The Orchestra opened the evening with a performance of The Forrest Gump Suite. The Orchestra made a superb sound and the performers were all totally engaged with the music. The piece built to a very exciting climax and set the standard for the rest of the evening. The Military Band were excellent, performing a selection of music from Disney movies, this was possibly their best performance so far, with very tight rhythmic playing with good intonation across the band. The School Choir were outstanding in their performances of Africa and All the things you are. The Senior Jazz Sextet played Sugar brilliantly with impressive skill in improvisation shown. This was followed by a contrasting performance of Karl Jenkins’ Palladio, played by the String Quartet. It is not easy playing in a quartet where each part is very exposed, but the performers paid careful attention to intonation and the blend within the ensemble.

The Chapel Choir gave the evening a more Christmassy feel with a performance of Carol of the Bells with careful attention to diction that really brought the music to life. The Trumpet Consort continued the Christmas theme with an arrangement of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, where the acoustics of the Recital Hall really helped to enhance the sound. The Chamber Choir produced a lovely sound with solo performances from Katie Proctor and Joseph Loughrey in Harold Darke’s setting of In The Bleak Midwinter. The Big Band closed the concert with superb and exciting performances of Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby and Mr Zoot Suit that featured Amelia as the vocalist.

My congratulations to all involved and my thanks to the wonderful team of music staff at King’s.

Ashley Marshfield - Director of Music