A-Level Music students at Reigate College opened their ears and their minds on a trip to London’s Royal Festival Hall (13 November).
For many, this was their first experience of a large-scale classical concert and full orchestra and helped to deepen awareness of the development of symphonic writing – a key exam topic.
Head of Music John Evans said, “The whole experience was pretty incredible, but one stand-out moment was the chamber performance of ‘Break Away’ by Jessie Montgomery. This really captured students’ imaginations with its elements of improvisation, contemporary compositional techniques and the sheer virtuosity of the string playing.
“Contextualising the students’ learning is crucial and the concert hall is where this music was intended to be heard, so to be able to connect students with that experience, is wonderful.”
Students were also enthralled by the orchestration in Mahler’s 7th Symphony, with the bassoon and contrabassoon getting some serious praise along with the array of percussion, including cow bells.
Thanks to music teachers David Preston, Lucy Kilner and John Evans for organising this valuable live music encounter.
