Upper Sixth Former and President of the School Music Society, Silas Sanders, galvanised pupils and staff to perform in a music concert to raise awareness of the daily battles people have with loneliness and isolation – and raised £273.78 for Autism Bedfordshire in the process.
The idea behind Silas’ ‘Out of Isolation’ concert was to show how music can, and does, bring lonely people out of their isolated world and into the community. Silas was delighted with the performances on the night and told us, “I thought the topic was excellently portrayed by the boys and staff on the night.” 
Silas chose to raise money for the charity Autism Bedfordshire because of its links with his own personal experience of loneliness. During the concert, Silas shared, for the first time, his own experiences of Asperger’s Syndrome (on the Autism spectrum) and the social anxiety and loneliness he has experienced because of it.
The programme was selected to have ties into the theme of loneliness and isolation with pieces varying from Lennon-McCartney’s ‘Eleanor Rigby’ to a performance of Couperin’s ‘Les Barricades mystérieuses’ on harpsichord to an original composition by our very own Flik Feng: ‘Loner’. Ensembles included the chamber orchestra, brass quintet, consort choir and then a number of accompanied and unaccompanied numbers.
The concert was very well-attended and a poignant and passionate audience reception was evident through the large figure raised. Some members of the audience fought off tears during moving performances.
Silas said, “I am so grateful for the support of the other boys and staff who performed and I believe we created a truly moving, impactful evening.”