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Music Department
Music plays a very active and central role in the life of St Catherine’s. There are formal and informal concerts throughout the year. We have an Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Gospel Choir and an acapella group known as the St Catherine’s Singers.
St Catherine’s Singers achieved first place in the Vox Chart Competition at the Landmark in 2009.
In July 2011, 30 girls went to Germany where they gave three concerts including singing for Mass at Cologne Cathedral.
We have a professional team of peripatetic staff and the girls can take instrumental and vocal lessons in School. Currently, we offer lessons in Theory, Piano, Violin, Viola, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Guitar, Drums and Singing. If sufficient interest is shown for other instruments, we will appoint a qualified music instructor for your daughter. We would like to see more brass players!
Mrs Katherine Casper
Head of Music
Music Department News
SPRING CONCERT
The Spring Concert at St. Catherine’s was packed with amazing music representing the skills spread across the school. The Prep Choir, directed by Mrs Thresh, enthusiastically opened the concert with Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel followed by a Bantu lullaby. They sang beautifully, and clearly their hard work paid off.
There were a number of brave and accomplished soloists through the course of the evening on clarinet, flute, piano and cello. The Clarinet Ensemble made its debut with the James Bond theme arranged by Mrs Summerbell, their teacher. Besides being played with panache, they added actions and made it especially fun to watch! Another first was the Experimental Choir directed by Mr O’Keeffe. As no one knew what to expect, it was remarkable to hear the ensemble do the entire piece unaccompanied and using their voices in place of what would normally be guitars and drums. The harmonies were well chosen and the group blended superbly.
The Gospel Choir sang popular music with positive messages; Bruno Mars and Kelly Clarkson pieces were presented simply and artistically with Emily Tanner accompanying on guitar and others serving aptly as percussionists. The St Catherine’s Singers used all the right inflections in a spirited Chattanooga Choo Choo and on the opposite end, Pie Jesu was gentle and elegant.
The Chamber Choir performed a stirring finale from the musical Wicked. Mrs Garty did a spectacular job as accompanist for the evening. Everyone worked hard and had a good time. It is also the commitment from parents which makes such a lovely
evening possible; if it weren’t for all of your picking up and dropping off and encouragement, the children would not put on such a lovely programme. That work shows too, and is heartily appreciated.
Mrs Casper
Head of Music
SPRING CONCERT
The Spring Concert at St. Catherine’s was packed with amazing music representing the skills spread across the whole school. The Prep Choir, directed by Mrs Thresh, enthusiastically opened the concert with Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel followed by a Bantu lullaby. They sang beautifully, and clearly; their hard work paid off. The Clarinet Ensemble made its debut with the James Bond theme arranged by Mrs Summerbell, their teacher. Besides being played with panache, they added actions and made it especially fun to watch! There were a number of brave and accomplished soloists through the course of the evening on clarinet, flute, piano and cello.
Everyone worked hard and had a good time. It is also the commitment from parents which makes such a lovely evening possible; if it were not for all of your picking up and dropping off and encouragement, the children would not put on such a lovely programme. That work shows too, and is heartily appreciated.
Mrs Casper
Head of Music
Spring Concert - Prep and Senior - 28th March 2012
6:30pm in the Main Hall
Refreshments available from 6:00pm
If you would like to reserve a place for this event, please call Chantal Goldburn on
0203 261 0142
or
Email: cgoldburn@stcatherineschool.co.uk
Scholars’ Concert
L to R: Esse Sellwood, Naomi Wakeling, Miriam Wilford, Ashni Parmar, Rowan Souray, Lauren Jackson, Katharine Hawksworth, Catherine Vine
On Wednesday 7th March, eight talented young ladies sang and played for the Scholars’ Concert.
The programme was well attended by staff and governors of St. Catherine's as well as by the girls' families. It was a lovely evening of music presented by pupils of our team of visiting teachers who make a valuable contribution to the lives of students at St. Catherine's. Among the high quality performances were classics by Handel, Debussy and Frank Loesser. All of the girls and their teachers deserve high praise for their hard work, especially Miriam Wilford for her deftly executed Clair de lune and Ashni Parmar for the challenging oboe solo by Madeleine Dring. Mrs Nicola Garty (accompanist), Mrs Sue Varley and Mrs Alice Hyde were on hand to support their students.
Mrs Casper wishes to thank the girls and their parents for their commitment to the arts; As Marcia Weider said: Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer.
Mrs Casper
Head of Music
Senior Carol Service
The Senior Carol Service was held on the 15th December and was a joyous occasion. The readings were carefully selected to illuminate the true meaning of Christmas, combining words from the Bible with poetry and verse from writers through the ages.
The girls’ talents, both as readers and as musicians, contributed to the variously reflective and celebratory atmosphere. We were delighted to receive a new Nativity set from FOSC which formed the centrepiece for the service. It was a wonderful way to begin the Christmas holidays.’
Mrs K Casper - Head of Music
and
Ms M Ryan – Head of Religious Studies
Autumn Concert - A Great Success!
20th October
The Autumn Concert on 20th October was a real success. A most appreciative audience of parents, teachers and governors was treated to an evening of music that ranged in era from the 1600s to today. The St. Catherine’s Singers performed The Seal Lullaby by Rudyard Kipling set to luscious music by Eric Whitacre, as well as sending us off at the end with a lively arrangement of the ‘The Beatles’ Penny Lane. The Chamber Choir performed a popular praise piece called You Raise Me Up, and after the interval, were suited up in white gloves to do the signing (and, of course, the singing) of a beautiful song by Bob Chilcott called Can You Hear Me? which was received warmly. The Gospel Choir worked in some Sforzandos to raise the roof a little with Great is the Lord. The Orchestra played Renaissance Dances and Themes from Harry Potter.
It is a bit of a challenge to put something of this magnitude on in just six weeks, but Mrs Casper was determined and the girls were hard workers. The Choirs and the Orchestra performed with panache and enthusiasm. In addition to the ensembles, many girls performed solos or duets of every style imaginable.
From the great wealth of St. Catherine’s girls came singing, guitar-playing, a clarinet duo, and an oboe extravaganza expertly accompanied by Mrs Garty. We heard original compositions as well, which were very impressive and well received. Several of our visiting music teachers were there to hear the girls they teach privately perform and to cheer them on.
Mrs Casper wishes to thank everyone for their tremendous support. So many things go on in ‘the background’ to put productions of this nature on, not the least of which is the decorating – and a special thank you goes to Ms Goldburn for the time and effort she took to make the Main Hall look beautiful. If it were not for other people too numerous to mention, many other magical things that went into the evening would not have occurred. We are hard at work preparing for the Carol Service now and hope you will join us for the festive celebrations in December!
Mrs Casper – Head of Music