KING’S Ely’s annual Music Festival concluded this week after two weeks of keenly contested competition.
Parents, pupils, staff and members of the public were welcomed to the splendour of Ely Cathedral, where the King’s Ely orchestra performed upon arrival, and later enjoyed a high standard of music by students from King’s Ely Senior. This year, there were 120 entries in total across 19 classes, including 49 vocal entries. That number was whittled down to seven in the intermediate final (13-15 year olds) and to seven in the senior final (16-18 year olds).
The winners (pictured), included intermediate instrumentalist, intermediate singer, senior instrumentalist and senior singer, as well as recipients of the Walser Cup and Hunter Cup. The Walser Cup, awarded to Katie Diss, was donated in memory of David Walser, a former Chaplain of the school who loved music. The Hunter Cup, donated by Monica Hunter, a former piano teacher at the school, was awarded to Tom Scott. The Senior Young Musician of the Year and the Walser Trophy was awarded to Yinni Hu.
Director of Music, Jonathan Kingston, expressed his delight at the performances from the finalists: “The Music Festival final was a truly spectacular event; some 14 stunning performances given in the splendour of Ely Cathedral from a total of 120 participants that had been through the heats and semi-final. This was a real celebration of musical creativity at King’s Ely and the school community is immensely proud of all musicians that took part.”
The adjudicator for the night was Mr Peter King, who is the Director of Music at Bath Abbey, and a well-known recitalist in Britain and abroad. Mr King also commended the performers: “I was thrilled to be invited to judge this festival. The standard of singing and playing was very high indeed and I had some extremely difficult decisions to make based upon what I had heard. Thank you for the warmth of your welcome and for some superb performances.”