On Thursday 7th March, 47 students from the 4 trust schools took part in side by side rehearsals and a concert for parents at Ealing Fields High School. The students sat alongside professional and amateur musicians from the Nonesuch orchestra under the guidance of their conductor Dan Shilladay. The repertoire included the Brook Green Suite by Gustav Holst, a work written for the senior and junior orchestra of St Pauls Girls school, and also a forgotten work by his daughter Imogen Holst, the “Loth to Depart” Suite. This piece, written for solo quartet and two string orchestras, had not been performed since 1967. The orchestra also showcased Entr’acte by the contemporary American composer Caroline Shaw, a haunting work which uses really unusual extended string techniques such as muted bowing, bow-stopped pizzicatos, and the dramatic slap pizzicato! The students had an enjoyable and inspiring day and many of them also took part in a public concert with the Nonesuch Orchestra on Sunday 10th March at St Peters Church, Acton Green. |