FarnhamFestival

20 - 26 March 2011

New music for young people

With art exhibition

Reviews of FarnhamFestival 2007 published in the Farnham Herald

The reviews below were published in the Farnham Herald during and immediately after the festival.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

In what is fast becoming a tradition at the Farnham Festival, this year’s opening concert at St Andrew’s Church was stylishly heralded in by the Michael Chapple Trumpet Ensemble. After the strong, confident ensemble playing in the 19th century hymn To God be the Glory, we were whisked off to a Mexican cantina for a traditional folksong, De Colores. Sadly, earlier illness prevented the group giving their planned Festival premiere, but the young ensemble were shown at their best, reveling in the jaunty rhythms of Leroy Anderson’s The Rakes of Mallow.

With the disappointing disappearance of any form of musical life from Farnham 6th Form College, it was especially pleasing to see that Alton College continues to give sterling support to the Festival, with a wide range of ensembles and musical styles throughout the week.

At this concert, for example, the Folk Ensemble had our feet tapping with a lively Irish jig, followed by a similarly spirited performance of the Finale of Haydn’s Symphony No 104. In the Adagio from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 6, too, the string players were finely balanced and sustained the melodic line especially well.

The College Chamber Choir paid tribute to local composer Michael Hurd, who died last year, with a poignant rendition of three of his Five Epitaphs and the mood changed once again as the brass ensemble treated us to a lively, full-bodied performance of Chris Hazell’s jazzy Kraken. And, reflecting Alton’s on-going commitment to the music of today, this set was rounded off with in fine style by the New Music Ensemble and Chamber Choir in A Gentleman’s Honour, from The Photographer by the leading minimalist composer, Philip Glass.

It was also pleasing to see and hear another Festival regular in the St Nicholas Junior Chamber Choir. Immaculately turned out, the choir produced a beautifully sweet tone in a well-chosen programme which included O Sing unto the Lord by Noel Rawsthorne and Malcolm Archer’s lovely arrangement of Listen!, which included some expressive solos. The sound was confident throughout, if lacking the last ounce of swing in John Rutter’s The Heavenly Aeroplane. (By the way, whatever did youth choirs do before Rutter came along?)

Fellow Festival stalwarts, All Hallows offered us three choirs, starting with Boyzonly (ouch!) who brought a good range of dynamic contrast to Gary Jules’ Mad World and Weiss and Thiele’s classic What a Wonderful World. As with the Farnham Junior Boys’ Choir performing at Monday’s Festival concert, it really is a joy to see young boys encouraged in choral singing – long may it continue!

The All Hallows Chamber Choir then sang the Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann and Harry Warrens’ Chattanooga Choo Choo. This was followed by the full forces of the school’s Cantamus choir, whose performances of Fields of Gold by Gordon Sumner (better known as Sting), and Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You were both sensitive and well-balanced. If the programming could have extended to advantage beyond the world of popular song, there was no doubt that these choirs’ attention to the words and clear diction paid off in performance and was an object lesson to many more senior ensembles.

The real musical weight of the evening was perhaps saved to the end, with Alton College Choral Society’s splendid performance of Giovanni Gabrieli’s Renaissance masterpiece, In Ecclesiis. Taking full advantage of St Andrews’ vast performance space and generous acoustic (we could almost have been in St Marks, Venice!), we were able to experience the full antiphonal effect of the choir, soloists, strings and brass ensemble spread around the church. Musical director, Martin Read, remarkably held these far flung forces together and the result was a thrilling performance which created a powerful cumulative effect.

And from 16th century to 20th century surround sound, as the trumpeters of Alton College then enterprisingly played the audience out with Michael’s Farewell, from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s opera, Donnerstag aus Licht.

If the standard of performance and level of enthusiasm displayed by all the young musicians at this opening concert is maintained throughout the week, we’re all in for a real treat.

Written and submitted by Graham Noakes. Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

Young musicians from the Farnham Junior Girls’ Choir, directed by Catherine Watts, accompanied by Peter Dobson and the Farnham Junior Boys’ Choir, directed by David Victor-Smith, accompanied by Caroline Gale, St. Nicholas’ Senior Choir, directed by Diane White and Opus 1 and Opus 2 String Orchestras directed by Gilly Murray and Amanda Stratton gave a varied musical banquet on Monday evening at St. Andrew’s, the second concert in this year’s Farnham Festival.

