Arts
at
Henley
Music News
2010 Update
Recital Evening
A real impact
HYF Hat Trick
Tommy the Musical
Oboe-vious delight for Amy
2009
Stop! Sam Brown inspires music students
Recital Evening
George is Oxford bound
Autumn 2008
Groove Diggerz
Ian Returns to Henley
Autumn 2008 update
Dr Golby's latest publication
George in Concert
Information Evening performances
New Staff
Enrichment
Older news..
Headway association begins
BBC article - what we already know?
More student successes
Back-to-back music competition victories
Prestigious Competition Victory
Recital Evening
We Will Rock You
Where there's a Will!
Following on from the ambition and success of Tommy in December, the Music Department has been laying the foundations for future projects and preparing students for their exam performances and coursework submissions.
Another successful and well-attended Recital Evening took place in March, featuring a diverse range and high standard of performances across both years and all courses. The College Jazz Band contributed a polished account of Basin Street Blues to bring the evening to a close, and funds raised will contribute towards a tour planned for Spring 2011. The AL performance exams, staged once again in Rotherfield Hall, gave rise to nearly two days of music-making, ranging from Baroque keyboard music to songs from musicals to twenty-first-century Mathcore. Fingers crossed for the summer!
AS Music Technology students recently took part in rhythm workshops
exploring Latin percussion beats to provide them with ideas and specialist expertise for their Creative Arrangement module. The workshops, organized by Tom Anderson, were led by professional session drummer Andy Goodchild. Andy's credits range from the West End shows Chicago and Blood Brothers to the Montreux Jazz festival and span a career lasting over 25 years.
Andy is available to advise local drummers and can offer one-to-one support and tuition to a limited number of students. He can be contacted on 07590 515860.
Following on from Ian Tindale and Joe Hicks in previous years, Tim Bingham has won this year’s senior soloist class of the Henley Youth Festival. His extremely accomplished performance of Poulenc secured him the title and provides him with an opportunity to perform a concerto with Henley Symphony Orchestra in the autumn. This is a well-deserved boost for Tim who is planning a musical career.
Other recent successes include the exciting news that past students Sam Merrifield and Tom Grepne are both forging their way in the music business. Both are touring, Sam is signed to a label and Tom’s band Terakai is on the brink of being signed. You can sample some of Tom’s music at www.myspace.com/terakai.
Also, department staff David and Alison Golby have several publishers, including Rhinegold and OUP, interested in publishing their new method for teaching and analysing music at AL/IB and undergraduate levels, encompassing a wide range of musical styles and genres, which is currently in development.
At the time of writing the department is looking forward to hosting the Big Band from Frankfurt’s Schillerschule early next term. They will be performing at Langtree School before coming to The Henley College to perform and participate in a jazz workshop led by Tom Anderson and fellow local session musicians in collaboration with College students. We look forward to nurturing these ties and building on plans for a return visit next year.
Last term saw perhaps the most ambitious musical project undertaken by the music department in years. Its collaboration with drama on The Who / Pete Townshend rock opera TOMMY brought together all of the talents within the department to guide the students through almost two hours of continuous music.
Six performances to over a thousand people later, everyone can reflect on what was a massive achievement for those involved. Not only is the music continuous (an opera in the real sense of the word), but its nature makes it particularly challenging, with irregular time signatures, innovative structures and prominent solos. The sheer variety of material (compare the hard rock ‘Smash the Mirror’ with vaudeville-esque ‘Tommy’s Holiday Camp’ for instance) is also a factor in making this production one of the most challenging and rewarding any company can aspire to.
The vocal lines are particularly complex. Choruses are relatively few in number, making most of the songs either characterful solos or operatic duos and small ensemble pieces (Christmas being an especially effective example). Mrs Walker (Harriet Lovell) and Uncle Frank (Chris Metcalfe) had much of this material and equipped themselves brilliantly. The weeks of dedicated work with vocal coach Alison Golby certainly paid off.
The students rose to these challenges admirably, achieving a standard at least equal to We Will Rock You two years ago and which only professional companies could be expected to exceed.
