'Such confident children produced here in Guernsey!'

Half way through the Eisteddfod 2020, and we are rattling along quite nicely! We started this morning mid-way point session with a new class to this eisteddfod, the Chamber Music; Teacher & Pupil Class, which I believe was the brain-child of Violin teacher Nicole Perrio. What a lovely idea for a class this is - most often at the eisteddfod, there's students being accompanied by their teacher, rather than performing with their teacher. There are a few classes we it can happen, such as Open Duets, BUT, the word Open tends to imply a certain standard of an adult nature, and it can be very scary for the younger student (duets in the Open class tend to be teenage students and adults). This class ensures that a student of any age can perform with their teacher, which is brilliant. Nicole was certainly busy in this class, performing with most of them. What this class does for students then, is increase their confidence and their musicianship skills. Although the majority of this class was violinists, it was Alexandra, performing with her mum and teacher Anne Dorey that took the win of the class, with a Distinction mark of 87. Well done all involved! What I will say, is I hope that perhaps this class can be extended out to other combinations of teas her pupil, not just 'chamber' (by which I mean Classical music in genre) - I know I have a few pianists who would love to play while I sing (as we often do in lessons), or even some of singers would like to do duets with me, but there's no class for that. Something perhaps for the committee to consider off the back of the success of this class. We followed on with the Chamber Duo/Trio/Quartet - Junior School Age, the Chamber Ensemble - Junior School Age, and the Orchestra/Band/Instrumental Ensemble - Junior School Age. Three good classes here, seemingly ever increasing in size and number of performers! In particularly I thought that Bellissima Melrose, their lovely handbells ensemble, performed beautifully, with presicion and a really understanding of this unusual instrument - they won the Chamber ensemble class with a Distinction. the winners of the Chamber Duo/Trio Quartet were Mia Guilbert & Susie Costley for their performance of 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', and the Melrose String Ensemble won the Orchestra Class - both received Highly Commendeds.

Closing the morning, we had the two choir classes, the Choir; Folk and Traditional - Junior School Age featuring Guernsey Music Centre Primary Choir, and the hotly contested Choirs; Unison Singing - Junior School Age. In the first class, Music Centre presented a lovely set of two folk pieces, and performed with good ensemble singing, and commitment to their sound, earning themselves a Highlight Commended and taking home the G & C Sarre Cup. In the following class, we had four lovely choirs, each with a lovely programme of music I thought Forest Primary's 'Right Said Fred' was suitably humourous and very well delivered, ECJS gave a suitably energetic performance of
Rockstar', Blanchelande College Junior Singers made a beautiful sound for their piece 'The First Snow', and St Martin's Primary Choir provided a rousing message of 'Teamwork' with their final song with a lovely unified sound. Unfortunately during St Martin's Primary Choir Performance, there was a child in the audience that just seemed very upset about something, but I thought that they did really well to cope with that, and kept their poise and focus superbly. I think if you can avoid bringing such young children to events like this I would say that's perhaps fairer to the performers on stage, especially if they are children themselves, they all deserve for their hard work to be showcased without distraction. Of course, this isn't always possible, understandly, so my advice is, if you must bring a younger child with you, ask to sit on the end of a row, so you can at least dash out should there be any problem. A really good standard of class here, with 3 of the choirs receiving Highly Commended, but on this day, the winner of the class was Forest Primary School Junior Choir who received a Distinction.

We started the afternoon session with two vocal folk song classes; Folk Song 12 & under 15, and the Folk Song Under 18. Some lovely singing in this class, with fine voices developing all around. There was also some good story-telling on display, as is very much required for this type of singing, as I would expect from this group of singers, knowing they all have strong back-grounds in musical theatre. A high standard of class here as well, as winner of the Under 18s class, Simone Ashplant received a Distinction, and Freya Mitchell  won the Under 15s class with an Outstanding (U15).

Winner's of the U12 Songs from the shows;
Millie Ogier & Beatrice Glynn-Riley

The final class of the afternoon was the marathon that is the Songs from the Shows Under 12. Twenty-seven competitors in this class (yes you read that right!), one of the biggest of the festival, which was a real treat for the audience, showcasing the talented youngsters we have in this island. "Your amateur dramatics here in Guernsey music be of such high quality" Nancy said (which of course we know, they are!) Some real highlights in this class, my personal favourites being Eliza Webster well-presented and delightful rendition of 'Party Dress', Ruby-Jane Gill's sincere and beautifully paced performance of 'Quiet' from Matilda, and a suitably funny and punchy performance of 'Roses of Success' by Ben Davidson, Rory Burke and Finley Patterson. Mia Larebalestier also provided a gusty performance of 'If Only You Would Listen' from School of Rock, complete with storming on and off the stage. The class winners were Millie Ogier & Beatrice Glynn-Riley with a lovely duet called 'Friendship', from DuBarry was a Lady (a musical I am not familiar with). Nancy said their voices were well matched, and their ensemble performance was of a very high standard, which is great to achieve, particularly at such a young age. They earned an Outstanding, taking home the Valerie Bowles Trophy. Well done everyone, a really super class!

The evening session for the Tuesday of the Eisteddfod always 'goes big', and this is because it's what's become affectionately known as 'Orchestra Night'. This is the night where all the big ensembles our islands youngsters take part in come to perform at the eisteddfod. It's no mean feast to organise I can assure you, so before I talk about the class, let me praise the movers and the shifters who make the whole evening run smoothly! First up, we had the Music Making, Secondary Age class, featuring St Sampsons High School Orchestra, who presented a very polished performance, and
Guernsey Grammar School & 6th Form Centre Training Orchestra, who also played very well. Some fab music choices in this class too with my personal favourites being 'Wallace and Gromit' (played by The Grammar School), and 'The Final Countdown' (St Sampsons). Great playing here, with St Sampsons winning the class with a Distinction.

Following on we had a class full of fine brass playing in the Brass Ensemble Under 18, featuring a Trombone Quintet, and the Music Centre Brass Band. I thought the Brass bands piece, written by their conductor James Hatton was particularly effective, a great piece, which Nancy complimented as well as their playing, awarding Music Centre the trophy with a Distinction.
- Next we had the Orchestra/Band/Instrumental Ensemble Open with sole competitors the Guernsey Grammar School & 6th Form Centre Orchestra. Other fine performance from this school, and a lovely programme of music. I particularly liked their performance of 'Seventeen Come Sunday' by Vaughan Williams. They were awarded a Distinction, winning their class.   Last up for the evening, the big class, the Orchestra/Band/Instrumental Ensemble Secondary School Age, fielding 4 competitors; Elizabeth College Junior Windband, The Ladies College Senior Strings, the Guernsey Grammar School & 6th Form Centre Senior Windband, and the Guernsey Music Centre Chamber Orchestra. All hugely commendable playing here in this class - I thought in particular that Elizabeth College showcased a promising young leader amongst them, as they were directed by a Year 11 student, very successfully. I didn't catch his name, but well done! The Grammar School presented a lovely programme, superbly directed by Janine Nichols. Music Centre were a real highlight of the evening, with amazing playing - their self-conducted piece (lead by Louise Madden) was particularly effective, showcasing their excellent ensemble playing and commitment. Their performance of the Brandenburg Conerto was particularly spectacular, and they won the class with an Outstanding.

All in all, a huge day of fabulous music making here at the Guernsey Eisteddfod. I think there is a lot for everyone involved, performers, teacher, parents and supporters to all be incredibly proud of.

Such confident children!