Introduced by the Rector of St. Andrew’s, the Rev. Andrew Tuck, he reminded the full house that this year celebrates nearly fifty years of Farnham Festival Concerts and they have always started at St. Andrew’s. There have over the years been one hundred and fifty new performances commissioned by generous benefactors. Mr. Tuck remembers performing in 1961, playing his trombone in the very first concert.

St. Andrew’s is a wonderful home for these occasions. Young musicians have a great future ahead of them and it is to be hoped that they will always remember their early musical experiences such as are provided at the Farnham Festival. There was applause for music teachers, parents and supporters.

The first item of the concert was sung at the east end and then the Farnham Junior Girls’ Choir moved to the transept where they gave a vigorous rendition of Christopher Symons’ “Sing We Merrily”.

Throughout the concert, the diction in all the choral pieces was of the highest order. These very young performers were quite assured and confident in their performances, and it was a pleasure to attend this short but very vivacious concert. The Farnham Junior Boys’ Choir sang only one piece, “Jonah-man Jazz”, by the late Michael Hurd, who died last August having contributed so much to Farnham music.  They were word-perfect in this quite long piece, so their director, David Victor-Smith need have had no worries. The combined Farnham Choirs singing this evening sang a lovely arrangement of the Easter Hymn by Michael Neaum.

There was good dynamic range in the medley of songs from ‘Les Miserables’ sung by the St. Nicholas Senior Choir and some fine solos.

Strong praise too must be given to Gilly Murray and her team for the work they do with the young strings players. Their co-ordination and harmony was a real credit to the players and their mentors.

There were many youngsters performing tonight and there will be many more during the course of this festival. If this concert was anything to go by, then the festival is going to be a very great success.

Written and submitted by Jeremy Bourne Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

A thoroughly enjoyable and upbeat evening of music took place on the Tuesday of the Farnham Festival at St Andrew’s Church. The Rector introduced the evening, commenting that he had played the trombone in the first festival. There were no trombones in the church tonight but there was some very exciting music making.

The evening began with the Steel Pans from Farnham Heath End School. They played four pieces – Wimmoweh, Siyahamba, Bare Necessities and Rivers of Babylon. There were two groups of five players who played from memory. They listened to each other well and their use of dynamics was excellent. It cannot be easy to play steel pans quietly, but they managed it effectively.

More House school followed with their Steel Pan group. Their leader was an extremely good drummer who was allowed a break at one point that should really have been applauded in true jazz club fashion. They played La Cucaracha, Sealed with a Kiss and Yellow Bird – a tune that is often associated with steel pans. The group played with verve and enthusiasm, keeping together well.

Next it was the turn of William Cobbett Unit who performed a charming piece about the seasons. The audience had a frieze to look at while the children used percussion and sounds that they made themselves to accompany the story of the year. We especially enjoyed the seagulls and the howling wind and when, at the end, “the animals shivered and went to sleep” there were cheers of appreciation for their efforts. They were then joined by singers from Gosden House for a song about numbers. Numbers are everywhere, (including on the bottom of your shoe) and at the end of each chorus the audience had to guess what number was being mimed. One “mimer” was so enthusiastic that he told us his number before we could guess!

The Surrey County Percussion Ensemble followed with a very slick performance. The first number consisted of drums and sticks only, appropriately called “Stick Together”, written by the director – Jackie Kendle. It showed the younger members of the ensemble demonstrating their considerable skill. Next was Kabalevsky’s The Clown – a lively piece with complicated rhythms, excellently performed on tuned and untuned instruments. After this the ensemble was joined by the Gosden House percussion group for “Creepy Crotchets” – wonderfully spooky! Another more complex piece extracting different sounds from sticks and drums followed called “Stick Beating”, showing a brilliant use of complex rhythms. The ensemble ended with “Mambo Jambo” which used tuned and untuned percussion – flamboyant, very well executed and greatly enjoyed by the audience.