Tommy band line up:
Drums: Johnny Yeates
Guitars: Elliot Wilkins; Marcin Cieslak; Robbie Wood
Bass: Harley Cox-Hynd; Steve Snyman
Sax: Alison Golby
Trumpet: Nina Sparks
Keyboards: David Golby
Technical Supervisor & Guitar Coach: Tom Anderson
Assistant Musical Director & Vocal Coach: Alison Golby
Musical Director: David Golby
The department is now laying the foundations for the remainder of this year. Instrumentalists & vocalists are working together, such as in the Jazz Band, to produce repertoire for upcoming events, such the Recital Evening and Henley Youth Festival in March, prior to the AL performance exams, and a Tour to Germany in June.
More details of these events will be posted here as they become available.
Amy Whitaker, who completed her AL Music course at the College last year, has now secured offers from the Royal Welsh College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire (with a scholarship), Trinity College of Music and a reserve offer to Guildhall. A fantastic achievement, and we wish her well for the future.
Stop! Sam Brown inspires music students
The music department was privileged to host a vocal workshop with Sam Brown, singer, song writer and daughter of rock and roll icon Joe Brown.
Students were treated to a beautiful performance of one of Sam’s own songs, ‘Away With The Fairies’, accompanied by ukulele, and were then enticed into some fun but challenging vocal warm-ups before launching into singing in harmony.
Sam talked to the students about her own career, including fascinating anecdotes about working with Jools Holland and touring with bands such as Pink Floyd. Students also talked to her about their own musical experiences and aspirations and she had something inspiring to say to each one.
Hopefully this is the first of many projects involving Sam’s expertise as both a singer and a song writer.
For more information, biography and future performance details for Sam visit her official website at www.onecandle.co.uk
Alison Golby
This term’s Recital Evening took place in Rotherfield Hall on Wednesday 25th February. Very well attended and received, it showed to great effect the range of talent in the department and the enthusiasm for musical performance in the College as a whole. The attached programme shows the wide range of musical styles and traditions represented. Virtually all music students, first and second years, AL and IB, took part, and the quality of performance bodes well for both the exams and The Henley Youth Festival at the end of March. Congratulations to all involved.
A selection of the feedback received:
‘I thoroughly enjoyed the eclectic mix of music last night. It was very uplifting to see students really enjoy a subject they are doing - I thought they were great!’
‘We were most impressed by the quality of the talent you have in your group of young musicians…We both had a great evening.’
Congratulations to George Palmer who has been offered an unconditional place to read music at his first choice Oxford University college St Peter's. Currently Reading Young Musician of the Year, George excelled in all areas of the
A-Level course while at the College, and fully deserves his place on, arguably, the best university music course in the country.
The music department is delighted to retain its 100% success rate for Oxbridge applicants, with three students accepted to read music over the last three years (Sarah Latto and Ian Tindale by Cambridge and now George by Oxford).
The department was delighted to invite Rob and Reuben from leading Breakbeat producers Groove Diggerz into College in November. They spent some time giving current A2 Music Technology students advice on their sequenced backing tracks and also played some of their own material, revealing a few tricks of the trade! "Breakin Even"
Taking a break from his studies at Cambridge, Ian Tindale is performing in Henley once again on Sunday with the Henley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ian Brown.
Over the last ten years or so Dr David Golby, Director of Music, has carved out a niche for himself as an authority on the history of music education and instrumental teaching in particular. His latest publication is an article in the November issue of Music Teacher magazine on the legacy of the German violinist Louis Spohr. Click here to download the article
George Palmer, winner of the Hickies/Reading Symphony Orchestra Young Musicians' Competition 2008, will be playing Malcolm Arnold's Flute Concerto No.2 with Reading Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, November 8. The concert is in the Great Hall of Reading University, London Road campus. George achieved his A grade in Music at the College this summer and is applying to read music at Oxford University next year.
Information Evening performances
The first Info Eve of the year presents the first opportunity for first and second year students to show off their musical talents. A variety of musical entertainment, co-ordinated by Alison Golby, will be provided throughout the evening in the Norton Centre to accompany the Principal's talks to prospective students and their parents.
