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THE ALLEYNIAN 710
THE 11TH STRINGS COMPETITION AND INAUGURAL GUITAR COMPETITION
The talents of the College’s string players and guitar players were evident at this summer’s two competitions, which showcased their skills and musicality, says Lesley Larkum
When the music pages of the Alleynian reported on the activities of the String Department a year ago, we had just been allowed to return to ‘live’ learning and ‘bubbled’ ensembles along with the appropriate social distancing, but we could hold no formal concerts attended by live audiences. We were beginning to wonder when life would ever return to anything approaching ‘normal’. So, after what turned out to be a hiatus of nearly two and a half years, it was a huge pleasure to be able to hold our 11th Strings Competition, this year, along with our first ever Guitar Competition. The Strings Competition was held in the Old Library on 3 May, with 33 boys from Year 7 to Year 13 participating, whose instruments included violin, viola and cello. We were very honoured to have the renowned viola player and performer Shiry Rashkovsky adjudicating, and she took great care to give encouraging and insightful comments on each boy’s performance. And every single person played so beautifully! It was a moving experience just to hear such musical commitment and to be able to share the joy of music- making together. A few students deserve special mention. Yuki Suter gave a wonderful performance on his viola of the Elegy op. 24 by Fauré, winning first prize for the Advanced Class. Yan-hung Lui gave a stunning performance of the first movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor and won first prize for the Concerto Class. Congratulations, too, go to Nathan Ikechukwu Daniel for winning the Intermediate Concerto Class on his viola, and to violinist Taylor Lai for his third prize in the Advanced Class, in which he was the youngest participant by far.
Finally, I would like to extend a huge thank you to Mr Timothy Barratt and Mr Luis Parés, Head of Keyboard, for their wonderful accompanying of the boys throughout the Strings Competition. Turning now to our inaugural Guitar Competition, a very special event on 10 May, to which it was a delight to welcome parents and staff. It was the very first such competition at Dulwich College, and was an acknowledgment of the extent to which guitar playing at the school has grown and developed in recent times. As we know, learning and performing an instrument is hugely important for young people and their development; it is wonderful that the guitarists of the College now have an opportunity to share their individual performances. The 17 entrants, who were divided into four classes, performed on classical, acoustic and electric guitars, and the adjudicator was eminent guitarist and composer Stephen Goss, who took great care to comment on every boy’s performance, drawing on his wealth of experience and musicianship. It was truly a lovely and heart-warming event. Special congratulations go to Arran Dove, who won first prize in the final Advanced Class, giving a flawless performance of ‘Colony Collapse’ by the Architects on his acoustic guitar. As Head of Strings, I am very proud of all the performers. For all the difficulties of the last two years, the joy and musical spirit of the boys shone through, and the whole experience of these events has been wonderfully affirming and enriching. Throughout both competitions, every single student was fully engaged through music, and we are proud of them all!
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