The evening could not have been more idyllic to mark the end of what has been a hugely successful and enjoyable Creative Arts Festival for all.
As the evening sun shone down golden onto the School Chapel, part one of our Summer Choral and Orchestral Concert commenced with the heavenly sound of our Chapel Choir. Boys, parents and members of the school community were also delighted with an organ solo by our organ scholar, James Watson, and the school Consort Choir. Our Summer Concert is always a wonderful showcase of the talent and creativity of our Musicians in the Upper School, and this year was no different.
After refreshments were served in the Café Bar, part two took the audience to the Great Hall for a wide-ranging second half. With our Rock Group kicking off with the Killer’s Mr Brightside, the audience knew they were in for a treat. Our Orchestra of the Ouse played next, followed by our Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra as the setting sun streamed through the window. It was a sheer joy to all present.
What a fitting end to a superb Creative Arts Festival, here are some of the other highlights:
Macbeth
The festival opened on the stage of the Quarry Theatre with a splendid production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, directed by Lower Sixth Former Sami Hundal. Sami’s creative overview was unique and set the production in Feudal Russia. Sami explained, “Macbeth is perhaps the most universal of all the tragedies. The dark corners of the human mind that possess jealousy, lust and unhealthy ambition is what Shakespeare exposes in the play, how the acts that one takes on this road to power can cause the downfall of that very being and everything around them. Something that is just as relevant today as it has ever been.”
Jazz Evening
Bedford School’s Jazz Orchestra, New Jazz Collective and Prep Jazz Ensemble presented an evening of Jazz, Groove and Funk to an audience sat around round tables enjoying drinks and canapes as though in a real jazz club. Arriving earlier than the billed time, the audience was able to make the mostly of the stunning gardens of our Quarry Theatre, sipping summer drinks before the show. With award-winning jazz pianist and musician, Nikki Iles at the helm, who invited world class musicians to perform with the band including trumpeter Mike Lovatt, the band’s performances lifted the roof. A thoroughly uplifting evening.
Key Note Talk by Peter Brathwaite
Opera singer, broadcaster and music columnist Peter Brathwaite was our keynote speaker for this year’s festival and what an inspiration he was. After talking about his career, and how he became an opera singer, he explained how everyone’s voice is different; “distinctively their own.” He also urged the audience to be authentic to who they are and to use their voices to challenge and change perceptions.
Remote
Boys from our drama department took to the Quarry Theatre stage to perform the National connections play Remote – a play about protest, power and protecting yourself. Directed by our resident LAMDA teacher and professional actor, Mr Nick Banks, he told us, “What drew me to this piece instantly was the rawness of these teenage characters. They embodied what it was like to be a teenager: joyous, frenetic, brutal. Alongside themes of an appreciation of nature and having an awareness of one’s social interactions, it felt like an interesting project to bring to this group of boys. I hope you enjoy the show and that you get the opportunity to connect with the feelings that the youth of today sometimes experience.”
Student’s Art Exhibition
Our Art School was turned into an art gallery to showcase the stunning art pieces from our GCSE, A-Level and IB art boys. With pieces created on paper, canvas, lino and sculpture, the boys’ imagination, thoughts and ideas manifested into a wide variety of creations and made for a very interesting exhibition.
The GCSE boys worked to the theme of ‘A Sense of Place’ producing work in painting, print and sculpture. The A-Level boys chose their own themes for the coursework projects, again experimenting with a range of different processes, resulting in some incredibly ambitious work from larger-than-life sculpture to 8×8 foot paintings. We had boys exploring structure and form, human form, conflict and emotion to name just a few. The exhibition was well attended by parents and staff, and plenty of votes were cast for their favourite work in the exhibition. This year the winner was Austin Ward for his huge and imposing cardboard head sculpture.