Following another set of excellent exam results for the department this summer we continue to plan for the future. Students achieved 100% pass rates in Music Technology AL & Music IB, and many are now taking the next step towards a wide variety of music-related careers. For instance, Becki Gribble is beginning her music degree at Surrey, whereas Luke Fabia is at Bath Spa studying Creative Music Technology, and Ian Tindale has begun his music course and taken his role as Organ Scholar at Cambridge University. Ian achieved a top Grade 7 in Music Higher Level, and also came into College on Sept 9 to collect this year's Jane Longhurst Memorial Award for Music at the annual Awards Evening. Straight after receiving his award he sat down at the piano and entertained a packed Rotherfield Hall with a magical performance of a piece by Debussy. Ian will be back in Henley on Sunday 14 December, performing Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with Henley Symphony Orchestra and Ian Brown – part of his prize for winning the senior solos section of the Henley Youth Festival in March.
Let’s hope our alumni go on to achieve similar successes to Will Rixon, who’s now in his fourth year at the Guildhall. His latest project involves ‘impersonating’ Miles Davis as part of the London Jazz Festival in a recreation of the original Birth of the Cool sessions in November. Further information ..
One of our ex-Music Technology students, Nic Sheldon, has landed a job at the highly prestigious Sarm Studios in London, with previous and current clients ranging from Lilly Allen to Led Zeppelin, Timbaland to Coldplay.
Also, the Reading-based band The Arusha Accord, featuring ex-music and music technology student James Clayton, were included among the ‘10 Songs You Should Hear Now!’ feature in the May 2008 issue of Kerrang! magazine (Metallica also made it onto the list). Further information..
The department extends a very warm welcome to Alison Golby, who has joined the College as an Associate Lecturer on all music courses, AL and IB.
We’re sure students and staff alike will benefit from her enormous experience as a musician and music educator.
See Department Staff for further details.
The College Choir and Jazz Band are now rehearsing hard in preparation for upcoming concerts and other projects (details to follow). Anyone interested in joining should contact Alison agol@henleycol.ac.uk. The Choir rehearses on Mondays, 4-5pm in D302, and Band on Wednesdays, 10.50-11.40am in D302.
IB and A2 music students were given an extremely warm welcome and reception in May when they performed to around thirty clients at Headway in Henley, the charity that supports people with a brain injury and their carers. The students were invited by music therapist Sharon Warnes, whose work for the charity is supported by the Friends of the Henley Festival. Performances ranged from a guitar and flute duo by Piazzolla (Joe Hicks & George Palmer), to songs performed and composed by Sam Merrifield, to Beethoven and The Beatles (with impromptu sing-along) from Frank Reakes, to three numbers from the Luke Fabia Quartet (pictured).
Congratulations and thanks to all the students who took part and contributed with such generosity and sensitivity. Let’s hope that this very successful afternoon will be the first of many.
BBC article – what we already know?
A recent article on the BBC website (link below) espouses and explores the potential positive impact of music on academic success among children. In light of the Headway entry above and what most musicians observe in themselves and others, it should perhaps come as no great surprise to hear that music can stimulate positive effects on the brain and the psychological well-being of individuals in ways which are very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve by other means!
Click here to read the article
Ian Tindale has been awarded a 4- year scholarship by the Institute of International Education (a GE STAR award from the GE Foundation) to assist with his studies at Cambridge University from next year.
Two A2 Music Technology students, Max Britton and David May, and their respective bands, Lights & Sounds and Myles Finch are, hopefully, both on the road to stardom, each having been awarded recording deals by leading record companies.
Back-to-back music competition victories
Following on from George's achievements in the Reading Young Musician Competition last weekend, Ian Tindale (IB Music Year 2) won the Senior Solos section of the Henley Youth Festival, held at the Kenton Theatre on Tuesday (March 11). Ian, due to take up a Cambridge organ scholarship next year, wowed the judges with his performance of Sonetto 123 Del Petrarca by Liszt. He is now in line to perform a solo with Henley Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the eminent pianist Ian Brown, who was on the panel of judges. The Senior class was dominated by Henley College students, with Ian also accompanying excellent contributions from George Palmer (flute) and Becki Gribble (violin). The audience was also entertained by The Luke Fabia Sextet, a very promising recently-formed jazz band featuring current and past College students. They performed a number of George Palmer arrangements of standards such as Summertime and Mercy Mercy Mercy! Congratulations to everyone involved - a memorable evening which showcased College musicians to full effect.
