What an Outstanding Day!

Past the half way point now, and I feel it's going only keep getting better with more show-stopping performances to come.

We started our morning session with the Choirs; Unison Singing - Infant School Age class. Always a delightful class this, although we did have a bit of a problem with seating this year. Seems some keen audience members made their way further forward in the theatre, which meant we had a few problems fitting in the children. It is SO important that the children get to hear their peers sing at this age, so just a suggestion to parents and supporters to try and fill the theatre from the back, and try not to venture past the adjudicators table unless one of the volunteers (or Barbara Minta) says that you can. This just helps all the organisers out immensely, and means all the participants get the best experience they can. Four lovely choirs in this class including Forest Primary School Infant Choir, who delivered some very sweet singing in their first piece 'Sing a Rainbow', and Blanchelande College Infant Singers whose piece 'Music Making', as a Nancy stated, 'had the children fully engaged in music; singing, acting, and dancing!' ECJS (Acorn House) made great use of as we've come to expect from them over the years - I loved the penguin hats! And finally Melrose Infant Choir sang with great focus for such a young choir, and produced a lovely unified sound (particularly for this class which is all about singing in unison!) - A wonderful display of singing from these youngsters, and such engaging teaching from the staff as well, which was fabulous to see. The winners of this lovely class were Melrose, with a Distinction.

Next up, we had the Piano Film/TV/Shows; Under 18s class. Two solid performances here from Sam Cole performing 'In Dreams' from Lord of the Rings', and Archie Purdue performing 'For the Love of the Prince' from Braveheart. It is clear that both of these pianists display an understanding of the cinematic genre, and both produced some lovely warm tones from the piano. In my opinion, I think both of these boys could learn well from each other, as I found that each of them possessed a skill that the other was needing a little more of; Sam had a delicate touch of the lighter and flowing parts of the music, whilst I felt Archie was more successful in creating a ringing tone from the piano in the broader passages of his piece. A close one to call in my book, but on the day, Archie received a Highly Commended, and Sam just pipped him to take the win with a Distinction. Following on we had the Orchestral Woodwind Ensemble; Secondary Age class, featuring the Guernsey Music Centre Flute Choir, which included alto and bass flutes, as well as standard flutes (although personally, gutted there wasn't also a piccolo!) A large and impressive ensemble, performing highlights from 'The Sound of Music', a style of piece which I thought was particularly suited to the sound of flutes. I did think they could have found more dynamic contrasts throughout the piece though, just to really get all the nuances of the music, and all the tonal colours from the ensemble. But some fine flute playing, as they won the class with a Highly Commended.

Winner of the U9 Violin, Paul Friedrich 

Before the interval we had the Electric Guitar, for which guitarists compete for the suitably named 'Rock God' award. This was a brilliant class, if perhaps a little empty. I know there are many, many, MANY fine guitarists out there who should have a crack at this class, and then we could have an amazing event on our hands! The lack of competitors didn't detract from Sam Cole's fine performance of the classic rock song 'Johnny B Goode'. Sam is proving himself to be quite the all round talent as a musician, as Nancy stated, "Is there no end to this boys talent?" - I think Sam's at the stage with his guitar playing where he can afford to loosen up now, and really get into the passion and enjoyment of making this music. If you ever watch any of the great legends of guitar, they don't exactly stand perfectly still do they? A superb performance from Sam, earning himself an Outstanding mark of 90, and the Rock God Award. After the interval, one of my favourite classes, which was the Choirs; Special Needs Junior School Age class, featuring Le Rondin Singers. Every year, I am suitably impressed by the level of commitment from this school, from their singers, and from their conductor Juanita Byrne (who I say every year doesn't get enough credit for her ability to conduct, play piano, sign and sing at the same time!) - I do think it's important to point out, that although Nancy said they had fine 'actions', the children were in fact signing along with their singing, which is hugely difference. I don't know if this is something in further worth checking with adjudicators before the class that they know this, but I think it's an important distinction to make. Within this school's presentation today, I thought the wonderfully dressed 'puppet', which was in fact one of the students dressed as Pinocchio, and a teacher dressed as Gepetto made for a wonderful humourous addition to their song 'Gepetto Made a Puppet', and was brilliantly delivered. I thought 'The Dolphin Song' was sung beautifully by the entire ensemble, and I really enjoyed the use of a small group of singers against a larger group, which worked brilliantly. I also would like to make special mention of the percussionist, Dylan, who provided such precise woodblock playing, and beautifully atmospheric ocean-drum - superb playing young man! Overall, a wonderful performance from this school, as I come to expect, and they took home the Liz Darling trophy. Well done Le Rondin!
- Closing the morning session we had the Violin Under 9s class. Again, it was clear to see that there is excellent string teaching here in the island, and each player showed a good understanding of their instrument, and some lovely musicianship developing. I personally thought that Renee Mitchell showed remarkable skill for a young violinist, she's one to watch for sure. Paul Friedrich played with such presence, and with excellent intonation, and I also thought that Thomas Hugo had excellent intonation also. The overall winner with Distinction was Paul Friedrich, playing 'In the Groove' by Blackwell.

