Students of all ages at Highclare Senior School performed a variety of music, speech, and drama items at Monday’s wonderful Performing Arts Recital Evening; a most enjoyable start to the week.
The programme comprised of a broad spectrum of musical styles, including impressive renditions of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto (Harry Mills, accompanied by Miss Minchin & Mr Barber); Ben Bonner’s virtuostic ‘Mohair Mountain’ rock guitar solo; some wonderful piano solos and duets (Kavarna Spence, Marcus Koasha, Ketii Abebe, Amina Mukhtar, Gracious Kamangira); ‘pop’ covers (Matthew Moring, Nellie Gwaza, Kia Weekes, Rhapsody Choir); ‘Musical Theatre’ numbers (Emilia Gomm, String Ensemble, Matthew Foletti); and uplifting jazz pieces, courtesy of James Gibson, Elis Jackson, Harry Abbott, Mr Whitham, and Mrs Okeghie.
Drama acts ranged from a powerful piece on Disability Rights from Sixth Formers Jess Bonner and India Dewsbury; a creepy scene from Woman in Black from the Lower Fifth (Pranav Ramesh, Toby Walton, Kaylah Pedro-Ward, Amani Palmer-Peters); a fabulous opening to the second act from the Blood Brothers ‘Boys’ (Joe De Waele, Joe Walford, Aditya Gosavi); and more spookiness from the U3 & L4 Drama club with Goosebumps scenes.
The entertainment didn’t stop there – LAMDA students thrilled the audience with poetry (Nia Eubanks); monologues (Ruby Edmonds, Isabelle Quartermain); and comedy. Students made it seem as though ‘There’s Nothing to It’ (scene by Ayo Odofin and Jess Bonner, who stepped in last minute), when in fact a lot of practice and preparation had gone into all performances.
This was a fantastic showcase of Highclarian talent, dedication, and hard work; and all participants should be extremely proud of themselves. Thank you to all students and staff who made it happen! Miss A Cassells, Head of Senior School Music.