Prestigious Competition Victory
Congratulations to flautist George Palmer (Music A2), who has won first prize in the Reading Young Musicians' Competition 2008. As always the standard was very high, and George has done brilliantly to come through in first place. As well as a trophy and a cash prize, he now also has the opportunity to perform a concerto with Reading Symphony Orchestra. Further details to follow.
The Music Department held another very successful Recital Evening in March. Music was in a variety of styles including Mozart, Bach and the rock group Queen. Congratulations to all who took part, with special thanks to Ian Tindale for his tireless and expert accompanying.
Comments received: 'it was possibly even better than last year! The variety and talent was excellent and there were many really outstanding performances. Also having attended last year it was noticeable how some who had performed last year had really developed and improved ... Everyone who took part should be really proud and pleased with themselves.'
We Will Rock You - the most recent College Production staged in December was a phenomenal success. . Congratulations to all cast and crew on a truly memorable collaboration. Special praise must go to the live band, who kept audiences rocking for over two hours and the music production team. Their contributions amount to a major musical achievement and have set a new standard of excellence for the College and Music Department. Reviews of productions
Anyone who tuned into the Big Band Special on BBC Radio 2 on Monday 5th November may have recognised the name of one of the soloists, Will Rixon, who studied music and music technology at the College and is currently in the third year of his course at the Guildhall, was appearing with the BBC Big Band as part of a short series presenting the best emerging young talent on the British Jazz scene. Those familiar with Will's musicianship will not be surprised to hear of this achievement, and we're all hopeful that he will continue to progress to the top of his profession.
Shout! 2007
Before the end of term, some of our students were involved in the prestigious Henley Festival SHOUT! Project,which culminated in two performances as part of the "Access All Areas" event on the 15th July. The performers involved made a significant contribution to the effectiveness of the music composed by Harvey Brough and narration, working alongside leading professionals. The piece entitled "Go With The Flow" was extremely evocative of the varying contexts and associations of the River Thames.
Results
Students have performed extremely well once again in their Music and Music Technology exams. There was a 100% A-D pass rate for Music Technology A2 and 75% A-C grades in Music A2, as well as 100% pass rate for IB. One AS Music student dropped just 4 UMS points across the whole course. Congratulations to everyone.
HE Places
Such good results ensured success for those with conditional places to study music in HE. We're delighted that our students continue to progress on to music-related courses at such prestigious universities as Cambridge, Surrey and Newcastle and music colleges such as the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Gopod luck to you all and please keep in touch! It was great to see Chloe Vincent return to College to receive the 2006/07 Jane Longhurst Memorial Prize for Music at the Education Awards evening on 11th September. We wish Choloe every success in her studies at the Guildhall.
Also, fantastic news just in! One of our current IB students, Ian Tindale, has been awarded an Organ Scholoarship and a place to read music at Selwyn College, Cambridge University.
New Staff
We are delighted to welcome Gary Howarth into the department as a part-time lecturer on the IB Music course. Gary is a multi-talented musician and teacher who will further enhance the teaching strengths at the College (see Department Staff link for further details).
Other News
It's been virtually impossible to avoid Harry Potter mania over the summer, and I'm pleased to report that there is a College connection to the phenomenon. Award-winning film and TV composer Nick Hooper, one of our speakers at the last Music for the Moving Image Beacon Conference, has written the score for the latest film no less and is signed up for the next one. Despite this huge international acclaim, he has expressed a desire to come back to Henley for a future conference, if his schedule allows. Let's hope so. Also, one of the other speakers at the conference, Guy Dagul, will be contributing music to the Beijing Olympics, with a global audience of billions!
On a slightly smaller scale, David Golby, Director of Music, has been involved in the BBC TV series The Restaurant, booked by one of the participating couples as a solo violinist. He is hopeful that his contribution does not curtail their progress!
The Music Department was delighted to host Andy Baker on 20th April. Already known to staff and students through his work with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Henley Festival SHOUT! Project, this time he came into College in his capacity as an examiner for AS Music Technology, specifically the arranging module. Both AS groups benefited hugely from Andy's expertise and insights into how the mark scheme is applied and what exactly is required to achieve the top grades. Although Andy won't be examining our students, we hope his hints and advice will reap rewards. Feedback from students certainly suggests that they took a great deal from the sessions.
