A little bit of Epic Tuesday...

Another big day at the Eisteddfod today, as we kick off the morning session with a choir class, the Choirs; Junior Part Singing. Always a wonderful class to see so many young singers on stage, singing together. It's no mean feat conducting a choir, and conducting young singers on mass poses huge challenges, which all the conductors managed excellently, keeping their groups focused and engaged with the music. Some choice musically offerings today as well, my particular favourites from each choir being:
- Guernsey Music Centre Junior Choir's joyful performance of 'The Animals went in Two by Two'
- ECJS Choirs wonderful rendition of 'If I Only Had a Brain' from the Wizard of Oz
- Blanchelande College Junior Choir's lovely performance of 'I am the Earth' 
Some excellent group singing on display from all of these groups, with each group receiving a Distinction for their efforts, but on this occasion, the class winners were ECJS Choir. Well done to all! 

A slightly calmer set of classes following, with the Viola Under 9, and Under 11 classes. Every year I say this, but I really do like the Viola! It tends to be the forgotten about member of the string family, with the 'show off' violin, and the 'romantically resonant' cello and the 'jazzy big brother' double bass around, but the viola has such a unique tone I feel - it's woody, and warm, and creates such a unique sonorous sound, I love to see so many youngsters learning it. And not only learning it, but playing it so well, as was evident by the high scores in these two classes, with Lucia Ozanne winning the Under 9 with a Distinction performance of 'Rhythm Fever', and Sebastian Smillie winning the Under 11 with a Distinction performance of 'Viola Time'. Keep up the good work everyone! Closing out the morning, we had the Piano Jazz Under 12, again showcasing some fine playing and understanding of the Jazz idiom. I always say the art of Jazz (and associated genres like funk and soul) is that it has to be so meticulously accurate, but sound completely off-the-cuff, and these piano students are making great steps to achieving this. I came to Jazz quite late in my learning (not until I was about 14/15), and I fell in love with it, so I'm pleased to see so many younger than I was pianists exploring this genre now. Again, some really excellent playing with a lot of Distinctions awarded, and the winner being Lara Pimlott performing 'Worrisome Blues'.

Back to business in the afternoon and we kicked off with the Violin Under 14, and again great to see a good spread of students performing a diverse set of repertoire, including 'Humoresque' by Dvorak (a personal favourite of mine from my cello playing days), and the Theme from Schindler's List (a must-have in every violinists repertoire if you ask me). I do feel like this is a tough age bracket for learners, for various reasons: you're figuring out who you are as a person and what you actually like to play, you're probably going through a growth-spurt and that can massively effect your playing and physicality, not to mention, hormone central! But I think these players are doing very well to tackle the obstacles and explore their musicality through their instruments. The winner of the class was Renee Mitchell with a Highly Commended.

Continuing the afternoon, a set of short choir classes, starting with the Choirs Male Voice Under 18 featuring the Elizabeth College Close Harmony Group. I feel like there's some wonderful Barbershop aesthetic being achieved by this group, particularly in the upper voice work exploring the more legit style of vocals, and I hope this group continues to explore and refine this work, as there's promising stuff going on! I particularly enjoyed their rendition of 'The Bare Necessities'! They won the class with a Highly Commended. Next up, the Choirs Secondary School Age Madrigal and Part Singing, featuring the Guernsey Music Centre Girls Choir. Some intricate work here with their song choices, expertly lead by Rachel Wright (as I've come to expect), earning themselves a Distinction for their performances of 'Il Est Bel et Bon' and 'Here in my Heart'. Finally in this little choirs section, we had the Choirs Secondary School Age featuring Ladies College Senior Motet. Again, yet more excellent work on display from this group exploring the motet style of ensemble work, with some good harmonic work and balance of parts. They performed 'A Flower Remembered' by John Rutter, and 'Fly me to the Moon' arranged by Kirby Shaw (not an easy version, I've done it several times myself!), earning a Distinction and the trophy. 

Next up, the Orchestral Woodwind; Duo/Trio/Quartet Under 14, featuring Catherine Paul & Clementine Glynn-Riley, performing a delightfully titled 'Brunch with Beethoven'. Some good playing on display here with excellent ensemble work from these two performers, who won the class with a Distinction. Finishing off the evening, the Pop Song 12 and Under 15. Like the Violin class I mentioned earlier, I do think this is the hardest age-bracket for performers, and for vocalists not only are you going through everything else I previously mentioned, your voice is probably going through transition too! Every voice goes through adolescent vocal change, and for some it can be seamless, but for others if can be a real challenge (as it was for me!). Knowing all that, it can be hard for this age bracket to find repertoire that is safe for the changing voice, age-appropriate for the young adolescent, but still engages the singer emotionally and creatively! Generally, I think there's some good choices going on here, but I do think some of these singers need a bit more guidance at this delicate stage. That said, this was a really strong class, with some good development on display. Ben made general comments to all the singers about making sure songs are in the right key (I always say, 'put it in the key of you'), and to make sure that all the words are clear so the meaning of the songs are fully conveyed. The Top three placements of this class all received Distinctions; in equal 3rd were Mia Labalestier and Sicely Mountford, in 2nd was Matilda Cole, and in 1st place with a beautiful and personal arrangement of 'Brave' by Sara Bareilles was Beth Phillippe. Congratulations everyone on a really super class! 

L-R: Mia Labalestier, Lydia Sullivan-Pugh (aka, me!), Beth Phillippe and Sicely Mountford
Pop Song 12 and Under 15

One of the reasons this day is called 'Epic Tuesday' is due to the fact that tonight is orchestra night, featuring a huge array of ensembles and players, and just by reading the programme, some really epic repertoire choices, particularly from the film score genre. Some personal highlights of mine included 'Pirates of the Caribbean' (can't go wrong with a big of Hans Zimmer), 'Superstition', and 'Game of Thrones'. I also say hats off to the Grammar School & 6th Form Centre for taking on a programme of 'Jupiter' by Holst, 'Apollo 13' by James Horner and 'Highlights from Rocketman' - a truly bold choice of repertoire there! The evening session kicked off Orchestra, Band or Ensemble; Secondary School Age (12 or more players), featuring some truly excellent playing all round. This was reflected in the marks, as each group received Distinction. A tough one to call I felt, but the winners on this occasion were St Sampsons High Orchestra performing 'Mission Impossible', 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Soul Bossa Nova'. Continuing on, two smaller classes with the Brass Ensemble Under 18 won by the Guernsey Music Centre Brass Band with a Distinction, and the Orchestra, Band, Ensemble; Secondary School Age (3-11 players) won by Elizabeth College Junior Strings with a Highly Commended, before we returned with the big classes and big ensembles. The Orchestra, Band or Ensemble; Open (3-11 players) again featured some really top-class playing from all the ensembles, particularly from St Sampsons Stage Sound. I've seen really great things from this ensemble over the years, and they won the class with an Outstanding mark of 90. Huge congratulations!
- The last class of the night, the Orchestra, Band or Ensemble; Open (12 or more players), featuring some wonderful choice of ensemble names, with the likes of 'The Orchestra People' and 'Brass Oddity' (although gutted not to see my favourite pun name of the festival so far, 'Tutti Flutti' perform). Some more great ensemble playing here, my personal highlight of the class being 'The Muppet Show Theme' from The Orchestra People, who won the class with a Distinction Mark of 87. Well done to everyone who performed, and especially to everyone who organised this huge night of music - it is no mean feat to wrangle this many orchestras in one venue! 

A really great day of music making all around as we reach the halfway point of the festival.