Young Jazz Singers - L-R: Elliott Hearne,
Emmelie Wright, Grace Davison, (below) Imogen
Hayman, and Oscar Armenta-Jeffreys

We started the afternoon session with the Piano Under 14. There was some fine playing in this class, to a great standard, with some really nice choices of repertoire as well, one of my personal favourite's being Debussy's 'Cakewalk'. Such a close call in this class.... so close in fact that Nancy couldn't separate them, so she decided to jointly award 1st place to George Walker and Harry Childs, giving them both Distinction. The next class, Violin Under 16 showcased some truly amazing playing. Joseph Stoller's unaccompanied performance of 'Sakura' was sensational. Such vibrant colours he found from his violin, and the ability to continuing playing the bowed melody and perform a second tune pizzacato at the same time was hugely impressive, pulled off brilliantly. He won the class with an equally sensational Outstanding. Bravo! Following the under 16s, the Violin Under 18s, featuring three fine players in Jacob Wright, Seb Gardiner, and Niloufer Khankashi. Each of these players performed with real skill, and showed great capability with the demanding repertoire. On this occassion Jacob Wright won the trophy with Distinction. Closing the afternoon we had another of my favourite classes, the Vocal Jazz/Blues/Swing Under 18s. This class was superb, with some super choices from the Jazz repertoire, and right from the start Nancy said that everyone was in the Highly Commended bracket or higher, which was fantastic to hear! My personal highlights include Oscar Armenia-Jeffreys who I think shows real promise for such a young man, and he's getting some fine coaching from his teacher Jo Marsh - He is Guernsey's answer to Michael Buble in the making. I thought Lilli Meakin showed a promising voice developing, with a lovely tone, and I hope to see more of her in the future. Two Outstanding, with Isabelle Lees strong performance of Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good', and Elliott Hearne's sultry and relaxed presentation of 'Almost is Never Enough' - Elliott took the win, with an Outstanding mark of 92. Well done everyone, a super class all round!

The evening session started with real panache, as we were treated to two great choirs in the Choirs; Folk & Traditional Secondary School Age class. Opening the night was Elizabeth College Choir, which features singers from across the entire school, ages 11 to 18. This is no mean feat for an all-boys school, and I think musical director Casey-Joe Rumens is doing a great job in not only finding repertoire for this wide range of singers (which includes unbroken voices as well as those in transition and those just past transition), but in also being engaging and understanding with them, which is amazing to see. They gave a theatrical performance, starting their set off stage and trickling on, and likewise ending their song 'South Australia' with the choir meandering off into the distance, leaving two boys 'scrubbing the decks' as the curtains closed. Such fun to see! I also thought this last song was their most effective, and showed their abilities off brilliantly. Lots of good things to come from this choir I feel! Following them, we had the Music Centre Youth Choir. I am always impressed to see how much this choir have grown since I was in it - when I was there (some... 17 years ago...) it was very much a chamber choir, with about 18 singers. Now, they are an army! Some beautiful singing coming from this group, with clear dedication and impressive accuracy. I just wish these guys would look a little more enthused when they perform! You make such a great sound, please let your faces know! I also wonder if perhaps the male singers could be put in the middle of the choir formation, rather than lining the back. This is a trick I've done with my Guernsey Glee Singers, because the women do out number the men, and if they are in the middle I find I get a better blend from them. Just a thought! Excellent singing all round from everyone, with Guernsey Music Centre taking home the trophy with a Distinction, and Elizabeth College receiving a Highly Commended.

