Welcome to the latest edition of Purcell’s Weekly Highlights!
Middle School Concerto Competition Winner
Last Thursday, Purcell’s staff and students were treated to an exciting evening of live music in the hotly contested Middle School Concerto Competition. All players performed extraordinarily well but it was Year 10 violinist Dominic who triumphed as the 2021 Winner with his performance of Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2 in G Minor Op 63 I. Tianyu (piano, Year 10) and Grace (piano, Year 10) were both Runners Up, and Yazdi (piano, Year 9) was Highly Commended.
Congratulations to all students who took part – the full list of finalists can be found below – and special thanks to Purcell accompanists Debbie Shah and Daniel Swain who gave their time and expertise so willingly.
Finalists Year 9:Yazdi (piano), Danya (viola), Alex (French horn), Rebecca (violin) Year 10:Momo (piano), Dominic (violin), Jules (violin), Herman (piano), Tianyu (piano), Grace (piano), Rhea (oboe)
Artwork of the Week
This week’s highlight from the Art Studio is an unbelievably realistic watercolour of an apple by Amanda (Year 10). Art Technician Robin Williamson selected this piece because it ‘quite frankly looks more like an apple than the real thing’.
BIRD SONG RESEARCH PROJECT
Following on from last week’s Bird Song feature, please find below Year 9 student Phoebe’s excellent research paper about blue tits.
2021 kicked off with an exciting start for folk singer, songwriter and alumna Daisy Chute, as she featured on the soundtrack of David Attenborough’s latest documentary ‘A Perfect Planet’ which aired on BBC One. She has continued this momentum with songwriting for films, TV shows and bands such as Radiohead and Two Door Cinema Club, as well as performing and recording her own projects. Daisy is also the co-founder of HEARD Collective (an artist collective who promote and support women in music) and the co-writer of COVEN (a gig theatre show about witches). Her most recent work, Troubador Boy, was premiered at the end of March and is available below.
Katharine Blake
Alumna, founding member, singer and musical director of the Ivor Novello award-winning group Mediaeval Baebes Katharine Blake will celebrate 25 years of the classical choir with four anniversary performances at The Actors’ Church, Covent Garden, from 27th – 29th May 2021. Of the anniversary, Katharine said ‘25 years ago when a group of friends got together to sing some mediaeval music for fun, we could never have predicted the epic journey that the band was setting out on. Many incarnations and 10 studio albums later, we are so thrilled to be celebrating our silver jubilee, and to once again perform to a live audience.’
Tickets for the 25th Anniversary Concert are available here.
Ty Jeffries
Composer, lyricist, pianist, singer and alumnus Ty Jeffries, best known for the onstage persona of Miss Hope Springs, will return to Crazy Coqs, Wigmore Hall and Brighton Festival Fringe this June. The run of three shows at Crazy Coq sold out in a matter of hours, and the solo concert at the Wigmore Hall will be streamed as part of their celebration of Pride month throughout June.
Ty’s muse, self-proclaimed ‘blonde bomb-site’ Miss Hope Springs, latest show will detail her travels and travails in the world of show business.
Links and tickets to the forthcoming Miss Hope Springs performances are available here.
