by Beethoven in the U18 Piano Sonata class. Sam has already shown his wonderful musicianship this Eisteddfod, and he showed them again with a beautifully placed performance of this classic piece of repertoire, earning himself the trophy and a Distinction. Continuing the theme of the mornings session of fine string playing, it was thoroughly interesting and enjoyable to see a Viola Quartet in the Chamber Music Secondary Age class! Some lovely ensemble playing throughout this class, with some truly Outstanding playing from the class winners, Elizabeth College String Quartet. Their performance of Shostakovic's String Quartet No. 8 (a favourite piece of mine), was truly amazing! We then had three cello classes, again showcasing Outstanding performances from young cellists. The Cello Under 14 was won by Archie Purdue with Outstanding, the Under 16 was won by Benjamin Childs with Distinction, and the Open was also won by Archie Purdue with Distinction.

We continued the afternoon session with the Vocal Solo class for Boy and Girls 12 and Under 15. It has occurred to me in recent years, that something I find odd in our eisteddfod is the division of the young vocal classes (for classical singing). For some reason, the Under 12's classes separate out the girls and boys voices, and then they are pushed back together for this class, and separated out again after 15... this does seem a bit unfair to me! Given that 12-15 is the average age that boys voices go through vocal transition (girls transition too, FYI, but it's usually not so problematic), this might be the reasoning for it, because as it transpires, I rarely see any boys actually sing in this class at this age anyway - but, that's not to say they can't (or shouldn't!) by the way! There's a misheld view that boys shouldn't sing through vocal transition, but actually if the student has a good teacher who works in safe vocal ranges and understands the stages of transition, the singer can continue to sing quite happily, and comes out the other side in good vocal health without having missed out on opportunities and developement. I do also wonder if it's due to embarrassment about their changing voice? Recently I attended a similar festival in Huddersfield, which instead of an age related class, they separated them out into 'Unbroken' and 'Broken' voices, and I wonder if this is something our Eisteddfod should consider for future years? All that said, some lovely singing here in this class from our young singers, with Madeleine Vaudin taking the win with her rendition of 'Se Tu M'Ami'
- Rounding off the afternoon, we were treated to 'Saxophonix', performing in the Orchestral Woodwind Ensemble Open class. I do really enjoy seeing ensembles like this where you have a full range of the types of an instrument on show (probably comes from my years in Recorder ensemble at school, I always wanted to have a go on all the sizes, especially the Bass!). Saxophonix put on a really good show can went home with the trophy and an Outstanding.

We kicked off the evening session with another of the big gun piano classes, the Piano Class Superieure O18, featuring Marilyn Pugh, and Martin Hassel. No mean feat this class, as the performers are required to perform a balanced programme of music, which must feature pieces from both Pre-20th century, and Post-20th century, within a time limit of 20 minutes. Both pianist displayed great skills, but it was Marilyn who just pipped the win, perhaps with a little more stylistic understanding of her chosen composers, taking home the trophy and an Outstanding mark of 90.

Oliver and the.... Humans....

A fun little class next, we had the Family Class, featuring 'Oliver and the Humans', a family group
comprised of young pianist Oliver Kirk-Hamon, his father Michael on vocals, and uncle Kirky on percussion, complete with their snappy matching suits (this year, in bright blue, last year it was dark purple!). Perhaps not so cohesive this year, but there was some fine praise for Oliver in this group, who was complimented by Nancy for his rock-solid rhythm, and clear evenness between his hands on the piano, and Michael managed to find a real sense of fun in the song, particularly at the end when he encouraged the audience to join him in the final choruses of 'Hey Jude'. They were awarded a Commended for their efforts, and took home the trophy for the 2nd year in a row.

We followed the humans with the Orchestra/Band/Ensemble Open class, featuring Brass Oddity. An impressive group, although I would say that perhaps their length of programme was a bit ambitious, and they would have been better served with a shorter more impactful programme. The time limit is a guideline, not a call to fill it with as much music as you can! That said, they performed very well earning themselves the class win with a Distinction Mark of 88.

