Over 120 students bring their musical spirit to St Paul’s Cathedral
As many will be aware, on Sunday 7 May the Tintern Grammar Annual Cathedral Service was held in the impressive St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. Many musical items were prepared for the occasion, which both created thoughtful atmospheres or supported the proceedings of the service. The Chamber Orchestra began with an introit, La Follia (Corelli). Then the school psalm, Psalm 121 (Thwaites) was played and sung by combined choirs and orchestra. The Concert Choir performed The Power of Your Love (Bullock) and the Girls Chamber Choir presented two items, Amazing Grace, which Grace Power (Year 12) led with a stunning solo, and the blessing A Clare Benediction (Rutter). The Kelson String Quartet also accompanied the litany playing Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky (Arensky). However, the grandest piece by far was Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, sung by members of all our secondary school choirs, as well as present teachers, past teachers and alumni who came in to help out and join in the celebration. Two trumpeters Christopher Eury and Tarquin Bishop also kindly came in to join the orchestra, percussion and keyboard, playing an incredibly complicated trumpet part and further helping us to “lift the roof” (which is really quite a feat to attempt in the cathedral!) This piece was a wonderful way to bring the community together – we had a lot of fun and it was a fulfilling experience performing it in the acoustic that is St Paul’s.
A special mention goes to the music staff – Mrs Bezaire, Ms Bortolussi, Mr Kidd, Mr Veldman and Ms McKenzie, for selecting and preparing the music and all the work they put in supporting the students. A massive thankyou to everyone who put in hours of practice, planning and rehearsals to make this service very special.
by Molly Fleming, School Pianist 2017