Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 5232 MUSIC 32 Winter Concert 2015 Old faces and new gathered to take part in the final event of the winter at Handsworth Grammar, to send off the year in a very musical style. Our penultimate day flourished into a magnificent gathering of young, talented musicians, whose music could warm even the coldest of hearts. (And no, it’s not just the under-floor heating!) Music also emanates a certain aura that warms the soul. Music was truly the main focus of the night. A staple of our concert; the guitar ensembles played as majestically as ever, under the ever watchful eye of Mr Knight. Dare I say that our classical guitarists have been the best they’ve been for the last few years? The keyboard ensembles had such uplifting spirit with Mr Czepiel’s choice of pieces, featuring ‘I’m a Believer’ (a theme from Shrek) for the junior ensemble and ‘Don’t Stop me Now’ for the senior ensemble. Truly this was a concert to end a fantastic first term! We cannot forget the orchestra – with Mr Ward at the helm, once again conducting – who played with spirit, embracing their inner Englishmen and playing the Pomp and Circumstance march by Edward Elgar. The orchestra was not the only thing for Mr Ward to conduct however; there was also the debut of this year’s Choir, filled with the first appearance of many Year 7’s. Mr Ward was certainly rapturous following their performance of ‘Happy’, having embraced Christmas with ‘Away in a Manger’ moments before. The raw talent of our musicians radiated with our ‘stand-alone’ acts. The likes of two Renaissance pieces from the guitars, a trio by Dowland played by the Frater twins and Mr Knight, and a Spanish piece played by Brandon Masih. Our piano solos took a far more 20th century approach, Camara Talbert playing a piece by Norton and Khanh Pham with a vicious piece by W. Carroll. We also had an array of woodwind pieces played, with the Tabla being represented by a solo and trio. The debut of the harp in the concert, played by Lydia Liburd, just shows how much talent we have to showcase. Our concert may be great, but it is nothing without the teachers that make it happen. Thank you to Mr Ward, Head of Music, for putting together the programme and being there throughout rehearsals, ensuring with the IT technicians that only the best sound is produced. Thanks to Ms Vaughan, who was equally helpful in preparing the concert and without her help, much of the work would not be possible. It is also right to thank our Music teachers, Mr Knight, Mr Czepiel, Ms Strudwick, Mrs Buxton and Mr Matharu: without their countless hours of work, we wouldn’t have a concert to put on. I must thank each performer, whose talents have entertained many, even if Jingle Bells continues the long line of finales where they just end up laughing out of exhaustion. Last but not least, thanks to Mr Conway for being our compere once again, along with every staff member who had helped over the course of the day, making our preparations far easier to cope with. Brandon Masih 10 Henry