Youth concert 1
Youth concert 2
It is always a great pleasure to witness the wealth of talented performers from the local schools who come together to entertain us as part of the Festival. In 2025 once again over 300 singers and instrumentalists performed to a high standard in front of capacity audiences.
The first section was entitled Courtesy of Mozart and contained three pieces – A La Cart which was an adaptation from Mozart and which was sung with great humour. The second was the well-known first movement of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and was expertly played by four instrumentalists. The final piece of this section was Ill Wind which was originally performed by Flanders and Swann and which was based on Mozart’s Horn Concerto No.4. It is a veritable tongue twister and the conductor wisely chose to take it at a slower tempo to ensure that all the young voices could get the words out. The diction and projection of this and the first piece was extremely good due in no small part to the vast majority not having the words which also meant we could see their happy and enthusiastic faces! Special mention must also be made of the splendid soloists from Bedales Prep.
On Monday night the audience enjoyed the special treat of hearing solos from two outstanding young percussionists. Drummer Arlo Cairns played Matt McDonough’s Funkylicious with an energy and confidence that belied his youth. Then Henry Milne, accompanied by Nicholas Gleed, brought the house down with a virtuoso rendering on the marimba of Goff Richards’ Zimba Zamba.
On Wednesday the Petersfield Area Schools String Orchestra, PASSO, under their director Catherine Lawlor, presented a piece from Battles and Brawls entitled The Battle which had a flavour of the Tudor period. They increased the tempo with their second set, Jazzin’ About Suite, a series of short pieces which culminated with the lively ‘Strawberry Flip’.
The Combined Schools Wind Band are always popular in these concerts and they seem to grow in number each year – over 80 this time, which they put to good effect in their choice of music. We first heard music fromPirates of the Caribbean which had a full, rich sound with definite hints of the sea and then Broadway’s Best. For this they selected undoubtedly two of the very best, Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables,and they were able to bring out the drama of these pieces with the quantity and variety of instruments at their disposal.
The choir came to the fore again with three songs from Simon and Garfunkel. The first was Sound of Silence which, as the title suggests, was sung in a more subdued manner. They demonstrated particularly good diction while closely following the conductor’s direction. They were greatly assisted by the discrete accompaniment of piano and small instrumental ensemble. This was followed by the59th Street Bridge Song – often known asFeelin’ Groovy. They finished with Bridge Over Troubled Waterwhichstarts fairly quietly andgrows in intensity through each verse. The choir responded to this and really let us hear the power of their singing – again with excellent diction.
Another highlight of the Youth Concert is the Combined Schools Jazz Band, this year numbering nearly 40 players. Their first item was Blue Monk, adapted from a composition by renowned Jazz musician Thelonius Monk. The band gave us a particularly strong, upbeat rendition, plenty of saxophones which really filled the hall with sound. This continued with their second piece, In The Stone which, again, was a powerful performance. They really made their numbers count and the effect on the audience was quite noticeable.
The concert finished with the choir singing a selection from Matilda. Much of the action in the show takes place in a somewhat disreputable school, Crunchem Hall School, which would surely fail any Ofsted inspection! The head is an evil woman Miss Trunchbull. In this first song, ‘Naughty’, Matilda is getting her own back on her father for sending her to this school. It is a very up-tempo song with plenty of narrative and the strong delivery demonstrated the strength of the choir and the soloists who performed confidently. ‘Revolting Children’ is sung by the schoolchildren in protest at the conditions at the school and the choir really attacked this beaty number with gusto – ‘I wonder why!’ – and acted it as well as singing it. The final song ‘When I Grow Up’ is a much more gentle, lyrical song which the choir sang beautifully. As it tells of what they wish for in the future It was a fitting end to the concert
Congratulations to all the performers for a thoroughly enjoyable evening’s entertainment. The array of musical talent we have in Petersfield is astonishing. We must also thank the teachers, conductors, organisers and parents, all of whom play their part in making the Youth Concerts such a success.
Roger Wettone
