HUNDREDS of people packed into Ely Cathedral for King’s Ely’s eagerly-anticipated Music Festival Final.
A total of 130 students with a love of music and singing battled it out in a series of fiercely-contested heats held in school over a two-week period. The entries were then whittled down to Intermediate Finalists and Senior Finalists, all of whom starred in the spine-tingling final in the splendour of the cathedral’s South Transept on Thursday, February 9th.
Sarah Bluck, 16, was crowned Intermediate Singer and Intermediate Instrumentalist went to Victoria Davis, 14, who went on to win King’s Ely’s Intermediate Young Musician of the Year. Edward Birchinall, 17, won the Senior Singer category and Senior Instrumentalist went to Carlotta Rosenthal, 15, who was then crowned King’s Ely’s Senior Young Musician of the Year.
Charlotte Wilkinson, 15, won the Monica Hunter Cup for Piano and Charlie Gale, 17, was Highly Commended on the night. The Monica Hunter Cup was donated by Monica Hunter, a former piano teacher at the school.
Director of Music at King’s Ely Senior, Jonathan Kingston, commented: “A capacity audience of pupils, staff, parents and friends enjoyed a wonderfully eclectic Music Festival Final. As the Orchestra’s Radetzky March reverberated around the unparalleled backdrop of the cathedral, Intermediate and Senior Finalists gathered their thoughts before taking to the stage to perform their solos. There was outstanding work by all and a wonderful partnership demonstrated between our pupil and professional musicians, all striving for the highest standards and also for the magic that is collaboration – in this case with the aim of making musical performances, so many of them setting the bar at Grade 8 or above, the best they can be. I am immensely proud of everyone involved who had invested so much time into honing their talents for this vintage event.”
The adjudicator for the night was Stuart Miles, former Deputy Headmaster and Director of Music at The John Lyon School in Harrow.