MUSIC
The musicians go to Bremen
Lesley Larkum reports on a chamber music tour which brought young musicians together in a spirit of harmony
I n the wee hours of the morning of Friday 20 October, 24 Alleynians, ranging from Year 6 to Year 13, and four members of staff — myself, Mr Parés, Dr Storey and Ms Brisley — met on the South Gravel with their stringed instruments and suitcases before heading off to Heathrow on the Music Tour to Bremen, Germany. We were met in Bremen by the young members of the Altes Gymnasium Orchestra, their families, and their orchestral leader, Mrs Hadamovsky. Later that day, all the boys of the extended Dulwich College Chamber Orchestra combined with the nearly 60 children of the Altes Gymnasium Orchestra to rehearse a varied programme of 12 works. We gave three extremely enjoyable concerts whilst in Bremen, the first of which was a joint concert in Bremen’s beautiful, and packed, St Stephani Church. The programme featured a stunning performance by violinist Luca Franchi (Year 11) of ‘Zigeunerweisen’ by Sarasate. John Pedersen (Year 7) and Yuki Suter (Year 9) played the first movement of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, with style and flair, while Chyaro Hylton (Year 13), Miles Camilleri (Year 9) and Lucas Miller
(Year 13) gave an enjoyable performance of the Concertante solos for Corelli’s ‘Christmas’ Concerto Grosso, op.6 no.8. Henry Armstrong, (Year 6) impressed everyone with his assured solo double bass performance of ‘Elephant March’ by Anita Hewitt-Jones. The following day, we gave a chamber music concert at St Immanuel Chapel, Bremen. Again, the hall was full and the audience was warmly appreciative of the playing. Indeed, it was an excellent concert, and a great feather in the cap for our boys. Finally, on the third day, the DC Chamber Orchestra combined again with the Altes Gymnasium Orchestra and gave a shortened assembly concert to the children of the Altes Gymnasium School, again to rousing applause. In our spare time, we enjoyed seeing the sights of Bremen, including the famous Musicians of Bremen monument, and the Freimarkt. On our last day, we paid a visit to Hannover Zoo, which everyone enjoyed, in spite of unrelenting rain. On our return, we discovered with delight that the local newspaper in Bremen, Der Weser-Kurier , had covered one of our concerts, showing their appreciation of our visit.
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