The vocal duet class has seen a bit of a dip in participation in recent years, so it was great to see 4 entries this year, and such variety in the music. I must give special mention to Darren Alderton and Alison Castle, who gave  their first instalment of their 'Cats' performances (if you have a programme and look through it, you may see a theme emerging with their entries). For this class, we had a suitable hilarious rendition of the infamous 'Cats Duet', attributed to Rossini. Usually performed by two sopranos, these two managed to completely and unashamedly perform with Darren in Falsetto, and Alison showing off her impressive Female Bass range. I absolutely love hearing unusual vocal ranges such as Female Bass, it's so unique and opens up some amazing repertoire for those able to get down there! These two were also very snappily dressed; sparkly bowties and all!
- A lovely class, which saw Highly Commendeds and Distinctions, with Leonie Pike and Maisie Pike taking the win with 88 Marks for their beautiful performance of 'Che Soave Zeffiretto' (you may remember it from the film 'Shawshank Redemption')

All spiffed up with a sparkly dickie-bow! 

After the interval, we finished the evening with four vocal solo classes; for Soprano, Contralto, Bass, and the Rescheduled Class; The Gilbert & Sullivan Class, featuring Stephen Rouxel as 'The Mikado'. It's always a joy for me when you see and hear a singer find a style that just clicks with them. Many people will have heard Stephen sing bass with The Accidentals, or on stage performing with musical theatre productions, but I think Stephen really excels with Gilbert & Sullivan. His presence, vocal tone and acting skills all come together so perfectly in this genre, and I hope he continues to do more of it! He quite rightly earned an Outstanding Mark of 91 for his performance.
- Going back to the vocal solos, some fine singing here. I particularly though that Jo Marsh, as Nancy Litten pointed out herself, sang 'exquisitly', with her beautiful rendition of Eric Whitacre's 'Goodnight Moon', earning an Outstanding Mark of 91. A highly marked class, the winner of the Sopranos was Maisie Foote, who sang 'Song of the Seal's beautifully with amazing control and sincere understanding of the words, taking home the trophy with another Outstanding of 93. I also thought that Joy Ligget showed some real development in her sound from last year, as did Simon Howitt. Both have clearly been working on their overall tone of voice, and the resonances of their voices are warmer and have much more depth. Just goes to show, that there is always room to improve year on year, and you should always continue to learn and grow as a musician.

All in all, a great evening, and indeed a great day of the Eisteddfod. The marks are continuing to reflect the level of the performer, and we are starting to see some of the craziness that always makes it's way into our festival - which is fabulous!

It's never too early to be rewarded!

It's that time of year again! We are off and rolling on The Guernsey Eisteddfod Music Section, 2020. It seems to somehow roll around more quickly each year, but perhaps it just feels that way to me - I'm rather busy this year, so do forgive me if it's not as detailed as it has been in previous years, but I am still determined to maintain the blog!

Kicking off the afternoon, and therefore the Eisteddfod, we had a wonderful Piano class from the Under 16s. Every year I'm impressed by the up-and-coming pianists we have here in the island, and the choice of repertoire on offer always reflects the high level of skill these players present. Benjamin Childs won the class with a Distinction, performing Chopin's Nocturne with a sense of maturity and understanding of the style. Next we had three small classes for Brass Solo, the Under 14, Under 16, and Under 18. It is worth noting at this point, as I do every year, that not every class has it's own trophy. Sadly, still, the Under 16 and Under 18 classes have to share a trophy, which I do think is a real shame. I have a detailed list of classes that are without or sharing trophies which you can find on the Donations page of this blog (and it is always updating as donations come in). None the less, three lovely little classes of fine brass playing. Harry Small, who won the Under 14 with Highly Commended, gave us a rousing rendition of the Raider's March by John Williams, which I always feel sounds so great on a brass instrument! The winners of the Under 16 and Under 18 respectively were Benjamin Tasker (who also won the trophy), and Jordan Guillou, both with Distinction. Next up we had the Under 18 Versatility Class, featuring two performers in Sam Cole, and Cara Fitzpatrick. Not only did we have versatility on display, but variety, as Sam performed on both piano and violin, and Cara on voice and saxophone. Two really fine players emerging here, playing both of their instruments to an extremely high standard. Sam, who I feel really is a young musician of incredible promise, won the class with an Outstanding for his performances of 'Le Onde' by Einaudi, Sicillienne and Rigaudon, by Kreisler

