Taylorian

Music and Concerts

Carol Service 11th December 2022

Merchant Taylors’ Young Musician of the Year Final 25th January 2023 Following the highly competitive preliminary rounds, the final of the competition was hosted by the Prep School, and was adjudicated by the conductor, Dan Taylor, who had the unenviable task of deciding the winners. The range of music was diverse, from tabla playing to Tchaikovsky, and from J. S. Bach to Dave Brubeck. Taylors’ category winners included Iain MacMillan (Woodwind), Kabir Bhatt (Brass), Jack Barratt (Guitar) and Tomas MacMillan (Piano).

Senior Music Competition 8th February 2023

The Carol Service was the first at full scale for several years, and we were pleased to welcome back former Graduate Musician, Jacob Collins, as organist. Taylors’ Brass accompanied the congregational carols, beginning with ‘Once in Royal David’s City’, the first verse of which was sung solo by Aarnav Hastantram. The Choral Society, comprising largely parents and OMTs, performed Michael Praetorius’s ‘A Great and Mighty Wonder’, and the Choir and Chamber Choir jointly performed three carols: ‘On Christmas Night’, arranged by Philip Ledger; ‘A Maiden Most Gentle’ by Andrew Carter; and ‘Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day’ by John Gardner. The service concluded with Paul Fey’s arrangement of the Finale from Vierne’s Symphonie No. 1, which combines the popular toccata with the melody of ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing’.

Sixteen finalists competed in this year’s final and the adjudicator, Miss Rebecca Holt, had a difficult decision selecting the winners. Oscar Williams’s fluent playing of the slow movement of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto saw him win the Brass prize, while Marc Yee took the spoils in Strings after his lively rendition of two movements of Tartini’s Didone Abbandonata . Ethan Williams was deemed the best singer for his performance of ‘Empty Chairs and Empty Tables’, and Zak Rosenbaum (Percussion winner) gave a well-balanced performance of Daft Punk’s ‘Harder, Better, Faster’, Stronger. Matthew Schiff (Woodwind winner) effortlessly performed considered the best guitarist on the night, exquisitely managing the harmonics in his performance of ‘Horizons’ by Steve Hackett. Ivan Nabarro won in the Piano class, as well as scooping the Reynolds Cup as overall winner, with an emotional performance of ‘Somewhere’ from Bernstein’s West Side Story . Chamber Music Concert 22nd February 2023 The Chamber Music Concert was given a punchy start by the Percussion Ensemble’s rendition of ‘Smooth’ by Rob Thomas, before the String Trio, directed by Mr Couldridge, played a lyrical rendition of the first movement of Borodin’s String Trio. The Guitar Ensemble was wonderfully evocative in their performance of Lou Warde’s ‘Spanish Garden’, and the String Quartet was expressive and masterful. The Recorder Consort’s handling of a simple but effective piece was striking. The evening concluded with a spirited rendition of Corelli’s String Trio in D. the first movement of Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet. Ben Lakin was

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Taylorian 2023