The last performers of the evening were the Just So Singers, accompanied by the County Percussion Ensemble. The group is made up of over 60 children in Years 5-11 from three special schools in Surrey – Gosden House, Carwardine House and Meath House - with 12 adult assistants. It is run by Alison Wrigley, who rehearses them in two groups which come together for one rehearsal before each concert. Tonight was very special for the singers as they sang the first performance of “Just So Songs”, commissioned by the Festival and funded by the PRS Foundation for New Music. The composer was present and introduced the poems which appear at the end of five of the Just So stories by Rudyard Kipling. The Camel’s Hump came first and was sung with great glee as the voices swooped up and down and the singers sang “We all get the hump”. The second poem was a mixture of narration and song – “There runs a road” - about several local places. This was followed by “Rolling down to Rio”, which contained some quite difficult words for the singers, but they managed well, and the music made you feel as if you were rolling on the ocean. The fourth poem was written after the death of Kipling’s 9 year old daughter and was read while the singers sang significant words behind the speech. This was most moving, as Paul Ayres had explained about the background to this part of the work. However, we cheered up no end for the last piece which was about the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon speaking to butterflies and was sung in two parts, reaching a climax which drew much applause from the audience. Jackie Kendle directed the performance of this work with skill and an enthusiasm which she managed to communicate to the singers so they were able to pass it on to the listeners. It was a great achievement for them and their enjoyment of it all was infectious. Everyone left with a smile on their face.

Written and submitted by Jill Chapple Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

Tuesday 20th (at local schools):
Shake, Rattle & Roll Percussion Workshops: "Controlled yet thrilling, the children loved it" (TES TEACHER MAGAZINE) Top

Having perused www.shakerattleandroll.biz for a suitable quote, I felt this was more than appropriate. Approximately 200 children this morning and another this afternoon have been entertained in an exceptional way. For me, this is the second time I have seen the dynamic duo and today was just as riveting as the first.

The show was mixed with a selection of very talented performances on a variety of interesting percussion instruments, education about the various percussion - their origins and other cross-curricular links, all wound together in hugely funny scenarios - perfect for capturing children’s (and the adult’s, come to think of it) attention. Throughout we were all focused, involved and more importantly, learning.

The name of the duo itself generated discussion – ‘what can we shake? rattle? roll?’ – huge hilarity ensued as Paul tried to shake a drum to see what sound could be gained from that!

The children listened attentively as various percussion instruments were shown – the favourite was the Marimba – amazingly played. Cross-curricular links included discussing Science ‘sounds,’ Geography and of course, History (interesting how the drum kit was only formed as we know it about 100 years ago.)

Various outfits were used to help children understand styles and origins of music – a DJ to represent classical music and kilts ….! Quite hilarious, and yet effective.

Some lucky children (and a couple of keen teachers) were given opportunities to play some of the instruments – in pairs and also creating a group marching band.

Another highlight was the whole audience participation that ran through the show – from experimenting with clapping patterns to creating a whole group drum kit. Each was as fun and appropriately challenged as the next.

To summarise, the children and staff who attended today’s workshops gained a great deal from the experience. Not only through the pleasure of listening to such talented performers, but through the participation and light-hearted way the duo delivered their obvious knowledge about their passion. All the children left enthused with huge smiles on their faces, accompanied by ‘SR&R’ playing some Brazilian funky Samba rhythms - a fun time was had by all!

I am pleased the Farnham Festival committee decided to organise such a fantastic and worthwhile event.

Written and submitted by Olivia Weeks (Primary Schools representative, Farnham Festival Committee) Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

Undaunted by the big stage in the Great Hall of the Farnham Maltings, the beaming smiles of infant children from no less than eleven schools sang, danced and narrated the cheerful story of Tattybogle the scarecrow.

Composed by Ruth Kenward and arranged by Mark Dickman, the musical was based on a book by Sandra Ann Horn.

The songs had catchy tunes, with just the right range of notes for tiny voices and included dance interludes in costume performed to attractive instrumental backing tracks.

Sung with enthusiasm and clear diction we heard about the noisy rooks and their ‘Caw,Caw,’ a ‘King with Golden Crown’ and ‘Sing, Sing he’s a living thing’ when next spring he sprouted into a young sapling.

The narrators were smart and confident telling the story of the lovable scarecrow and all his observations during the changing seasons.

The coordinator for this mammoth enterprise was Olivia Weeks. The accompanist was Caroline Gale and the performance  conducted by Alison Rudd.

The staff of the Infant schools are to be congratulated for their dedication and enterprise. Let’s hope these children will continue their love of singing throughout their lives.

The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Those infant schools represented were Badshot Lea, Folly Hill, Hale School, Pilgrims’ Way,St James Elstead, St Mary’s, St Paul’s Tongham, St Peter’s, St Polycarp’s, The Bourne and Weybourne.

Next on stage were the Rock Choir Original led by their director Caroline Lusher who arranges the music and actively keeps this large choir well focused. The choir is mainly made up of secondary aged girls.

