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July/August 2017


St Michael’s 150 Anniversary Hilary Clare


The middle of June saw two concerts at St Mi- chael’s as part of the 150 anniversary year events. The proceeds from both, which will be divided between the designated charities of the year – The Abingdon Bridge and Tariro – reached over £1200, so heartfelt thanks are due to all the peo- ple involved in the two events, whether as per- formers or organisers or simply as audience.


Cothill House School Concert The first concert, on Tuesday, 13 June, was given by the boys’ choir of Co- thill House school, as- sisted by adult singers. Graham Howell, who teaches music at Cothill, is also the organist at St Michael’s, and the church is always happy to host Cothill musical events. Graham played the organ for this concert, which was conducted by Stephen Taylor.


The chief musical item was Fauré’s Requiem, that well-known and well- loved piece which the boys performed most cred- itably. It was especially nice to hear the effortless and beautifully blended treble voices, especially the group taking the ‘solo’, Pie Jesu, The anony- mous baritone soloist, whom we understand to have come from the cathedral choir and is about to embark on further musical study, surely has a tremendous future in front of him.


Following the Requiem were two shorter pieces by Fauré, En Prière (arranged by Stephen Tay- lor), and the Cantique de Jean Racine, and the concert ended with Walford Davies’s God be in my head, most simply and movingly performed.


Wantage Academy Brass The second concert on 17 June, was a great con- trast. The Wantage Academy Brass performed a varied programme with great zest, conducted by Nikki Jones. It was good to see so many young people throwing their hearts into their perform- ance, which certainly raised the roof and very nearly brought the house down! The concert be- gan with Le Rêve Passe (Krier & Helmer), Hand-


bags and Gladrags (D’Abo), Cry me a River (Hamilton), Napoli (Bellstedt), Mr Jums (from Chris Hazell’s suite ‘3 Brass Cats’), Memory (Andrew Lloyd Webber) and Clog Dance (Marcangelo). After the interval came H.M.S. Pinafore, (Sullivan) followed byMr Sandman (cornet quartet), The Acrobat (Greenwood, trombone solo – Henry Southey), King of the Road (Miller), Tyrolean Tubas (Clark – with some ap- propriate headgear!), Can’t Help Falling In Love (Weiss et al.), before concluding in great style with the Hornpipe and Rule Britannia from Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs.


photo used with permission of Cothill House


The penultimate item had a guest conductor – Val Jones- who clearly has a new career ahead of her! As the person who most generously sponsored the evening, the applause she re-


ceived was no more than her due and we are most deeply grateful. Val is a very long-standing mem- ber of St Michael’s congregation. She and her husband Gordon were married in the church, and the christening party of their son Alan, who took part in the concert and is the husband of Nikki the conductor, was one of the earliest events in the church room – which was built with funds raised in the centenary year. The Joneses have a long involvement with Wantage Silver Band, so it was a real family occasion. Altogether it was a most enjoyable evening.


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