Weekly Highlights 13th November 2026

Purcell Violinist Selected for London Schools Symphony Orchestra

Congratulations to Jarvis (Year 9, violin), who has been offered a place in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO), following his first audition for the ensemble.

Having auditioned on both French horn and violin, Jarvis was successful on violin and is particularly looking forward to performing at the Barbican Hall for the first time. His interest in the orchestra was sparked by his older brother, who joined last year.

Jarvis studies violin at Purcell with Alda Dizdari. We wish him every success with the orchestra and look forward to hearing about his performances.
 

Irina Walters Leads Rachmaninoff Masterclass with the Sitwell Singers

Irina Walters, Purcell’s aural, choral conducting and second study piano teacher, recently led a masterclass for the Sitwell Singers, working with the choir as they prepare to perform Rachmaninoff’s celebrated All-Night Vigil (Vespers), Op. 37.

Composed in 1915, this remarkable 15-movement work draws on ancient Orthodox chants and is renowned for its rich choral writing, including an exceptionally deep bass part. Irina explored the history of the composition with the choir before working on its distinctive musical style and interpretation.

The session was warmly received, with choir members praising Irina’s knowledge, enthusiasm and insight. One singer commented that her expertise had inspired “a deeper appreciation of the beauty of this work”, while choir director Dexter Drown said that Irina had made a “positive impact on the choir”, giving them valuable ideas for both their forthcoming performance and their future singing.

Irina was delighted by the choir’s preparation and grateful to Dexter and the Sitwell Singers for the invitation.

Purcell Concerts Review

Live at Lunch – W/C 9th November
This week’s Live at Lunch concerts celebrated the School’s Wind, Brass and Percussion Showcase, with performances across four days highlighting the range of repertoire and ensemble opportunities enjoyed by our young musicians.

Monday opened with a performance of Poulenc’s Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone, featuring Mason (Year 12, trumpet), Trevor (Year 13, French horn) and Purcell’s Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion Mike Cavanagh (trombone). Ayman (Year 13) and Samsara (Year 12) (clarinets) then performed Poulenc’s Sonata for Two Clarinets, followed by the first movement of Louise Farrenc’s Sextet in C minor for Winds and Piano, Op. 40, performed by Kiah (Year 11, flute), Emily (Year 13, oboe), Ayman (Year 13, clarinet), Trevor (Year 13, French horn), Lilly (Year 13, bassoon) and Pijus (Year 13, piano).

Tuesday featured Mozart’s Serenade No. 12 in C minor for Winds, K. 388, performed by an eight-piece ensemble comprising Natalie and Emily (Year 13, oboes), Ayman and Samsara (clarinets), Trevor and John (Year 11) (French horns), and Lilly and Mehdi (Year 12) (bassoons).

Wednesday saw the Symphonic Wind Orchestra take to the CP Hall for a particularly moving Remembrance Day concert. The programme included Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, Philip Sparke’s In Memoriam: For the Fallen, and John Williams’ evocative Theme from Schindler’s List, before concluding with Rob Wiffin’s Evening Hymn & Sunset. The performance of In Memoriam: For the Fallen was especially poignant, accompanied by a reading of Laurence Binyon’s poem by Sellin (Year 13), bringing a moment of reflection and remembrance to the concert.

Thursday brought the showcase to a close with performances from a brass ensemble and a percussion group. The brass players – Alfred (Year 7), Jarvis (Year 9) , Glyn (Year 9), Theo (Year 10), Rowena (Year 11), Gil (Year 11), John (Year 11), Willow (Year 12), Seth (Year 12), Mason (Year 12), Skye (Year 13) and Trevor (Year 13) – performed Paul Dukas’ Fanfare pour précéder La Péri and William Byrd’s The Earle of Oxford’s March, arranged by Elgar Howarth. The week concluded with Steve Reich’s Quartet for two pianos and two vibraphones, performed by Dr Ryan Hepburn, Hannah (Year 13), Arthur (Year 12) and Luca (Year 12).

A varied and engaging week of performances, showcasing the breadth of talent across the School’s wind, brass and percussion departments.

 

Watch Again: Alex Redington and the Purcell Chamber Soloists at Wigmore Hall

On 5th November, the Purcell School Chamber Soloists returned to the renowned Wigmore Hall for the first of three concerts in the 2026–27 season, giving a tremendous performance of chamber music for string ensembles.

Led by Head of Strings Alex Redington, the students presented a programme featuring Grażyna Bacewicz’s virtuosic Quartet for Four Violins, followed by George Enescu’s monumental Octet – a fitting showcase for the musicians’ remarkable musicianship, ensemble playing and commitment.

