Thursday 26 November saw the annual Winter Concert return to the Sports Hall. Parents, friends, family and staff filled out the Sports Hall to enjoy another spectacular musical show. The evening provided a wonderful opportunity for pupils to get involved with music. All pupils have the chance to play an instrument and join a band or orchestra- with many choosing to do so. Staff are welcome to participate in the event, and many do play their instruments as part of the bands. Members of the local community are also invited to watch and take part; the Shiplake College Community Choir often perform, alongside the Shiplake cohort.
Getting everybody in the Christmas spirit, the evening opened with a fantastic performance of 'Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree', performed by the Lower School Orchestra and arranged by Director of Music Mr Paul Jones. The String Ensemble of Michael Scanlon, Cameron Bell, Henry Blois-Brooke, Charlotte Scales, Joseph Perry, Dominic John-Vallee and Thomas Nike then took to the stage, playing ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’, a toe-tapping tune by Irving Berlin and arranged by teacher Mr Chris Ham. Fast becoming a tradition at the concerts, Shiplake then played host to the Community Choir, who sang ‘Star Carol’ by John Rutter.
The evening then took a turn towards popular culture, with Marcus Bagshawe donning the electric guitar and playing an improvisation on the Bee Gees famous song ‘Staying Alive’. Next to take the spotlight were the newly-formed First Eight of Matthew Aldridge, Ben Atkin, Chris Baker, Jordan Gibson, James Hargreaves, Luke Mullin, Angus Munro and Alfie Sheppard, who took to the stage to perform for the first time together, having been chosen for the prestigious group earlier this academic year. Six of the original eight members left the College at the end of the Summer term, but the new group found harmony with each other, impressing the audience with their debut performance. The boys sang an arrangement of OMI’s chart-topping song ‘Cheerleader’. The Big Band were next to wow the audience, building on the success of their summer unveiling by playing ‘Dr No-el’ by M Story. The audience felt the festive spirit back in full swing ahead of mulled wine being served during the interval!
Upon returning to the Sports Hall, the packed audience were treated to a toe-tapping rendition of ‘The Final Countdown’, courtesy of the Senior Orchestra, as well as a climactic ‘1812 Overture’ by Tchaikovsky. The String Quartet provided a heart-wrenching version of Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’, before Shiplake Jazz took centre stage to play a groovy version of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Watermelon Man’.
The Chamber Choir reminded the audience once again that Christmas is just around the corner, with a hauntingly beautiful version of ‘Ding dong! Merrily on high’, before the Lower School and Chamber Choir closed the show with an incredibly catchy rendition of ‘World in Union’- a song that evoked memories of the Rugby World Cup! A fantastic evening once again for the Music Department, who pulled out all the stops to deliver a spine-tingling Winter Concert. Mr Jones said of the evening that ‘the pupils were fantastic, really giving it their all! It is wonderful to have the support of friends and family, and we’d like to thank them for coming along and being just as much as a part of the evening.’