Having heard them from their inception I was amazed at the change and development of this group. They have grown in size and they are well disciplined in both their singing and movement. Their presentation is impressive.

Clad in a simple black outfit with a gold star motif , the choir looked good so that we could concentrate on the music.  Generally the choir opts for soloists with the body of singers acting as a backing group. The soloists showed good performance awareness. ‘Oh, so quiet’ chosen for the whole choir provided a contrast and was well received. My favourite for the evening was ‘Disco Inferno’ which was both ’cool’ and hot!

Farnham is very lucky to have a number of choral directors training young people in a variety of musical styles and genres, each having a valid place in our society to-day, and in so doing gives a wider range of children opportunity to make music, to be challenged, given a sense of fulfillment and to enjoy doing something that gives pleasure both to them and to others.

A great recipe for happiness!

Thank you to all the performers and teachers for a memorable Wednesday night concert.

Written and submitted by Jacky Protheroe Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

It is not every day that one has the opportunity to shake hands with such an illustrious figure as Isambard Kingdom Brunel but some members of the audience at Thursday’s festival concert were given that privilege.  As the orchestra of Barfield School struck up the overture to Hurrah! for Brunel the great man himself strode through the auditorium, resplendent in chimney-pot hat and greeting his admirers on his way to the stage.   

This specially commissioned work by Sebastian Forbes was the highlight of an entertaining evening of widely ranging music.  Over a hundred 7-13 year-old Barfield pupils were involved in the cantata under their director Richard Stevens.  A series of narrators told the story of Brunel’s eventful life and each episode was illustrated by a song.  ‘The Battle of Mickleham Tunnel’ and ‘Brunel and the Stephensons’ gave great scope to the brass and percussion sections to imitate hammering, violence and train noises; but equally effective were the more lyrical moments such as the voyage of the Great Britain to gentle woodwind and rippling piano accompaniment.  Brunel’s bridge building was used as a metaphor for human relationships and the rising and falling musical motifs cleverly reflected the design of the bridge we saw being constructed at the front of the stage.  Throughout the performance clever visual effects were used to bring scenes to life, including bursts of steam that engulfed the front rows of the audience.  Congratulations to Barfield School for tackling such a challenging new work so successfully, especially the instrumentalists who played with skills beyond their years.

The other items in this concert were all vocal.  Valerie Hoppe’s choir Vivace Cantamus seemed a little overawed at having to open proceedings but they sang sweetly and really got into their stride with the swinging ‘This little Light of Mine’ complete with actions.  Their two very young and talented accompanists joined forces for this piece and gave it all they’d got.

Some of the senior students from Frensham Heights gave an assured and tranquil performance of Mendelssohn’s ‘Lift up thine Eyes’ followed by two beautifully rendered duets; ‘Go, Lassie, Go’ and Sullivan’s ‘Stay, Frederick, Stay’ from The Pirates of Penzance.

The choir of Heath End School brought the concert to a triumphant end with five popular songs including Lisbee Stainton’s ‘Follow’ with fascinating echo effects and Jack Johnson’s rousing jazz song, ‘Better Together’.

Written and submitted by Rosemary Wisbey Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

At Friday evening’s early Farnham Festival Concert, the junior schools treated us to a jolly romp through the life and times of Queen Victoria, in a new work commissioned for the Festival, Queen Vic – a mini musical, by Pam Wedgwood. 

The composer, who has an outstanding reputation for her ability to connect with young musicians, has done it again, with a light-hearted yet informative 19th century history lesson, which was evidently fun to sing and captivated both the young performers and audience alike.  The large forces taking part included pupils from Frensham Heights, Hale, Potters Gate, Pilgrims Way, St James C/E, St Polycarps, St Peters, South Farnham, Waverley Abbey and William Cobbett, all well-marshalled under the enthusiastic baton of the composer.

Following an opening jazzed-up version of the National Anthem to get us into the spirit, Queen Victoria herself – or ten of her, to be precise! – introduced the musical numbers to us, ’her loyal subjects’.  These included how life was for the common man (including a superb solo from the chimney sweep), her role as Empress of India, a chaste description of seaside bathing machines and an amusing ‘battle of the inventors’ in a time of huge technological advance.

We could hear every word of this history in song, a tribute both to the sympathetic choral writing and the dedicated rehearsals by the schools and their music teachers – the effort paid off handsomely.  One small plea however – where were the boys?  The few that took part, both soloists and chorus, were excellent and clearly enjoyed it - hopefully this will encourage more in the future. 

