Conservatorium High School Annual concert
Eight divertimenti, ten plague choruses and a bunch of fiercely talented Year 12 students. Put them together and you have the programme for the Annual Concert to be given by students of the Conservatorium High school this weekend.
Bernstein composed the 8 Divertimenti to commemorate the centenary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Stravinsky wrote Symphony of Psalms for its 50th anniversary celebrations). The movements are an engaging array of rhythms typical of Bernstein – samba, blues, waltz and turkey trot, and are constructed around the two notes of the diatonic scale B for Boston and C for centenary.
The Conservatorium High School Choir joins the ensemble for the 10 plague choruses from Handel’s Israel in Egypt HWV 54. The choruses tell of the 10 plagues that befell Egypt whilst Moses negotiated with Pharaoh to release the Hebrew people from slavery.
The Overture to The Gypsy Baron by Johann Strauss Jnr. and the Rondo final movement from Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.1 complete the programme.
The concert will showcase the talents of soloist Kelly Kim, winner of the school’s Year 12 Concerto Competition for 2011.
Conducting the ensembles will be the school’s recently appointed inaugural Conductor-in-Residence.
“We are delighted to welcome as the school’s inaugural Conductor-in-Residence, Carolyn Watson. Carolyn brings to the position not just a breadth of international experience remarkable for a young conductor but also a distinguished background in music education”, says Dr Robert Curry, Principal of the Conservatorium High School.
The conductor herself reports that the young musicians are working hard, things are going very well and the concert promises to be a sparkler. She says “This concert is the final concert in which our Year 12 students participate. It is a fitting tribute to the musical excellence and leadership that they have given over the years”.
