Starting at 7:00pm and ending two hours later, parents, students, and teachers alike, gathered to witness the culmination of the past term’s efforts from within the school’s music department, featuring the school’s Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia, Wind Band, Concert Band, Third Form Choir and more. With music being a prominent part of school life for many students, being a part of one of the ensembles selected out of the 19 within the school was a great achievement, especially so due to this Spring Spectacular being the final major musical performance of the year.
Throughout the evening, Merchant Taylors’ Great Hall was filled with music both modern and classical, from the Baroque sounds of Bach played by the Taylors’ Brass, to modern hits by Lady Gaga and Coldplay from the Big Band and the Sinfonia respectively. The interval lasted fifteen minutes, allowing for a short break between the steady stream of consistently impressive pieces, performed to an incredibly high standard.
One of many impressive performances of the show came from French Hornist Ben Lakin, who played in a variety of groups; the Taylors’ Brass, Concert Band, and Symphony Orchestra. While performing in three separate ensembles is certainly no easy feat, Ben Commented “It was a delightful experience overall”.
Ben further elaborated that this success was achieved through a gruelling one and a half school terms of preparation, and it comes as no surprise that his success was proceeded by such a large amount of practice considering the impressive quality of the performed pieces. Ben ultimately found it “very rewarding to have tackled such challenging pieces”, and was very thankful for the school’s music department’s help in the lead up to the event.
Closing out this year’s Spring Spectacular with a rendition of Prokofiev’s “Montagues and Capulets” from Romeo and Juliet Suite No 2, Op. 64b, the evening of superb music came to its end, bringing Merchant Taylors’ music calendar to a close for the 2022/2023 academic year.
Ben is looking forward to his next major concert, when he’ll once again raise his French horn in next year’s Autumn concert.
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