Next up, the Vocal Duets 15 & Under 18. Perhaps an unusual scheduling for this class, as it would most often be seen in the afternoons, but it was lovely that it was right after the choir class, as this meant these singers got a good audience to perform to. There was some beautiful singing from these two duets; Mae Ingrouille & Lucy Whiteman performed 'Down by the Sally Gardens', and Julia & Louise Madden, who were the winners in this class, performed 'Laudamus Te' by Vivaldi. In particular I thought Louise and Julia had gorgeous blend in their duet singing, and they earned themselves Distinction. Following on from the singing, we moved to piano with the Piano Sonata Over 18, which featured an entire class of Beethoven! Nancy spoke about the importance of understanding a particular composers style, and getting across the nuances of the composers' intentions. For his vivacious performance of Sonata Op. 2, John Morris won the class with an Outstanding mark of 91. No rest for the wicked, as after the interval Martin Hassall and John Morris were back in action in the Piano Sight-Reading Open. Even more scary than the Quickstudy class, where performers has 48hrs to look at a piece, these guys put themselves under immense pressure, and have 60 seconds to look at a piece... live... in-front of an audience! Both of these players rose to the challenge brilliantly. It was interesting to hear how two players interpreted the same piece; Martin played it slower, and perhaps more accurately, but John performed it with real flair and musicality, but with more errors. In the end, Nancy couldn't separate them, and so jointly awarded 1st place to both John and Martin with Distinction marks of 89.

The Final class of the night proved to be truly spectacular - the Pop Song Over 18 is always well contested, and it was great to see it was well attended by the audience as well, as I think you all got a bit of a treat tonight! There was a fabulous array of music on show, from the Beatles, David Bowie, Adele, Jamie Cullum, and was proved to be a very popular choice of artist, Queen. I also had the great joy of, not only performing in this class, but playing for almost every other person in it as well! Personal highlights for me in this class (from what I could hear from the piano!) included; Getting to play ALL the notes in 'Don't Stop Me Now' performed by Stephen Glencross, Michael Sullivan's awesome use of extended vocal techniques (grit and distortion) in his performance of 'Sound of Silence', Darren Alderton's hilarious use of an inflatable guitar mid-song, Dominique Ogier's insanely good high Belt in 'The Show Must Go On', and Tracey Robilliard's relaxed presence in 'These are the Days'. Another word about Tracey from me... Tracey's been on an amazing journey of finding her voice again, after going through throat cancer and needing vocal rehabilitation, and this was her first time back on stage in 14 years, and she absolutely smashed it, earning herself a Distinction mark of 88. I'm immensely proud of her, and hope this is the start of something for her now she's found her voice. This really was a truly remarkable class.... so much so, that the 5th place marks started at 91!! At 5th place we had equal Laura Simpson ('No-one but You') and Dominique Ogier ('The Show Must Go On') - both of these ladies performed with immense acting ability, and incredible use of High Belting techniques. In 4th place with 92 was Michael Sullivan for his powerful rendition of 'The Sound of Silence', based on the version performed by the band Disturbed. In 3rd place with a 93 was myself, performing Bill Wither's classic 'Ain't No Sunshine'. Nancy praised my ability to self-accompany with balance, and enjoyed my jazzy interpretation of the song. In second place with 94 marks was Julie-Tostevin, whom Nancy said gave a truly professional performance of 'Bless this Broken Road'. She also praised her gorgeous vocal tone. And finally, with an exceptional mark of 95 was Jo Marsh performing David Bowie's 'Life on Mars'. For me, Jo delivered a real masterclass in Pop singing here; it was a lesson in how to pick a song that suits you, but also knowing how to put it in a key that works for you too! Never be afraid to change the key folks - the song should suit the singer, not the other way around! Jo's performance of this was truly mesmerising, delivered with emotion, power, grace, an effortless belt range but also incredible control of dynamics. A truly Outstanding performance that was well deserved of the win. Congratulations Jo!     
- I also thought it worth mentioning, that the camaraderie in this class was what I loved more than anything. Everyone supported everyone in this class - everyone got a cheer, everyone was praised by their fellow competitors, and I think this added to the joy for the audience, and the electric atmosphere in the theatre.

Music making is amazing.... making music with your friends is even better!

Top 3 in the O18 Pop - L-R: Julie Tostevin, Jo Marsh, and me!