Reflections Mag FINAL.indd - Handcross Park School

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MUSIC
Review of the year
The leadership offered by almost all our Year 8 girls
has made this year in the music department a special
one. Leaders are those amongst us dedicated to doing
their best and it seems that musicians in particular
enjoy and expect to do this for the benefit of others
in the school and the wider community. Thus, leading
musicians rarely come singly and we embrace musical
ambitions in the context of our friends, our families
and our parents. So a big vote of thanks is due to all
that this year group and their parents have given to
the music at Handcross park, especially to our three
music scholars:
and Piano to Roedean,
Hurstpierpoint, and
Hurstpierpoint.
The Senior Choir has greatly benefited from the
dedicated service of eight Year 8 girls and began the
Year with All Things Bright and Beautiful at Harvest
Festival, and at the Autumn Concert ‘Gonna rise up
singing’ and ‘You raise me up’. The Junior Choir
contributed equally memorably at these events. The
Senior Choir were thoroughly inspired by the eight
singers of ‘Voces8’ at the Ardingly Choral Day in
October and, together with members of the Senior
Orchestra, presented a memorable Charity Concert
at Handcross village hall in December, raising
about £400 for the Cherry Tree Hospice in Worthing
and the Handcross Village Hall re-building fund.
Our annual candle-lit carol service in Cuckfield
Parish Church began with our endearing Head
-chorister, Yasmin Ziyada, with her beautiful voice,
singing the first verse of ‘Once in Royal’. It included
some beautiful and polished performances by
the Senior and Junior Choirs and various readers
and was again accompanied by former pupil and
organ-scholar at Exeter College, Oxford, - Alistair Reid.
The Senior and Junior Orchestras have both been
performing to a good standard in the Autumn and
Summer Concerts. Isobel Goodman, our leader
and captain has given a good example and we have
enjoyed an excellently balanced and wide range
of instruments in the Senior Orchestra with a
particularly memorable performance of music from
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ featuring our outstanding
percussionist, James Watson. Six of our Year 6 and 7
musicians supported the Lancing College Prep.
Schools Chamber Music Day in June, whilst the Year
8s were camping. However they returned to support
the memorable production of ‘Alice’ by our Year 3s
and 4s with some lovely playing in the orchestra
‘pit’. The Senior Orchestra also found time to give
their usual half-hour concert to a very appreciative
audience made up of our year 1 and 2. The fifteen
piece Junior Orchestra has been largely violinists
and cellists and its excellently balanced sound was
particularly impressive in May.