On May 17th the music department was very pleased to welcome a father and daughter team to deliver a lecture on the seminal soul album Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" to music technology students. Stewart Tippett, a veritable walking black music and history anthology, brought along his daughter Karen to fill in the gaps with titbits about the man while he spoke of the music and its social and political context. Interspersed with old footage, images of the era and suggested further reading, the students were given food for thought on what was really "going on" during the making of the album.
This event, organized by Tom Anderson, was very well received by the students, who have been studying the album as one of their set works for A2.
Biography - Stewart Tippett
Stewart's love of black music, history and culture spans over 30 years. He holds a masters degree in Afro-American studies, including time reading at Penn State University's black studies department in the USA. His area of expertise lies in setting key black music works in their social and political context from Slavery, through Civil Rights to present day. His combined knowledge of history and music in this area allows Stewart to set Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Soul and other key black music genres against the appropriate backdrop.
Once again, Henley College music students performed brilliantly at the Henley Youth Festival in March to pick up some of the most prestigious prizes. Among them were Chloe Vincent and George Reakes, who were awarded first and second places respectively in the Senior Solo class. The Senior Ensemble section consisted solely of College students and, though not judged, they entertained the audience with energy and professionalism while the adjudicators deliberated. 
The College jazz band , Jazkaban, is available for function bookings (contact Dave Willis on 07742359024
Many second year students have received a wide range of offers to continue their music studies beyond College. These include Christopher Palmer, offered a place to read music at York University; Paul Roberts, hoping to join the world-famous Tonmeister course, run by the Institute of Sound Recording at Surrey University; and Gwilym Davies, who is destined to begin his training as a bandsman in the Royal Marines, playing solo trombone. Fingers crossed for the summer! 
Finally, Director of Music, Dr David Golby, has won the prestigious Oldman Prize (awarded annually by the International Association of Music Libraries) for his book Instrumental Teaching in Nineteenth Century Britain (Ashgate 2004), which has been judged to be 'an outstanding work of music reference'.
Return to the Forbidden Planet
The College musical staged in December was once again a huge success and a real achievement for all concerned. The band deserve special mention. Consisting solely of music and music technology students, they kept the cosmos rocking for a good couple of hours and displayed a very high level of professionalism.
Exam Success!
Once again Music students have performed exceptionally well in their exams this year. In addition to a 100% pass rate for A-level and IB, A2 students achieved 100% A-C and AS 100% A-D. Three students, Rachel Garforth, Will Rixon and Tom Sibly, achieved very high A grades, with Rachel dropping just 33 marks during the whole two-year course! Congratulations to Will Rixon who has been awarded his Diploma in Performance by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, with a mark of 83%.
Henley Festival 'Family Fiesta'
Magic Flute: full ensemble on the floating stage Following on from the success of the Christ Church Centre concert on May 26th, College students have once again performed alongside professional musicians as part of this year's SHOUT! Project. After an all-day rehearsal in Rotherfield Hall, filmed by Meridian Television, the warm and sunny afternoon of Sunday July 10th saw College students join forces not only with musicians from Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, as they have done all year, but also with singers from Glyndebourne Opera and around fifty children from partner schools.
The music performed on the main floating stage of the Festival was a unique mixture of semi-staged extracts from Mozart's Magic Flute and specially composed jazz interludes based on themes from within the opera. This was an amazing spectacle, enjoyed by the performers and large, sun-drenched audience alike.
Particular mention must be made of Rachel Garforth (pictured above) second year music student, who, with very little conducting experience, had the amazing opportunity to direct the whole performance. She rose to the challenge, equipping herself brilliantly. Such a high-profile event with such a varied array of musicians would have proved too much for many, but not Rachel. Who knows, perhaps a conducting career beckons; few can have made such an impressive debut. As an extra bonus, some of the College musicians had the opportunity to talk about their role in the event live on BBC Radio Berkshire.
Sincere thanks once again to Mandy Beard, Stewart Collins and the whole team at the Festival. This year's SHOUT! Project has been truly memorable for students and staff alike. Considering the quality of the artists involved, events and work produced, much of it feeding into the mainstream curriculum, it really could not have been more useful and enjoyable. Here's to next year's 'Carnival Arts' project!