We ended the session with the ever popular Pop Song Class; 12 & Under 15. There was a great variety of song choices on offer this afternoon, with everything from ABBA and the Beatles to more recent artists like Ed Sheeran. Our adjudicator, Nancy Litten, made reference to the importance of delivering emotion, and connecting to the audience - as an aside, from my own perspective, I find that singers that really try to connect to the audience often come across less sincere with their performance. Audiences are fickle, we don't like to be told what to feel! So, I prefer to say that you, the singer, need to connect to the song, and then the audience will connect to you. I did agree with Nancy on her statement that the dynamics support the emotion within a song. So often singers just put in dynamics without a reason why, but the dynamics can say so much for you if you really think about them, so spend the time to do that!
- A fabulous class, albeit smaller than it should have been due to the unforeseen quarantining of a few performers (I think we can safely assume that the precautions over Coronavirus this year will have a knock-on effect to a fair few classes this year - but ho hum, at least it's not snow this year!). Some really lovely performances; I felt that Rebecca Philip delivered a lovely rich tone developing with her voice, and Herminone Reoch-Brehault's performance of 'Let it Be' was beautifully placed, and delivered with sincerity and in a relaxed fashion. Class winner Isabel Lees gave a great rendition of the 90s classic 'Don't Speak', rightly earning herself an Outstanding.


Opening out Evening session, we had the Orchestra/Band/Instrumental Ensemble Class; Secondary Age, featuring two competitors; Ladies College Saxophone Octet, and the Elizabeth College Brass ensemble... as per the programme, they actually 'invited a few of their woodwind friends' to join them (according to their teacher!). Nancy emphasised the importance of teamwork within these ensembles, and in particular the need to listen to each other. A lovely start to the evening, with Ladies College taking the win with a Distinction.

The Piano Repertoire O18, always a hugely demanding class, was contested this year by the usual suspects; John Morris, Martin Hassel, and my mother Marilyn Pugh. However, this year, a delightful change in that the marks given, I felt, truly reflected the performers skill! So often the piano classes seem to be marked much lower than other instruments, particularly when you compare the required skills needed for the demanding repertoire on the piano. Great to see both Martin and Marilyn receive Distinctions, and John Morris take the win with an Outstanding 92! Clearly this is an adjudicator who is not afraid to award the high marks early - why should you be? If something is outstanding, it doesn't matter when in the week it appears, it deserves what it deserves I say!
- On a sadder note however, something that did crop up mid-way through this class was hearing chatter from the audience right before a performer was about to start. Some performers are un-phased by these things, but others may be nervous and even the slightest thing can break their focus. Just a gentle reminder from me, think about the performer and give them your attention (you've paid to come see them after all!); keep the chat for the interval or at least between classes, and maybe don't be rustling and wrappers or packets while someone is performing!

Next up we had the Lieder Over 18, for which Jane Martine and Alison Bourgaize won with 89 Marks, and the Piano Solo O18, which saw Hannah Beacom performing Bohemian Rhapsody, earning herself the trophy and a Distinction mark of 87. Following a slight change of scheduling, as the Gilbert & Sullivan Class (only fielding one competitor) has been moved to Friday night, we went straight on to the Jazz Piano O18 class, fielding three powerhouse performances from John Morris, Martin Hassel and Hannah Beacom. I must say, I am really pleased to see Hannah deciding to perform as a soloist this year; she can usually be found accompanying singers, which even though it features the same instrument, it's a very different skill and feeling, so I'm delighted to see her get up and play some fabulous solo repertoire. And clearly her hard work paid off, as she was awarded an amazing Outstanding result of 93 Marks for her performance of Jamie Cullum's 'These are the Days'. Whatever you're doing Hannah, it's working, so bravo!

We closed the night, somewhat earlier than expected with the French Song O18. Another class which saw high results, with Lindsey Veillard coming in second with 89 Marks, and Joy Ligget taking home the trophy with another Outstanding mark of 90. Something my dad and I always discuss, every year it would seem, is whether this class needs to remain 'classical'? Every year my dad always says, "Why do the performers always perform classical songs when there's so many great French songs out there from other genres?" - Granted, my dad is a massive Celine Dion fan, but it is a valid question I suppose, as there isn't actually anything in the rules that states that a French song needs to be a classical song. However, it is one of the classes that a performers mark makes them eligible for, and contributes to their overall mark for the special award, the Marion Blondel Cup, which IS an award for a classical singer. This would seem to suggest it needs to be classical. But I do think that perhaps a 'foreign language pop song' might be something really fun, as there's some amazing music being made in other countries - just look at Eurovision!

All in all, a great, gentle start to the Eisteddfod 2020. Our adjudicator, Nancy Litten, comes across as a pleasant and knowledgeable, and I think we can safely say that she isn't afraid to use the full range of marks on offer, which I'm sure will make for some exciting results!