“Jazz hands” and “air grabs” proliferated in the Ashbee Theatre last night, as Feltonfleet welcomed The Alan Barnes Quintet to host our first Jazz Night.
This large-scale concert featured 136 of our combined choristers and orchestral players. The afternoon was spent in rehearsal with the quintet before an exciting concert of jazz, pop, Motown and funk played to a packed audience on a gorgeous summer evening.
This repertoire was musically demanding for the orchestra, with complex parts and even some pupils trying their hand at improvisation - special credit to Rosie S and Tom K (both 8SR) for some standout improvising! Not to be outdone, the choirs sung their hearts out in renditions of Fame and Proud Mary, complete with enthusiastic dance routines that had the audience joining in.
They were joined by a talented group of string players – Alice T, Jessica R, Sasha H, Anna P and Felix L – for a challenging, but beautiful arrangement of What a Wonderful World in 3-part harmony. Our own small jazz band also played alongside the quintet in some jazz standards.
We are immensely proud of all our young musicians: their dedication, drive and unending enthusiasm made them an absolute pleasure to work with in a demanding rehearsal process. Performing alongside top UK professionals was an inspiration to us all and an experience we are sure the children will never forget.
Sincerest thanks go to all those who came to support the event and to our fantastic team of music staff for their expertise and assistance in the run up to the concert.
Further images from the concert can be found on our Gallery page.
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