In one of the busiest weeks of the year for our music department pupils from Heatherton, Prep, Boys, Girls, and Sixth performed at the Young Musician of the Year Festival.
The annual event, which took place from the 14th to the 17th of November, is an opportunity for pupils across our schools to showcase their remarkable musical talent to parents, staff, and peers. Always adventurous and up for some healthy competition, many pupils entered into the competitive rounds where they strived to be crowned Young Musician of the Year, Young Performer of the Year, or Young Instrumentalist of the Year.
The festival kicked off with the competitive rounds on Tuesday. As performers anxiously rehearsed, they were soon reassured by the familiar faces of their teachers and tutors who turned up to support. Throughout the evening, the audience was treated to instruments from all sections of the orchestra, from Brass & Wind to Strings.
Onto Wednesday and it was time for our youngest performers to take to the stage. Old Hall was filled with the proud parents of Heatherton and Prep pupils who tucked into the brownies and beverages provided by our wonderful catering team. For many of our youngest pupils, the festival marked their first time performing in front of a crowd, but each young musician aimed high and got up to perform regardless. The performers even took the opportunity to practise their best bows as kindly demonstrated by Mr Noithip. “Don’t look up when you bow” he said to the laughter of pupils “it looks a little strange, just bend with confidence and take in your applause!”
It was delightful to hear pupils get into the Christmas spirit with some festive tunes performed throughout the evening; a piano performance of Jingle Bells was enjoyed by parents and pupils alike.
Thursday was the final day of festival performances and our most experienced performers from Year 10 to Year 13 performed. The older year groups impressed the crowd with performances of some of the most esteemed classical composers- from Bach to Chopin.
As the week drew to a close, it was time for our finalists to compete for the titles of Young Musician of the Year, Young Instrumentalist of the Year, and Young Performer of the Year on Friday. Each performer gave it their all, and with a range of adjudicators’ awards to be won alongside the main three titles, there were lots of opportunities for the pupils to be recognised and celebrated for their efforts.
Performing for parents, teachers, and peers is a daunting process, but each of our performers displayed the integrity, ambition, and adventurousness of a great Berkhamstedian by getting up and giving their performance their all. A huge well done to all who performed and a massive thank you to Mr Noithip and the music department for bringing the school together to enjoy a week of music!