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Concordia Winter 2024

Left: Company Concert

Philharmonic Hall Liverpool, 2016 the boys of St John’s Prep Below: Joan Stubbs conducting the choir at the Triennial Service, 2024

time, for the first half, schools were arranged in hubs, according to location, and as such worked together on a group performance. MTS Northwood was linked with St Helen’s Northwood and St Saviour’s and St Olave’s, Southwark. Simon Couldridge set Siegfried Sassoon’s poem Everyone Sang for three choirs, two brass quintets, organ and percussion. Each school rehearsed their parts separately and performed it after just a handful of rehearsals in the 36 hours before the concert; it was a triumph, and again showed the commitment of the young people in bringing the diverse parts together to create a coherent whole. The most recent large-scale event was the Lord Mayor’s Show in November 2022, when Merchant Taylor Sir Nicholas Lyons was elected by the City of London as its 694th Lord Mayor. The Merchant Taylors’ Company celebrated his appointment by designing a float for the parade. Planning for this event took many months. It was not just the music that had to be chosen but things like the artwork, costumes, camels and dancing had to be worked out. Musicians from MTS, MTP, St John’s and St Saviour’s and St Olave’s were invited to take part, and there were several meetings to discuss the type of ensembles and choice of repertoire best suited for the event. Finally, it was agreed that the Dixieland Band from MTS, a joint Wind Band from MTP and St John’s and a steel band from SSSO would take part. The repertoire was rehearsed and a jacket was designed to give the musicians a clear identity. The night before the show, staff from MTS travelled to London to set up the float for the following morning. Everything had to be loaded and fitted into a very confined space — the drum kit, steel pans, music stands and chairs were arranged and then secured to the floor. On the day all the musicians met at Moor Park Station bright and early to catch the 6.20am train to the Barbican. After meeting all the other participants for breakfast at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall we made our way to the float and prepared to enjoy the sights and sounds of the day.

The Joint Concert in March 2025 will be the next large-scale event, and plans are already well advanced with the other schools. Apart from making sure we all use the same edition of the music, in the next few months we shall book the soloists, sort out the orchestra, discuss staging, ticketing and interval refreshments. Looking ahead, the Merchant Taylors’ Company will shortly celebrate its 700th anniversary — surely a cue for significant celebrations. Joan Stubbs , Assistant Director of Music

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