Kings’ and ‘The First Noël’. The Big Band then made its return for the final stint of the Christmas lunch with some audience-pleasers. Toby Polli (Year 12), debutant crooner, filled the hall with a smooth interpretation of ‘White Christmas’. After the applause died down, ‘Deck the Halls’ was called, infused with a bass line from Henry ‘The Funk Machine’ Armstrong (Year 12) and unmissable substitutions from Ollie Dittmer’s solo.
BARBERSHOP AND CLOSE HARMONY LUNCHTIME CONCERT DAN LUDFORD-THOMAS , HEAD OF VOCAL STUDIES
In January, the Barbershop and Close Harmony groups performed in a lunchtime concert in the Chapel of God’s Gift. The College’s nine-strong barbershop group, The Black ‘n’ Blues, kicked off proceedings with a rendition of ‘White Shoes Blues’ from the Yale Song Book and completed their set with the King’s Singers arrangement of ‘Joshua Fit the Battle’. The remaining programme was performed by Alleynian Blues, the Foundation Schools Close Harmony Group, which combines singers from the three Foundation Schools. Their programme began in Motown mode, with Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t she lovely’ and The Jackson 5’s ‘I want you back’, before moving to 1970s rock band Toto’s ‘Africa’ and a quiet moment of re- flection with ‘That Lonesome Road’ . The programme built to a finish via the Beatles and James Bond to end with the very speedy King’s Singers showstopper ‘Train’ and the Queen classic ‘Crazy little thing called love’ . GUITAR FESTIVAL LESLEY LARKUM, HEAD OF STRINGS The Guitar Festival 2024, our third ever such event, featured three individual classes tailored to the different levels of solo guitar playing at Dulwich College and in- cluded 29 performers from Year 3 to Year 13. Throughout we were treated to the full range of talent on classical, acoustic, and electric guitars, and electric bass. Our adjudicator was the dynamic guitarist and composer Laura Snowden, and she provided insightful and encour- aging comments for each performer before awarding 1st and 2nd prizes in the form of music vouchers for the pu- pils, as well as a number of Highly Commended awards. Ms Snowden said she was impressed by the overall stand- ard, which was remarkably high, and noted that even Year 3 boys secured prizes, underscoring the diverse range of winners across all three classes. The event concluded with a Rock and Pop Showcase featuring four bands. One of the Year 8–10’s rock bands played ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T and the other played ‘Satisfaction’ by the Rolling Stones. Hearing this group, Laura Snowden commented afterwards that the Rolling
CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT DANIEL KAMALUDDIN (YEAR 13)
In December, the Chapel Choir sang its annual Carols by Candlelight Service in the stunning venue of Southwark Cathedral. Even after having sung in the Chapel Choir for six years, Carols by Candlelight remains my firm and most magical favourite, and has long marked the proper begin- ning of the festive season in my mind. All this, combined with the fact that it would Mr Mayo’s final carol service, made the evening all the more special and memorable. The choir processed into the candlelit cathedral, where Chaucer, Shakespeare and Harvard often worshipped, to the tune of the festive classic ‘Once In Royal David’s City’, beginning with a treble solo sung by James White (Year 9). Alongside classic carols like ‘Hark the Herald’ and ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’, which were complemented by the rich tones of the Brass Consort, choral highlights included Whitacre’s stirring anthem ‘Lux Aurumque’ and Cecilia McDowall’s ‘An Heavenly Songe’, itself first com- missioned for the Chapel Choir. It was a serene evening, and I will cherish the memories of carol singing at the College for a long time to come .
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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