On Monday 22 June, Shiplake’s budding musicians took to the stage – for some, for the last time during their College careers – to perform to a packed marquee a variety of music, including pieces from musicals as well as modern chart-toppers.
First to the stage was the Covers Band, featuring Charlie Thomas. The band, made up of Michael Ball on the saxophone, Yeem Chanthanawan on the bass, Freddy Ellis on the saxophone, Ben Fletcher on the trumpet, Josh Hirst on the drums, Tom Ibbitson on the guitar, Ryan Jones with the trumpet and Will Kidd on the piano, performed a catchy version of the increasingly popular Uptown Funk, by Mark Ronson and arranged by Shiplake’s own Director of Music Mr Paul Jones. The spotlight was then taken by Lucy Collings and Sam Ryder-Smith, who sang a rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy.
The Community Choir then took to the stage, giving the audience a memorable medley of Queen songs, arranged by M Brymer. Tom McCooke took the first solo performance of the evening, performing the captivating Prelude from Five Bagatelles on the clarinet. The String Ensemble – Cameron Bell, Henry Blois-Brooke, Ms Ana Borzone, Charlotte Scales, Joseph Perry and Thomas Nike, performed the Overture to William Tell, as arranged by Music teacher Mr Chris Ham.
The Junior Chorale, accompanied by the String Quartet, then took to the stage, performing a heart-wrenching version of Coldplay’s chart-topping song Viva La Vida, arranged by Mr Ham and Mr Jones. The Senior Orchestra then had the attention of the audience, as they played Shostakovich’s The Second Waltz, followed by Stevie Wonder’s toe-tapping hit Superstition.
A short interval followed, during which drinks were served outside, making the most of the beautiful weather. The audience then headed back into the marquee to enjoy the Samba Band play an arrangement of Samba Reggae and Samba Funk. The Saxophone Group of Michael Ball, Yeem Chanthanawan, Freddy Ellis, Josh Hirst and Sebastian Roberts had a rapt audience with a medley of film and television music, including the James Bond and The Simpsons theme tunes.
A very special performance was done by ‘The Heads’. Headmaster Mr Gregg Davies, and Head of College Yeem Chanthanawan, accompanied by the Prefects, performed Master of the House and Do You Hear the People Sing, both from Les Miserables. The First Eight wowed the audience with an evocative a cappella rendition of Stars from Les Miserables. Of the group, Tom Banks, Charles Marsden, Tom McCooke, Ruaridh Sheppard and Sam Ryder-Smith leave the Shiplake ranks this summer, and so relished the opportunity to perform as part of the First Eight for one last time. Eliska Zahorova, also leaving the school this summer, then stepped into the spotlight, playing a heart-wrenching piano solo of Etude No. 9 by Liszt.
Finally, the newly formed Shiplake College Big Band made their debut appearance, giving their rendition of Gershwin’s Summertime, followed by the pop song Forget You. The band had a phenomenal presence onstage, sweeping the audience up in the music.
Director of Music Mr Paul Jones commented that ‘this term, we’ve said goodbye to some outstanding musicians. We have been able to acknowledge their contribution to Shiplake Music with the award of Full Colours, but their talent, hard work and dedication will be missed in the department. It has been a pleasure working with them, and we wish them all the best for the future.’
To see more photos from the event, please click here.