'Benchmark' Visit
The Music Department was delighted to welcome Colin Stedman, Head of Music Technology at Cirencester College, on July 7th. Colin, also from a Beacon Status institution, visited the College to discuss strategies for delivering the Music Technology curriculum. This was a highly instructive meeting providing an opportunity to discuss common issues and share experiences. A return visit to Cirencester is planned for next Autumn Term. Click here to read more about Beacon activities at Henley
Oxford Brookes Visit
The Department has also been visited by Dr Dai Griffiths, who heads the music department at Oxford Brookes University. Issues discussed included the transition from A level/IB/FE to HE and the forging of closer links between the two institutions. A return visit, to include a presentation to music and music technology students, is planned for next year. Click here to read more about Beacon activities at Henley
'Music for the Moving Image' Conference
On the subject of future plans, the music department is currently confirming arrangements for a new venture. A one-day conference on the subject of Music for the Moving Image, to be held in Rotherfield Hall in October, will draw together music, music tech, film and media studies students, with eminent guest speakers addressing the main issues involved and discussing their own work for TV, film and computer games. Click here for full story....
Henley Festival SHOUT! / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra concert
'A truly exceptional evening was experienced by all who were at the Henley Festival SHOUT! / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra concert at the Christ Church Centre on Thursday May 26th. The Kokoro String Quartet, made up of members of the BSO, have been working with College students and GCSE pupils in partner schools for most of this academic year. The quartet have, in effect, been resident at the College and the amazing results of this collaboration were performed for all to appreciate at the concert.
Pieces by seven AL and IB students were included. In programme order: Rachel Garforth; Rosie Sedgwick; Joseph Houston; Caroline Downs; Lottie Kingslake; Tom Glendinning; and John O'Hare. Such was the standard achieved that the quartet are keen to add some of these pieces to their own repertoire!
The whole evening was recorded by College lecturer and music technician Tom Anderson, and recordings of the pieces by College students are now all accessible via the Public Drive (1st place for coursework/DGOL/Henley Festival Kokoro). Many thanks to all those involved who helped to make this such a valuable and unique experience, in particular Mandy Beard of The Friends of the Henley Festival and Andy Baker from BSO.
Tickets are now available for the Family Fiesta, part of The Henley Festival itself on Sunday 10th July, which is to include highlights from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, with College musicians playing alongside members of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Glyndebourne Opera!'
Recital Evening
Rotherfield Hall was the venue on Wednesday 6th April for a wonderfully diverse and accomplished series of performances given by AL music students in preparation for their exams on the 18th and 19th. Click here to view the programme. Highlights included a moving rendition of an Alecia Keys song by Nicole Baptiste and Kate Peters and a truly funky performance of James Brown's Funky Chicken, featuring the winners of the senior ensemble section of the Henley Youth Festival for the second year running and Music Technology lecturer Tom Anderson on guitar.
String Quartet Workshop
A concert to showcase some of the student work which has been developed over the last year with the Kokoro String Quartet is scheduled for Thursday May 26th in the Christchurch Centre, Reading Rd, Henley at 7.30. Tickets available on the door. Come and have a listen to the quality and diversity of work that has emerged from this amazing project. Extracts will appear on the website in due course.
The Henley Festival
Plans are taking shape for what promises to be a unique opportunity for students at the College. On Sunday 10th July, as part of the Family Fiesta at the Festival on the main 'floating' stage, College musicians will join forces with members of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Glyndebourne Opera to perform extracts from Mozart's The Magic Flute. Tickets now available from the Festival box office (01491 843404 or via www.henley-festival.co.uk). Watch this space for further details.
Book Review
Dr David Golby's book, Instrumental Teaching in Nineteenth-Century Britain [cover attached below], has been receiving very favourable reviews since its publication by Ashgate in 2004.
In the latest edition of The British Journal of Music Education it was described as 'an admirably researched and authoritative study which has broken new ground…undoubtedly a most significant contribution to the history of music education'.
Congratulations Will!!
Congratulations to Will Rixon who recently came second in the prestigious Reading Young Musician of the Year competition.
