Music GCSE pupils visit to Royal Festival Hall

On the 27th January 9 year 10 pupils visited the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing a Brightsparks concert at Royal Festival Hall. This was an excellent opportunity for the pupils to hear their CGSE set works played by a live orchestra, something many of the pupils had not seen before.

The concert was lead by conductor and animateur Stuart Stratford who explained a bit about the context of each piece before the orchestra played them, and broke complex ideas down on a huge projected screen.

The orchestra played a varied programme of works, some relevant to the pupils exam and others to broaden their musical palate and experience.

The seven pieces played were:

1. Handel - And the Glory of the Lord from Messiah

2. Mozart - Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K550 (1st Movement)

3. Saint Seans - Danse Macabre

4. Schoenberg - Peripetie

5. Trad. arr Jonathan Meyer - Rag Desh

6. Riley - In C

7. Howard (arr. Whitney) - Music from 'The Fellowship of the Ring' from Lord of the Rings Symphonic Suite

The pupils favourite was definitely the music from Lord of the Rings, and it was a unique opportunity to hear the orchestra who originally played the score for the film perform it again for us!