The concert started with two GCSE piano compositions excellently played by the composers themselves, which showed that the spirit of minimalism is alive and well in our young musicians.  Heath End School’s David Pallant’s attractively lyrical piece had strong overtones of Philip Glass, while Alex Powell-Perry from Weydon School added a pre-recorded tape, whose phased repeated patterns performed on synthesiser were more reminiscent of early Steve Reich. 

The concert ended with another Festival Commission, Farnham Suite by John Myhill, played with tremendous confidence and élan by the Surrey Count Jazz Youth Orchestra and conducted with his usual enthusiasm by John Whelan.  After an opening mellow Count Basie-like Big Band Bossa and pastoral Farnham Common, the players let loose, showing real panache and tightness of ensemble in the closing Blues Waltz. 

The orchestra’s opening set also showed their ability to get right under the skin of a wide range of jazz idioms, including the swing style of Honeysuckle Rose, the blues of Sweet Home Chicago (made famous by Jools Holland and the Blues Brothers), rock fusion with Honk and the bossa nova rhythms of The Girl from Ipanema.

These performances, together with Quincy Jones’ Quincy and the Count, were full of character, with outstanding soloists, and overall this was perhaps the best performance yet by this superb orchestra at the Festival, full of character and sensitivity.  At times during Honeysuckle Rose in particular, I was reminded of the BBC Big Band – what higher praise can there be? 

It was hugely encouraging to see the junior schools stay and hear jazz music, most of them almost certainly for the first time.  They clearly found it exciting and thoroughly enjoyed the experience – and so did we.

Written and submitted by Graham Noakes. Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

Children, parents and grandparents flocked into the Maltings on Saturday morning for two repeat performances of popular items at the Festival. 

At 10 o’clock the Combined Infant Schools’ Choir sang “Tattybogle” again with the same enthusiasm that they had shown on Wednesday evening.  Alison Rudd conducted and brought out the best in this group of over 170 performers.  Olivia Weeks, who co-ordinated both the infant and junior performances, made a wonderful Tattybogle – the scarecrow who has “a head full of straw and cheerful thoughts”.  The musical was written by Ruth Kenward and arranged by Mark Dickman.  It is based on a book by Sandra Ann Horn, who, much to the delight of the children, was present at both performances.  The music and story were ideal for infants with plenty of repeated words and interesting tunes to sing.  The words were articulated well so that it was easy to follow the story, which took us through a year in the life of Tattybogle.  The seasons were marked by the growth of the corn, the weather and the activities of the crows and animals.  The music was evocative of the changes and it was good to see movement, as well as singing, as dancers evoked various stages - snowflakes, wind, growing seeds.  The performance included narrators from the schools who spoke very clearly and confidently.  At the end of the story the children revelled in watching the wind (dancers) blow Tattybogle (Miss Weeks) to pieces.  There is a happy ending however as a stick from Tattybogle grows into a Tattybogle tree!

Following immediately was a series of dances performed by the Dance Warehouse based on the Tattybogle music.  The 10 dancers had created their own interpretation of the story through mime and movement which made a fitting end to the first concert of the morning.  The ages of the dancers on the stage ranged from 6 to 10+.  The Dance Workshop sessions, run by Olivia Weeks, take place weekly at three separate venues and are for children from 3 years old.

The second performance of the morning was a repeat of a new mini-musical by Pamela Wedgwood – Queen Vic”.  The Combined Junior Schools’ Choir had already performed this the night before, but returned to the Maltings to give another vibrant rendition of life in Victorian times.  The composer, who conducted both performances, is skilled at choosing subjects that appeal to children and also fit in with school work.  Mention should be made of Caroline

Gale who accompanied both the Infants and the Juniors so sympathetically.  For Queen Vic she was joined by Sam Wedgwood, the composer’s son, and an enthusiastic percussion section made up of children from the schools.  The piece starts with an up beat performance of the words to the National Anthem – as the Queen herself commented after it “I have not always heard it performed with such zip and enthusiasm”.  There were in fact several Queens, who each had a speech.  They all performed in a most regal fashion!  The choir sang well, with clear words, and the soloists and narrators were excellent.  We learnt about the sad life of a child street-cleaner and the privileged life of those who lived in India; about inventions (there were so many) and advances in travel.  In each section the music perfectly reflected the words and many of the audience left humming the tunes.

