31 When and where did you start music lessons on the French Horn? I started playing the French Horn at primary school in year 5. Most musicians always have an inspiring reason as to why they took up their chosen instrument and subsequent profession but for me it was a case of trying them all out and the school/music service allocating me to the French Horn, since then I have never really looked back. When did you decide to study the French Horn more seriously? In September 2015, I started having lessons with Andy Sandham with the aim of reaching the standard to be able to audition for Birmingham Conservatoire. From the outset, I knew this would be very ambitious, having only taken my Grade 5 exam a couple of months before and needing to reach the standard of Grade 8 Distinction in less than twelve months. It was not just the practical side of music that I had to rapidly improve to receive an audition but also my musical theory, because after opting for subjects other than Music for both GCSE and A Level, I had no more knowledge than I had after dropping the subject at the end of year 9. This meant, after starting lessons in April, that I had less than two months to pass, otherwise I would be unable to apply. Thankfully I passed with a merit. What’s it like playing with the BSSO? Playing in the Birmingham School’s Symphony Orchestra is very demanding but rewarding at the same time. We mostly play music from within the standard repertoire under the baton of the CBSO’s conductors, Michael Seal and Jonathan Bloxham and alongside internationally renowned soloists. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to create something so special that at times makes all the hairs stand up on your arms, whilst at others you create the warmest, loudest and most sensational sound possible. Playing in the BSSO also provides me with the opportunity to perform in some of the country’s and even the world’s best concert halls, starting with our very own Symphony hall. This year we also had the opportunity to work with Birmingham Conservatoire and the City of Birmingham Choir to perform Belshazzar’s Feast, one of the greatest choral pieces of the 20th century. This was an incredible opportunity to perform with a choir of 140 singers, a full orchestra and two brass ensembles in symphony hall and we even were given a 4* review which was pretty special. What are your plans for next year? Next Year, I will be starting at Birmingham Conservatoire and studying the very prestigious Bachelor of Music degree for the next four years, specialising in the French Horn. This will be an exciting new venture after the last seven years at Handsworth Grammar School, especially as studying music will be a new experience of me. Whilst at the Conservatoire I will have the opportunity to apply for placements with the Welsh National Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which would all be fantastic opportunities. What do you hope to do after graduation from Birmingham Conservatoire? After graduating from the Conservatoire, I hope to pursue my conducting aspirations further by auditioning for, and hopefully gaining a place on, the Postgraduate Conducting Degree, which is a two-year degree. From there I hope to be able to find employment within the musical world as a conductor and hopefully one day gain a music directorship with one of the world’s top orchestras. Will there be a return to cycling? After ten years of competing at a national level and reaching the first stage of the GB Olympic programme. I am enjoying a break from it all, especially orchestra on a Saturday morning, then often straight from orchestra we would travel and stay overnight somewhere in the country and then race on Sunday afternoon before travelling back and doing homework before returning to school on a Monday morning! This meant it (the cycling) became intense and stressful, especially after I started taking the music more seriously and starting my A Levels back in September 2015. I have also taken the love of skiing that I gained from the school ski trips several steps further. Last summer I became a member of the British Association of Snowsport Instructors after gaining my first instructor qualification and with that my licence to teach. I have also taken up Slalom Racing, training on Tuesdays and Fridays at the Ackers Adventure Centre and it is fair to say this has taken over my aspirations in competitive cycling and will probably mean I won’t return to the sport I grew up with for a few years. What are your best memories of being at HGS? Since starting at HGS in 2010 I have overseen an enormous amount of change, all for the better. At the start of my time at the School the sports hall was still quite new, the Learning Hub had just opened, we had a different school day with a longer combined lunch and a later finish as well as having Mr Shepard as the Headteacher. But what has remained constant throughout my time here is the people. Spending seven years with a group of people you transform with from a small, endearing 11-year- old to a fully-fledged adult creates a bond that will always be there with us. Our leavers assembly demonstrated that our memories of HGS is what made the time so special for us and I could never wish for my time here to be any different, and that is why for my year and I HGS will always be special for us. The memories that we have shared together will differ vastly to those that current and future students will enjoy. No longer is the Playing Fields Pavilion like Winson Green Prison with its barbed wire, caged windows and reinforced doors, nor is there the large bush outside the Science block awaiting its next victim! Similarly, the better facilities we have now with the table tennis tables and Astroturf mean the experience of staying upright on an ice covered Baker Street whilst playing against the cohort two years above us and the last minute rushed attempts to complete homework on the cold, often wet benches outside the science block, where the tables tennis tables now are, will leave with me and the rest of my year. This school has given us all so much and for that I am very grateful. Being a senior prefect for the last two years and Head Boy this year has been a real honour, allowing me to give back everything I could possibly give at this stage. I leave HGS with a sense of fulfilment, we now once again have a thriving school council which is continually making a meaningful impact, unlike before and we once again have a role for prefects, with them out on duty at break time interacting with lower school and helping the school to function that little bit more easily. Similarly over the last two years it has been fantastic to get to know so many students in lower school, especially in the forms I have mentored, and to know that the changes that have taken place during my time here will only continue. INTERVIEW Josef Feiven, Head Boy with MUSIC