Welcome to

St John’s College Gala Concert

Tuesday 15 September 2015, 7.30pm

Cathedral Choir A selection of anthems and motets

Oboe Soloist Morgan Foley, alumnus of St John’s College, now studying Physics at Cambridge University (Trinity College).

accompanied by Pavlina Radoslavova

Sarabande by Gabriel Grovlez

Concert Orchestra

Overture from Orchestral Suite No. 4 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Solo Treble Dylan Oshneoi (R13)

Accompanied by Dominic Neville

Die Nacht by Richard Strauss

Concert Orchestra Salut D’Amour by Edward Elgar

Our Choristers singing at St Paul’s Cathedral, London

Aus dem Walde tritt die Nacht,Aus den Bäumen schleicht sie leise,Schaut sich um im weitem Kreise,Nun gib acht.

Alle Lichter dieser Welt,Alle Blumen, alle FarbenLöscht sie aus und stiehlt die GarbenWeg vom Feld.

Alles nimmt sie, was nur hold,Nimmt das Silber weg des Stroms,Nimmt vom Kupferdach des DomsWeg das Gold.

Ausgeplündert steht der Strauch,Rücke näher, Seel an Seele;O die Nacht, mir bangt, sie stehleDich mir auch.

Our Choristers singing at Westminster Abbey

Translation: Night steps out of the woods,And sneaks softly out of the trees,Looks about in a wide circle,Now beware.

All the lights of this earth,All flowers, all coloursIt extinguishes, and steals the sheavesFrom the field.

It takes everything that is dear,Takes the silver from the stream,Takes away, from the cathedral's copper roof, The gold.

The shrubs stand plundered,Draw nearer, soul to soul;Oh, I fear the night will also stealYou from me.

Solo Pianist Menglin Li (R13) Piano Concerto No. 20 K466 Romanze by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Solo Clarinettist Matthew Barbato (A-levels 2015) Homage à Da Falla by Béla Kovács

Concert Orchestra Sinfonia and Finale from Pulcinella Suite by Igor Stravinsky

Interval

Cathedral Choir A selection of anthems and motets including Lay a Garland by Robert Pearsall

Solo Pianist Jacky Ng (U6) Prelude No. 5 in G minor Opus 23 by Sergei Rachmaninov

Concert Orchestra First Movement of Symphony No. 4, “Italian”, by Felix Mendelssohn

Solo Cellist Robert Field (R16) Vocalise by Sergei Rachmaninov accompanied by Pavlina Radoslavova

Concert Orchestra Fourth Movement of Symphony No. 6, Pathétique by Piotr Tchaikovsky

Chamber Ensemble String Fantasy composed in August 2015 by Jerry Zhuo, former pupil of St John’s College, now at LSE. Nicky Ng (R14), Rebecca Daniels (U6), Miss French (SJC staff), Robert Field (R16), Hannah Grimley (visiting player)

Concert Orchestra & Solo Pianist Ashleigh Patrick (U6) First Movement of the Piano Concerto in A Minor by Edvard Grieg

Our GCSE and Sixth Form Choral Scholars received standing ovations for their performances in Madrid

More than 100 pupils from the archdiocese at the Music Outreach Day led by the Cathedral Choir

SJC Concert Orchestra in Bruges (Belgium)

Gilbert & Sullivan HMS Pinafore at St John’s College

Members of the SJC Brass ensemble in Oxford

SJC Concert Orchestra at Christ Church Cathedral

Concert Orchestra Conductor: Mrs Diana Neville.

Leader: Karthik Kumar; Violin: Ji-Eun Kang, Ella Evans, Christina Logan, Nadiyah Hancock, Menglin Li, Leon Shen, Jasmine Son, Nicky Ng, Mayling Cheng, Pooja Kondath, Alif Aziz, Edward Williams, Lily Morris, Rachel Evans, Selina Aziz, Hee-Chan Kang, Jacky Ng, Rebecca Daniels, Merna Shafik, Namitha Michael, Miss Sheehan, Miss Marshall (SJC staff);Viola: Ashleigh Patrick, Dominie Patel, Miss French (SJC staff)’Cello: Olivia Prosser, Stephanie Monti, Harini Somasekar, Aditya Joshi, Robert Field, Robbie Griffith; Feyi Ajayi, Martha Sanders, Mr Patterson (SJC staff); Double bass: Jerry Zhuo, Hannah Grimley (visiting player).Flute: Kezia Harris, Jennifer Hodge, Mehak Sakhuja, Bethan Thomas, Faye Courtney, Akua Obuobie, Daniela Mizzen, Aimee Howell, Miss Moseley (visiting player);Oboe: Benedict Dimond, Morgan Foley;Clarinet: Annalisa Albuquerque, Richard Discombe-Short, Marco Aldridge, David Griffith, Olivia Evans, Matthew Barbato, Natasha Aziz, Miss Tanner (SJC staff); Bassoon: Ross Lisney-Wilson; Trumpet: Natalie Lloyd-Gale; Cornet: Joseph Morris; Dr Howells (SJC staff); Horn: Joseph Shaw, Miss Davies (visiting player); Trombone: Ben Andrews, Michael Lingham, Mrs Howman (SJC staff);Timpani: Andee Liu.

