Trailblazing double bassist Orin O’Brien never wanted the spotlight, but when Leonard Bernstein hired her in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic, it was inevitable that she would become the focus of much interest and fascination. Now 87 years old and recently retired, Orin looks back on her remarkable life and career, insisting that a fuss should not be made, much preferring to play a supporting role to the family, students, friends, and colleagues that surround her. In the delightful short documentary, THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA, filmmaker Molly O’Brien beautifully captures her aunt Orin’s prodigious contributions as a musician as well as her unique philosophy that the key to enjoying life is to play second fiddle.
All music clubs will start up again in the week beginning 28th April.
22nd – 25th April: Please be around at lunch times to help unload and sort everything from tour.
Fab local opportunity
Tour!
What a great time we all had! Thank you to Amelia and Angela for the fab tour video:
Reichenstein CastleNiederwald MonumentBad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg – outdoor air-conditioning systemBacharachPeterskirche, BacharachMuseum of Puppetry Culture (PUK Museum für PuppentheaterKultur)Concert at Forum Daun
Rehearsal schedule for the concert day (Wednesday 2nd April):
Please make a note of when you are needed and make sure you have your instrument/music in school with you on that day.
Your teachers will know why you are absent from lessons that day, but it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and catch up.
Usual lunch rehearsals will take place up until the concert.
Here are some things you need to know about the concert itself:
The concert is at 6.30pm in the Hall. It will be finished by 9pm.
You need to wear all black. Not blue, not brown, not patterned, and no big logos.
Tickets are £5 on the door for adults or pay via ParentPay. Under 18s and senior citizens are free.
The music classrooms will be available for coats, instrument cases etc. Please arrive in enough time to warm up and get organised.
Any questions, please ask.
When the concert is in progress, you must not hang out in the classrooms or corridors. You need to be at the back of the Hall being a supportive, considerate, appreciative member of the audience who shows awareness of performance etiquette which includes not moving around or talking.
All music clubs are performing at this event so please make sure you are practising your part(s) at home.
Rehearsal schedule for the concert day (Wednesday 2nd April):
Please make a note of when you are needed and make sure you have your instrument/music in school with you on that day.
Your teachers will know why you are absent from lessons that day, but it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and catch up.
Usual lunch rehearsals will take place up until the concert.
Here are some things you need to know about the concert itself:
The concert is at 6.30pm in the Hall. It will be finished by 9pm.
You need to wear all black. Not blue, not brown, not patterned, and no big logos. If you want to wear a bit of tinsel etc. on yourself or on your instrument, go for it.
Tickets are £5 on the door for adults or pay via ParentPay. Under 18s and senior citizens are free.
The music classrooms will be available for coats, instrument cases etc. Please arrive in enough time to warm up and get organised.
Any questions, please ask.
When the concert is in progress, you must not hang out in the classrooms or corridors. You need to be at the back of the Hall being a supportive, considerate, appreciative member of the audience who shows awareness of performance etiquette which includes not moving around or talking.
All music clubs are performing at this event so please make sure you are practising your part(s) at home.
The Royal Albert Hall trip is tomorrow!
Please check your Satchel One for all the info you need if you are coming on this trip. I will see you outside school (West Common Rd entrance) tomorrow morning at 9:30.
There will be a trip meeting on Thursday 13th March after school in CGG (only for 15 minutes) during which I will go through all the information regarding where and when to meet, what to bring, what to wear, what we will be doing etc. See you all there.
NYO news
Listen to Emma perform a piece from West Side Story with other members of the NYO
“Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” (“Hell’s vengeance boils in my heart”), commonly abbreviated “Der Hölle Rache”, is an aria sung by the Queen of the Night, a coloratura soprano part, in the second act of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte). It depicts a fit of vengeful rage in which the Queen of the Night places a knife into the hand of her daughter Pamina and exhorts her to assassinate Sarastro, the Queen’s rival, else she will disown and curse Pamina. Find out more here.
There will be a trip meeting on Thursday 13th March after school in CGG (only for 15 minutes) during which I will go through all the information regarding where and when to meet, what to bring, what to wear, what we will be doing etc. See you all there.
MusicFest
Well done to everyone who performed and/or helped out at last night’s event. Photos and video coming soon.
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the lineup of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists of Gahan and Gore. Read more here.
See the Interstellar organist play live at Mildred’s Church, Addiscombe, Croydon.
Roger Sayer brings his worldwide sell-out Interstellar 10 show to St Mildred’s! Roger worked with the legendary Hans Zimmer to create and perform the score for the blockbuster movie Interstellar. Now he performs a space-related programme, including Interstellar and a Q&A session.
St Mildred’s Church is a short walk from a 119 bus stop so easily accessible from Hayes.
If you are going on the trip to the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 15th March, there will be a trip meeting on Thursday 13th March after school in CGG (only for 15 minutes) during which I will go through all the information regarding where and when to meet, what to bring, what to wear, what we will be doing etc.
Keep an eye on Satchel One for a reminder about this meeting.
The Wicked trip (22nd July) is definitely going ahead. We are looking forward to taking over 50 of you up to London to see Wicked The Musical. More details to follow.
Nelly Ben-Or Clynes MBE (née Ben-Or; born 1933) is a concert pianist and professor of music. She is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she has taught the piano and the Alexander technique since 1975. Ben-Or is a Holocaust survivor. Watch the following clip to find out more about her life:
“All You Need Is Love” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967, with “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” as its B-side. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain’s contribution to Our World, the first live global television link, for which the band were shown performing it at EMI Studios in London on 25 June. The programme was broadcast via satellite and seen by an audience of over 400 million in 25 countries. Lennon’s lyrics were deliberately simplistic, to allow for broad appeal to the show’s international audience, and captured the utopian ideals associated with the Summer of Love. The single topped sales charts in Britain, the United States and many other countries, and became an anthem for the counterculture’s embrace of flower power philosophy.
Hayes Music blog 