Korkoro Quartet in Residence
Workshops involving College Students and members of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra have begun in earnest, with the first session on student coursework compositions taking place before half term (followed by an excellent BSO concert at the Hexagon in Reading on the same evening). The remaining dates are listed below. Staff and students are very welcome to drop in to listen - a unique opportunity.
Friday 25th February, Rotherfield Hall at 1.30 - 4pm
Korkoro String Quartet composition and recording studio workshop in Rotherfield Hall
Thursday March 17th, Rotherfield Hall at 1.30 - 4pm
Monday 25th April, Rotherfield Hall at 1.30 - 4pm
Thursday May 26th, Christchurch Centre, Henley at 7.30pm: Concert of Student Work
BSO & The HENLEY College at The Henley Festival
BSO & The HENLEY College at The Henley Festival - extracts from Mozart's The Magic Flute
Details to follow...
College and University places
Congratulations to Will Rixon who has been awarded an unconditional place to study at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
Recital Evening
This term's showcase of student performance and composition work will take place on Wednesday April 6th in Rotherfield Hall starting at 7pm (£2 admission on the door)
Performance Exams
This years OCR exam recitals will take place on April 18th and 19th in D411
'Grease' The Musical
The December production of this ever-popular, 'feel-good' musical was a huge success, receiving an excellent review in The Henley Standard. Congratulations in particular to the 'outstanding' student musicians.
For further details please click here....
Student Appointed Sound Engineer
Philip Theobald, Music Technology A2, has been appointed sound engineer to local band Lucky to be Alive, fronted by Benson-based film and TV composer Guy Dagul.
SHOUT! Project
This year's SHOUT! project, in association with The Henley Festival and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra begins on Friday 12th November with a recital by the Korkoro string quartet at Gillotts. Henley College music and music technology students will receive dedicated time with the musicians, members of BSO, in preparation for workshops held at the College during the Spring and Summer terms. These will provide unique opportunities for the students to work alongside the quartet as performers, composers/arrangers and recording engineers. This promises to be, like last year's Voiceworks project, a thoroughly rewarding and stimulating educational experience.
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The long-term collaboration with the Friends should bear fruits once again when the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra takes up residency at the College to work with music and music technology students on composition, arranging and recording. In a similar vein to last year, a series of workshops will create material for next year's Festival, although this time ties to the College will be even closer and instrumentalists will take centre stage.
Music Workshops
An intensive weekend of workshops produced a memorable evening of jazz when Henley and Leichlingen students came together in Rotherfield Hall on Monday 20th. The packed hall had the feel of a jazz club with tables set out for drinks and conversation and fantastic musical entertainment provided by a variety of bands. An impressive level of polish and invention was achieved in very little time and College students, Tom Sibly, John O'Hare, Will Rixon, Joe Houston and Dave Willis, played their full part in making it such a success. Here's to next year!
Tom Anderson
The Music Department welcomes Tom Anderson as part-time lecturer in Music Technology and Music Technician. Well-known locally as a jazz and blues guitarist, composer and music technology teacher, Tom will undoubtedly strengthen the College's provision in this area.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was published to great fanfare on 23rd September. The College's Director of Music, Dr David Golby, a Research Associate of the dictionary, has contributed nearly 150 articles to this enormous project, which is available in both online and 60-volume printed editions.
Henley Festival World Premieres
Two terms' work with leading musicians and animateurs culminated in Henley College students performing and providing technical support on the main floating stage at the Henley Festival in July as part of the Family Fiesta. A large and enthusiastic audience responded to the soundscapes created by both 'An Unusual Journey Around Henley', composed by students and guided by Frances Lynch and incorporating both live and recorded sound, and the mass voices of Barry Russell's Algon & the Star Children, with The Magnets, who performed their own set later in the day.
The event itself and the preparation and rehearsals for it were both hugely successful and rewarding for all concerned. Many thanks to the Friends of the Henley Festival for making it possible.
Also performing at the Festival were the Henley Youth Chamber Orchestra, based at the College, and the 'Hot 8' jazz ensemble, which is made up of music and other students and is directed by trumpeter Will Rixon.
Fantastic Exam Results!!
Music students achieved very high grades in their exams this year. Pass rate for Music was 100% at both AS and A2, with 75% A-C for A2 and 64% A-C for AS. Music Technology had a pass rate of 90% overall.