The performance featured Chaeyu (Year 12, violin), Farah (Year 12, violin), Hannah (Year 13, viola), Jack (Year 13, cello), Khanui (Year 13, violin), Kutay (Year 12, violin), Natalie (Year 13, violin), Rozalia (Year 13, violin), Yoko (Year 12, cello) and Zarema (Year 11, violin).

For those who were unable to join us in person, or who would simply like to experience the concert again, the full performance is now available to watch online.

Watch the concert on YouTube

Our thanks to Alex Redington for leading the students, to Somi Briggs for capturing the concert so beautifully, and congratulations to all the performers on such a memorable evening at one of London’s great concert venues.

Forthcoming Events

In addition to those highlighted events below, please visit our online Concerts and Events Guide here.

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18 November – Purcell Songwriters Concert
Time: 1.10pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary

This Concert will celebrate the creativity of Purcell’s songwriters, featuring the school’s Commercial and Popular Music composers.

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25 November – Reich@90 Concert
Time: 7.00pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary

In Autumn 2026, The Purcell School will mark Steve Reich’s 90th birthday with a term-long celebration exploring one of the most influential musical voices of the past century. Taking place in parallel with wider international celebrations of Reich’s work, the project will bring together performance, composition, production, songwriting, jazz and commercial students through the school’s Centre for Creative Practice. Across the term, students will engage with Reich’s distinctive musical language through workshops, lectures, seminars, and collaborative creative projects.

The project will culminate in a mini-series of concerts and events presenting key works by Reich alongside a series of world premieres by Purcell students and staff responding to his output. Repertoire will include works such as Radio Rewrite, Quartet, Nagoya Marimbas, Electric Counterpoint and Clapping Music, with student responses ranging from chamber and percussion works to electronic pieces, collaborative rewritings, and online releases. The project will also acknowledge Reich’s dialogue with popular music through performances of Radiohead songs connected to Radio Rewrite, creating a broad, interdisciplinary celebration of influence, reinterpretation, and new creative work.

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26 November – Cedars Village Afternoon Concert
Time: 2.30pm
Venue: Cedars Village, Finch Green, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire WD3 5GL
Tickets: Limited ticket availability, email concerts@purcell-school.org to enquire

Purcell’s Jazz and Pop students perform a 1-hour afternoon concert at Cedars Village in Chorleywood.

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30 November – Middle School Strings Concert
Time: 1.30pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary

Please do come along to watch our Middle School Strings perform works by Mozart and Bernard Herrmann.

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2 December – St Mary le Strand Lunchtime Concert
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: St Mary le Strand, Strand, London WC2R 1ES
Tickets: Admission is free and all are welcome

Join us at the historic church of St Mary le Strand, in the heart of London, for a relaxed one-hour midday performance by Purcell Six-form students.

The programme will feature solo works for guitar, piano, cello and saxophone.

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2 December – Session Bands Concert
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required

Do come along to our Session Bands Concert, featuring the school’s Commercial and Popular Music musicians playing music from the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and 90’s.

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5 December – Purcell Choirs at St John the Baptist Aldenham
Time: 11.30am
Venue: St. John The Baptist Church, Church Lane, Radlett WD25 8BE
Tickets: Admission is free, with a retiring collection

We are delighted to return to St John the Baptist, a beautiful church in our local community. Led by distinguished mezzo soprano and Purcell staff, Dr Chloë Allison, students will be performing the repertoire studied over the Autumn term, alongside some festive music to celebrate the holiday season.

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7 December – Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral
Time: 5.00pm
Venue: St Paul’s Cathedral, St Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required

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8 December – Brass Christmas Concert
Time: 1.10pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required

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9 December – Jazz Department Concert
Time: 7.00pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required

The Purcell Jazz Ensembles team up with Saxophone star Brandon Allen to play an evening of exciting and eclectic Jazz. The 1st half of the concert will feature Brandon playing his own compositions and arrangements with the Purcell Jazz ensembles, and the 2nd set will feature a very exciting performance of John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass album from 1961, with Brandon playing the part of Coltrane. This is part of the celebrations of John Coltrane’s 100th anniversary.

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10 December – Leicester International Music Festival Concert
Time: 12.00pm
Venue: Hansom Hall, 50-54 Belvoir St, Leicester LE1 6QL, UK
Tickets: Tickets are available here

Purcell students are invited back to the Leicester International Music Festival to perform as part of its lunchtime concert series. This year’s concert will take place in the historic Hansom Hall, the temporary home of the festival, which is reputed to have hosted concerts by both Franz Liszt and Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

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