Going on a music tour was a first for the Music Department, which had never before ventured beyond London, let alone to Salzburg. Organisation was undertaken with great gusto by Miss Bouckley, somehow assembling an Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Big Band and Clarinet Group from our coachload of musicians. Despite limited time to prepare the music – only 4 weeks – our repertoire was extensive, ranging from Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” to Benny Goodman’s jazz standard “Stompin’ at the Savoy”.
Fortuitously, 2006 was the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, and this was all the excuse that the music department needed to start plotting. Renditions of Mozart’s “Magic Flute Overture” by the Orchestra, and “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” by the Clarinet Ensemble were the fruit of these musical musings.
Singling out individual pieces for praise would be divisive, especially given the exemplary standard of musicianship overall. However, Leonie Rainbird Tilson’s rapturous performance of Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor” deserves special mention, especially as it was her last with the school before leaving Upper 6th.
All this, however, would have been for nothing without places to perform and audiences to capture…I mean, captivate! Despite planning three concerts, we were able to play only two - at the Schloss Kahlsberg and the town of St. Gilgen, while the third, at Salzburg’s Mirabellgarten, had to be abandoned because of malicious weather. Nevertheless, the tour was a resounding musical experience for all involved.
Of course, we didn’t only play, rehearse and perform whilst in Austria, even if practice featured rather too prominently in the schedules for most people’s tastes. Some of our time was spent on visits to local attractions, such as a Salt Mine, Ice Caves and, of course, Salzburg itself. Historically-minded musicians even had the opportunity to visit Mozart’s Birthplace, while others eschewed this in favour of the quintessentially Austrian charms of Salzburg’s shopping streets. One enterprising group of singers even went busking in the citycentre, before being moved on by the police, who very kindly spoke in English.
The tour was enormous fun both musically and socially, and I’d like to say thankyou, on behalf of everybody, to Miss Bouckley, Mr. Perrins, Mr. Godfrey and Miss Davies. So, where to next year?
Alexander Hurst