We were delighted to welcome esteemed flautist and composer Ian Clarke to Bedford School on Thursday 18 March to work with our Prep School Woodwind players. Throughout the day, he worked both with boys who already play instruments and those who do not (yet).
The boys enjoyed lots of opportunities to hear Ian perform a multitude of different instruments, including the fife and recorder, and listen to his own flute compositions, which are not what one expects to hear from a flute! One of his best-known compositions is The Great Train Race, in which he emulates all the sounds associated with a steam train, from the chugging wheels on the tracks speeding up and slowing down to the whistle as the train pulls into the station.
In a highly inspirational session, boys learned how to start composing their own music. They began by inventing, then developing melodies and recording them on their phones, before layering up accompaniments to their creations and discovering that there is a composer inside all of us!
The day’s final session was a real treat for our Prep Orchestra. They improvised and devised music as an ensemble and heard Ian perform another one of his exciting Bobby McFerrin inspired compositions Zoom Tube.
The school has been so fortunate to have Ian as their Woodwind Fellow, and we thank him for the way in which he has inspired the boys in both Upper and Prep Schools. Watch this space to find out who the Woodwind Fellow will be for 2022-23!
Earlier in the week, our Prep School string quartet benefited from working with another of our brilliant Music Fellows. Violist, Gareth Lubbe, who is our visiting Strings Fellow, listened to the chamber group play, and then gave them some helpful performance tips both individually and as a group, which they put to brilliant use during Wednesday’s Chamber Concert.
During his visit, Mr Lubbe also impressed the boys with an overtone singing workshop. The workshop was open to everyone and attracted singers and instrumentalists alike. Mr Lubbe began by explaining that sound works on a spectrum very much like white light through a prism and that overtones are already present everywhere, so the art of overtone singing is all about listening for and recognising your own overtones and drawing them out. You can listen to an excerpt of his extraordinary performance on the school’s Music Facebook page here.