Oxford University Press have sent a preview copy of their new video for teaching English in Spain, which features documentary footage of the Band Showcase staged at the Henley Youth Centre in May and interviews with the stars!
Also...Jan Steele, who gave termly composition workshops to students last year, has had one of his compositions performed at the Royal Festival Hall by the Reading Youth Orchestra as part of the National Festival of Music for Youth.
SHOUT! Voiceworks project
The series of workshops and rehearsals, running in College since January and supported by The Friends of the Henley Festival SHOUT! Voiceworks project, culminated in exciting rehearsal sessions prior to the Festival itself.
On July 1st, 200 primary, seconday and College voices raised the roof in Rotherfield Hall while putting the finishing touches to the specially commissioned Algon & the Star Children, Dance-song symphony for voices & tape composed by Barry Russell.
With the composer conducting, the students were joined by the fantastic a capella vocalgroup The Magnets, one of the main attractions at this year's festival, who specialise in recreating a whole range of instrumental and vocal arrangements with just their voices.
Frances Lynch
During the week July 5-9, one of the world's greatest voice and electronics experts, Frances Lynch, and her sound engineer, Mike Willox, returned to work with around 20 Henley College students (Music, Performing Arts and Music Technology) in putting together a unique piece for the festival, involving a combination of live and recorded vocal sounds and effects. The aim was to represent an alternative trip around Henley using just voices and electronics, an extract of which was destined for the main festival stage on Sunday 11th. This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to work intensively over an extended period with an inspirational practitioner and gain truely unique musical experience.
Henley Youth Festival
March was a very successful month for music students at the College. Many performed as part of the Henley Youth Festival and there were two class winners in the senior 16-19 category. These were Joseph Huston in the Senior Soloists, performing a Chopin piano Etude, and the Will Rixon Even Hotter 8 who took first prize in the Senior Ensembles. In addition to Will, this new jazz ensemble consisted of Ed Reeve, Dave Willis, Tom Sibly, Jack Hepplewhite, Tristan Jones, John O'Hare and Nat Steele. With most of this group in their first year, they should go from strength to strength!Many of the same faces and others were showing off their skills on Wednesday 31st March at the College Recital Evening - a hugely successful event which demonstrated very well the variety and depth of musical talent at the College. This event was recorded by Music Technology students for their coursework and also for the enjoyment and reflection of the performers themselves. These performances and others will come under the scrutiny of the OCR Exmainer later this month.
New Music Centre
We now have a Saturday morning music centre up and running at the College, in association with the Eureka! Foundation, offering both individual and group tuition. Please contact Paul Cox or take a look at the Eureka! Foundation website for more details.
New Subject
It is now possible to take Music (HL & SL) as part of the IB programme. Tuition is given partly within A Level groups (performance and composition) and also separately (Historical Studies)
Workshops and World Premieres
The Performing Arts Department has been working closely with a number of high-profile artists as part of the Henley Festival 'Voiceworks' and 'Shout!' projects.
Back-to-back workshops in January involved a group of over 30 students working with the internationally acclaimed vocalist Frances Lynch (recently heard live on BBC Radio 3 as part of the John Cage Festival); Lin Marsh of National Youth Music Theatre; and Heart of England Opera. This work continues into the summer with recording sessions involving the composer Barry Russell and a professional sound engineer, a week-long workshop with Frances Lynch in July, and culminates in world premiere performances on the main stage of The Henley Festival on Sunday 11th July. Watch this space for more details..
Music students have also been working with local composer Jan Steele who is working on a piece for Berkshire Youth Orchestra and is coming into College each term to discuss its progress and look at students' compositions.
Refurbishment of the Recording Studio
This month also sees the complete refurbishment of the recording studio, thanks to the handy work of Performing Arts Technician Sam Scottorn, and also the installation of 2 additional music workstations in D5, available to music and music tech students for coursework preparation outside of lesson times.
Publishing of David Golby's Book
The College's Director of Music, Dr David Golby, has had his long-awaited book Instrumental Teaching in Nineteenth Century Britain published by Ashgate. The book will be available via Amazon and all other good internet book shops! For more information please contact David Golby.
