I was privileged to have a request from the Development Team at Marlborough College to photograph an amazing event. The Music Scholars from Marlborough College were to perform a Gala Concert in London in the splendid King's Gallery of Kensington Palace.
press play to watch the entire concert condensed in to 20 seconds and the read the report by Dr Hamilton;
An appropriately Hanoverian start was provided by Handel's Where e're you walk from Semele, with the usual tones of the soprano being replaced by Joe Arkwright's trombone. The serenity of this well-known piece was followed by a jocular and dainty finale of Beethoven's Trio for two oboes and cor anglais, performed by Hattie Cockerell, Helena Mackie and Jonathan Venn. The mood then shifted with Erroll Garner's ‘Misty'. The rich low register of Georgia Gibson's saxophone and the fluidity of Ollie Mattinson's piano seemed to transform the sumptuous interior, and suddenly the audience found itself in a sultry nightclub. The third movement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No 6 brought about a startling change even before the piece began. Eleanor Tuckey, Philip Dukes, Daniel Springate and Alex Hodgkinson appeared in full eighteenth century dress. The music's orderliness and dancing inventiveness then began to play completely different games with the venue's decor.
Philip Dukes spoke briefly about the role of music at Marlborough and the importance of the contribution made by the 40 music scholars and the 500 instrumentalists at the College. The programme restarted with Saint Saens' Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs with Sarah Mattinson, Hattie Cockerill, Ollie Mattinson and Claire Toomer playing the soaring, falling, sweet music with its jubilant finale. This was a superb collaboration. Singelée's bubbling Duo Concertant followed and the sense of fun conveyed by Alice Hook and Imogen Bath was matched by the sensitivity of their exuberant playing. The final piece of the evening was the 1st movement of Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in D Minor. Rich and urgent violin and cello playing by Lizzie Daniels and Daniel Springate met all the challenges of this passionate and relentless music. The torrential momentum of the piece was underpinned by Clare Toomer's brilliant piano accompaniment. As reported by Dr Hamilton, the Senior Admissions Tutor;
