Purcell Composer Wins Femfestival with String Quartet ‘Devotion’
We are delighted to share yet another outstanding achievement from Adi (Year 13). The first movement of her string quartet Devotion has been named a winner of the Femfestival, an international celebration of new music run by Accademia Musica Arte Teatro (AMAT).
As part of this success, Adi’s piece will be performed in Florence, Italy, in November 2025, bringing her music to a new international audience in one of Europe’s great cultural cities.
Congratulations to Adi on this richly deserved honour!
Purcell Composer Premieres New Jazz Work in Greenwich
We’re delighted to share that Natty (Year 13, composer) has premiered a brand new work this week.
Natty’s piece, Dreams That Land On Wheeler – inspired by the late jazz composer Kenny Wheeler – was written especially for his brother Luke Purbrick’s jazz octet. The work received its first performance on Wednesday 2nd July at the beautiful Chapel of St Peter & St Paul in Greenwich, with Natty himself conducting.
Congratulations to Natty on this exciting premiere and for bringing his music to life in such a special setting!
Year 13 Lecture-Recitals
On Friday 20th June, Year 13 students Tom, Suanoi and Aaron each gave lecture-recitals that represented the culmination of the work that they have been doing throughout the year as part of the new Advanced Analysis seminar with Mr Shiner. Over several months, they were required to develop a research project and accompanying thesis, write and propose an abstract, before ultimately crafting and giving their lectures, which were required to incorporate an element of performance to illustrate their work. They then took questions from staff and students. They took on topics as varied as motivic development in late-Romantic period music, the politics of musical-cultural appropriation in contemporary classical music, and an exploration of Fluxus performance art. All three created highly enjoyable, insightful, and thought-provoking presentations.
On Thursday 3rd July, we were delighted to welcome British Horn virtuoso, Mike Thompson, and a Horn Quartet from the Royal Academy of Music to work with our French Horn students. The morning began with Brad, Trevor, John, Theo and Jarvis performing solo repertoire, accompanied by Mr Swain and Mr Ellis, and received top tips from Mike. The RAM horn students then joined Purcell students to prepare ensemble pieces for the Lunchtime Concert, before moving onto sectional work on the upcoming Symphony Orchestra concert at Milton Court (7th July).
We’re delighted to share that our Art Specialist Assistant, Robin Collingwood, has been invited to take part in a vibrant new exhibition celebrating Contemporary Pop Art.
