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Memorial Concert - 9th March 2004
This was a special evening of music performed by the best musicians in the Senior and Junior Schools in memory of Sister Madeleine, the founder of the school who died on 30 June 2003.
A Sister Madeleine Memorial Fund has been set up in order to pay a fitting and lasting tribute to her memory. The Memorial will be a garden created in the school grounds to be a very special place of beauty and reflection for the school and community to use and enjoy. A Memorial Book will also be kept.
Mrs Kirkham (the headmistress) gave a brief introduction to the events of the evening and apologised for the delayed start which was due to the number of people who had turned up without tickets and extra seating having to be sorted out at the last minute - such a really good attendance speaks volumes for the support that was given.
A representative from the PTA then announced the presentation of the Grand Piano to the school due to their fundraising efforts which was obviously put to good use on the night. Well Done!
The concert opened with a Senior Clarinet Ensemble playing two pieces by Mozart and Mancini. This was followed by a viola soloist, namely Rebecca Ford, a piano solo by Josephine Gerrard and a flute solo by Hannah Duke, all played with great expertise. There were two very light-hearted songs from the Junior choir who all looked very angelic and sang with great gusto (this brought back many fond memories for me of my days in the school choir) There was another piano solo from Janet Leung playing a sonata from Schubert followed by the Chamber Choir singing 'Sanctus'. The first half of the concert was brought to a close by a beautiful vocal duet 'O Lovely Peace' sung by Stephanie Dade and Lauren Mackrell, which was very appropriate to the occasion. All of the above gave very captivating performances.
During the 30 minute interval drinks and nibbles were served, and whilst mingling amongst people, many comments were heard of how enjoyable and professional the performance had been and how they were very much looking forward to the second half. There was also an opportunity to view various designs and ideas by the pupils for the Memorial Garden. The aims and objectives are to create a garden which would be both a lasting memorial and a celebration of Reverend Mother's life; to create an area which would be a working resource for the school, an area for contemplation and retreat, and also used for outside study. The Memorial Fund Committee includes staff with particular garden expertise and those who knew Reverend Mother well.
The second half of the concert began with a flute quartet from Debussy. This was followed by a clarinet solo recital by Daisy Minns Shearer playing 2 sonatas and 2 sonatinas, all being recorded by her 'A' level purposes. She gave a very captivating performance as it must have been particulary nerve wracking for her. We had Lauren Mackrell singing a piece from Mozart, beautifully sung and
reaching some very high notes. The Junior Choir sung a rousing 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' (a different version to the tune that I remember) and 'Song of the Winter Wind'. This was following by a very moving song 'Kyrie' by Schubert by the Fifth Form GCSE Group. The next performance was Voice and Clarinet by Stephanie Dade and Sorrel Wood; Rebecca Ford gave us another viola solo 'Concerto in G'. The Chamber Choir sung a rousing Gershwin song 'I got plenty o'nuttin' including a solo from Sophie Murray and a De Vito melody 'Softly as I leave you' with soloist Josephine Gerrard. The finale of the evening had to be the school song 'Hail to thee Our Lady of Providence' sung by all and there were quite a few tearful eyes amongst the audience.
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