The morning concluded with another appearance by the Dance Warehouse, this time basing their work on three pieces from “Queen Vic”.  It was well thought out as an imperious Queen watched her subjects at work and was taken for a ride in her carriage, depicted by the dancers themselves.  There was a contrast between the next two numbers which was shown admirably in the movements.  The first showed the exhaustion of the street cleaners, the second the imperial life in India. 

At the end of each musical, thanks were given to the children and their parents for their support, and, above all, to the teachers who prepare the children so well.  Caroline Gale and Olivia Weeks are members of the committee, headed by Jeremy Bennett and Jo May, who all give their time voluntarily and without whom the Farnham Festival would not take place.  Writing as someone who took part in 1965, I know that singing in the Festival is an experience you never forget.  I hope the children – over 360 of them - who took part today will treasure the memory.

Written and submitted by Jill Chapple Top

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (am) Saturday (pm)

One of the highlights of this year’s Farnham Festival was undoubtedly the first performance of a major new choral work written especially for the Farnham Youth Choir by Jonathan Dove and commissioned by ex-Choir parent, Andreas Klatt.

Jonathan Dove is recognised as one the UK’s top up-and-coming composers and is perhaps best known for his airport-comedy, Flight. His sensitivity to words was certainly evident in the new piece, It sounded as if the Streets were running, a setting of three Emily Dickinson poems, performed with rare insight and mature conviction by the Choir under their director, David Victor Smith.

Right from the start, the ‘running’ imagery was perfectly communicated, with the complex cross rhythms passed seemingly effortlessly across the choir – only seemingly of course, as this can only come from a huge amount of dedicated and skilled preparation. The second poem in particular, I saw no way, showed the choir at its best, with a beautifully sustained line and perfect balance between the many parts in the crunchy yet beguiling harmonies – not surprisingly, this brought a spontaneous round of applause from the audience.

Jonathan Dove himself, who had heard the choir some years before, “and so wrote the piece with FYC’s renowned musicality very much front of mind,” was delighted with the performance. “The Choir had all the energy I was looking for and combined quality of sound with the power to communicate Dickinson’s evocative word painting. FYC is truly a Rolls Royce choir!”

All the usual (and again too easily taken for granted perhaps) qualities of perfect diction, rhythmic bite and shading and dynamics were also much in evidence in the rest of the varied programme, which included of one of Michael Neaum’s best folksong settings, Dance to your Daddy, the evergreen Pastime with good company, Bob Chilcott’s evocative The Lily and the Rose and The Way we were, by Marvin Hamlish.

The concert started in totally different style with the Alton College Jazz Band, directed in irrepressible style as ever by Martin Read. Performing the complete five-part set for the first time without music showed how completely these highly accomplished young musicians had got a range of differing jazz styles under their fingers and under their skin. Upbeat numbers by Courtney Pine and Charlie Mingus contrasted with the more chilled and mellow Noodlin’ by Nikki Iles and Alton party piece, Benny Golson’s Killer Joe. And the band finished in fine style, led by singer Danny Pereira giving us a punchy, driving performance of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Great fun.

The Surrey County Youth Wind Band, directed by Hugh Craig, yielded nothing to the earlier performers in terms of virtuosity and musicianship, and began with a confident performance of Richard Rodney Bennett’s Farnham Festival Overture, a Festival commission first performed some 42 years ago.

In Ronde for Isolde, a theme and variations by David Bedford, the composer typically ‘throws the kitchen sink’ at the orchestral writing, which gave every section the chance to shine. Gustav Holst’s 1st Suite for Wind Band also showed the soloists and the band as a whole off to full advantage, with sensitive individual performances contrasting with powerful ensemble playing.

After a beautifully paced performance of the appropriately named Sleep by Eric Whitacre, a young American composer of highly approachable choral and wind band music who ought to be better known here, the Surrey band finished with Strauss’s foot-tapping and hand-clapping Radetzky March, encored with obliggato balloon!

Overall, the three ensembles encapsulated all of what the Farnham Festival is about. As Cerian Morgan of Farnham Youth Choir put it after the Jonathan Dove premiere, “it’s hard work learning complex new works, but you get a terrific feeling when it goes right in performance!”

Like all the 1,200 young musicians throughout the week, the effort in rehearsal had paid off handsomely in performances which were enthusiastic and committed. The performers obviously enjoyed themselves and this was directly transmitted to the audience. Little wonder that, over its near half century of existence, more than 160 composers have been keen to join the impressive roll-call of those creating “new music for young people” in Farnham.

Written and submitted by Graham Noakes. Top