Students from Framlingham College took time out from exam revision last Sunday evening to perform in their annual summer concert in St Michael’s.
The new Director of Music, Lucy Bloore, commented on the range of talent in the school, and this was reflected in the widely varied programme. The first half was classical, but it ranged from Handel and Vivaldi to Rachmaninov and Bartok, various orchestral groups playing with verve and commitment.
Solo performances included Sam Thorogood offering Schubert’s G flat Impromptu, coaxing a lyrical sound from the piano, while Jessica Rawson sang Handel’s famous Where’er you walk, beautifully ornamented and enhanced by viola accompaniment.
In the second half, while there were sensitive performances from Alex Conway (tenor) and Jack Gionis, playing his own composition on guitar, generally the tone was set by the Concert Band and Big Band conducted by Lucy Bloore and Mark Lavery respectively. The Big Band will be playing on the Aldeburgh Bandstand on June 22nd as the Festival climaxes, and this warm-up promises a barn-storming performance.
Thanks go as ever to the custodians of St Michael’s – the building’s wonderful acoustic enhances every concert there – and also to the stalwart peripatetic musicians who come to support their students, swelling a thoroughly appreciative audience.
