If you are a lover of the arts, or even if you are not, the last 10 days in school have seen some incredible displays of talent, creativity and enjoyment from our boys as they showcased their inspirational work in our annual Creative Arts Festival.
The Bedford School Jazz Orchestra
This year’s festival launched on Thursday 29 June with true class when our Quarry Theatre was transformed into an atmospheric jazz club for the night, providing the perfect setting for the audience to sit back and relax to the stunning sound of the Bedford School Jazz Orchestra.
Read: Bedford School Jazz Club for One Night Only
Students’ End of Year Art Exhibition
This was followed by a stunning exhibition of art coursework by Upper Sixth and Fifth Form boys, who have been working hard for months on their GCSE, A-Level and IB pieces. Seeing the boys’ imagination, ideas and thoughts depicted in the form of paintings, drawings and sculptures was awe-inspiring.
The range of work on display certainly posed a challenge for the Head Master when selecting this year’s Head Master’s Art prize, for the work that most catches his eye. After careful deliberation, Upper Sixth Former Connor Hawthorne and his exciting range of prints came out on top, while Upper Sixth Former Tom Godber was voted ‘Best in Show’ for his striking exam print of birds by all those who came to visit.
As part of the festival, the entire Remove Form were treated to an excellent lecture by our resident Art History teacher, Caroline Bacon, who addressed the question ‘The Mona Lisa- why is it the most famous painting in the world?’. Covering the painting of the picture itself by Leonardo Da Vinci to who has owned it since (Napoleon was one) to its theft from the Louvre in 1911, this was an engrossing and enlightening talk which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.
While the exam marking process takes place, we are unable to share any images with you now, but do look out for these over the summer.
Keynote Speech – Robert Sloane
Next up was our keynote speech, this year delivered by the digital pioneer and innovator Robert Sloan, Creative Innovations Manager at the Walt Disney Company. Robert spoke to the boys in a lovely, down-to-earth manner about how to emotionally engage an audience using the latest immersive technology including AR, VR, interactive video and live e-commerce. He explained how he came to land such a role (which he absolutely loves) and how drama and his love of theatre (Robert is also a Theatre Director in his spare time) have played a part in his impressive career.
One of the most important pieces of advice that Robert gave the boys was, “Be a team player and a nice person to work with. Listen and conspire with your colleagues – no one can work in a silo.”
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
In the lead-up to the Creative Arts Festival, drama boys across the school had been studying the fascinating work of German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht as part of their extra-curricular sessions.
Read: Drama Society Host Brecht Lecture
This lecture, by Professor David Bennett, one of the country’s leading academics on Brecht’s theories, discussed the legal and moral questions presented within his play ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ as well as the effect they may have on an audience. This was one of the ways in which the boys prepared ahead of their performance this week.
Not an easy play to perform, the boys were exceptional on the night. One of the audience members said after the show:
“That was awesome! All involved should be proud, shame it was only one night. The acting was so good, so hats off to the boys. Direction good too and tech was good – well done, all!”
Summer Chapel Choir and Orchestral Concert
On Thursday evening, the festival drew to its climactic close, with the Summer Chapel Choir and Orchestral Concert. The concert began in the Chapel, where the Chapel Choir opened with Handel’s ever-rousing Zadok the Priest, one of his four coronation anthems originally penned for King George II’s coronation in 1727 and used in every coronation since.
They sang a varied repertoire, including works by Rutter, Howells and Elgar, and made a magnificent sound. The Consort Choir, a mixed voice chamber choir with girls from Bedford Girls’ School, sang Eric Whitacre’s Seal Lullaby beautifully, followed by an a cappella arrangement of Billy Joel’s And So It Goes. After the interval, the feast of music continued in the Great Hall, when the Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Ouse and the Symphony Orchestra took their turns on the stage.
Director of Music Joss Sanders paid tribute to this year’s cohort of Upper Sixth Formers who had made such an important contribution to music-making during their time at the school, and for whom this was their very last concert with the school.
Special mention must go to Upper Sixth Formers Gideon Chan, who played the solo, with the Chamber Orchestra, in von Dittersdorf’s Concerto for Double Bass, and Daniel Hutchins, who played Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto with the Symphony Orchestra. The evening drew to an exciting finale with the Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Suite No. 2 from the ballet Spartacus, by Khachaturian, a fast-paced, high-volume ‘Entrance of Merchants’, which whisked the audience home on a lively crescendo, drawing this year’s Creative Arts Festival to a dramatic close.
Of course, our Creative Arts Festival would not be possible without the unwavering effort, support and organisation from our wonderful arts directors.
This is what they told us after the final event:
“The school has been buzzing with activity over the last couple of weeks, and nowhere more so than in the Creative Arts. Last night’s end of term summer concert, which brought the festival to a close, was a triumph, and contained performances from close to 100 boys, including the Chapel Choir, Consort Choir, Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the Ouse and the Symphony Orchestra. It was great to be able to feature two of our leading Upper Sixth musicians, Gideon Chan (double bass) and Daniel Hutchins (trumpet), who both played concerto movements in the concert. There was a highly entertaining Jazz Evening in the Quarry Theatre which opened the festival, and the whole of the Fourth Form were able to hear the Jazz Orchestra perform live in the lead-up to the evening performance. I’m so encouraged to see so many boys interacting with and taking part in the Creative Arts at Bedford School.”
“The major contribution to the festival from the Art department is the Student End of Year Exhibition, which is a true celebration of the achievements of the boys GCSE, IB and A-Level work. Attendance by parents, boys and staff at the opening was excellent, and it was great to see so many teachers so keen to have examples of work to display in their classrooms around the school.”