Cathedral Choristers

Trebles: Thomas Cheung, Pablo Luengo-Martinez-Sainz, Frank Mitchell, Aryan Sakhuja, Anish Choudhury, Adi Bhat, Jacob Prosser, Oliver Spear, Vlad Tucker, Jack Aldridge, Aviral Batra, Christian John, Dominic Omidvar, Dylan Oshnoei, Daniel Power, Jacob Vincent,  Aidan Balaratnam, Finn Mitchell, Joseff Morris.

Sopranos: Sofia Aldridge, Hiya Ray, Ansha Khurana, Isabelle O'Sullivan, Srinetra Banerjee, Lily Downie, Namitha Pasunuru, Ella Searle, Madeline Constable, Catrin Dimond, Sophie Hale, Nadiyah Hancock, Sadie Humphries, Olivia Prosser, Eleanor South, Stephanie Monti, Isabelle Lugsdin, Niamh Field.

GCSE & A-level choral scholars: Marco Aldridge, Aron Amal Calist, Rowan Downie, Idris Kriker, Benedict Dimond, Robert Field, Dylan Rees, Sam Rees. Purva Chandratreya, Emily Harris, Morgan Gould, Andrea Mizzen, Gabrielle O'Sullivan, Faye Courtney, Ashleigh Patrick, Georgia Barry, Eleanor Dimond, Aimee Howell, Daniela Mizzen, Matthew Barbato, Abhinaba Guha, Ross Lisney-Wilson. Adult singers: Mr James Neville, Mr Francis Taylor, Mr Rhys Batt, Mr Seumas Begg, Mr Andrew Henley, Mr Nick Cooper, Mr Matthew Leach.

Thank you for joining us at this evening’s concert. The Concert Orchestra is conducted by Diana Neville and during the course of the last twenty five years, the orchestra has transformed in to a 65-piece ensemble that now performs repertoire such as movements from Beethoven Emperor Concerto and the Fifth Symphony, Tchaikovsky Pathétique, the Mozart Bassoon Concerto, and Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto in venues such as St David’s Hall, the Dora Stoutzker Concert Hall at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and at Christ Church Cathedral Oxford. The training our younger pupils receive in the Training Orchestra directed by Mrs Mandy McMahon and her colleagues provides excellent foundations for our pupils’ musical development. Chamber music also continues to flourish, with works such as Bach Brandenburg Concerto Number Five, and we are delighted to be performing tonight a composition from an alumnus of the Concert Orchestra, Jerry Zhuo.  

SJC Concert Orchestra at Sint Walburgakerk, Bruges

The Concert Orchestra has performed on several occasions in Belgium, at the major churches of Bruges and at Ghent Cathedral where it performed movements from Haydn Nelson Mass with the Metropolitan Cathedral Choir and repertoire including Stravinsky Firebird.  Last year the Concert Orchestra gave its first performance on television on S4C. In 2011, the orchestra led the Archdiocesan Festival of Music at St David's Hall, with over 180 musicians from schools across the Archdiocese, and this year hosted its first collaboration workshop at St John’s College with schools from across South Wales.  We are hosting another musical collaboration this term and if you know of a boy or girl who would like to join us for an afternoon of choral and orchestral performing on Thursday 22 October (2pm - 4.30pm) at St John’s College, please email Dominic Neville via choirschoolsjc@gmail.com.

Last year we said goodbye to an outstanding year group of orchestral instrumentalists and choristers who are now studying Medicine at Oxford and at King’s College London, Engineering at Imperial College London, History and Politics at Durham, Physics at Trinity College Cambridge, Law at the London School of Economics, Modern Languages at Queen Mary’s London, Optometry and Biomedical Sciences at Cardiff University, and Music at Birmingham, Bristol, and at Christ Church Oxford.

This year we say goodbye to another wonderful year group. They too have made a very significant contribution to the ethos of St John’s College.

Many of this group joined us in their infant and junior years, and have always been loyal members of the school’s sports teams and extracurricular pursuits, and have achieved success across the board, in Formula One in Schools, Enterprise, the Debating Society, and productions of Gilbert and Sullivan Trial by Jury and HMS Pinafore. The year group as a whole has gone on to achieve outstanding academic success.

During their years in the choir and orchestra, they performed in cathedrals in the Netherlands and in Belgium, Notre Dame Cathedral and The Madeleine in Paris, St Paul’s Cathedral London, Christ Church Oxford, Bath Abbey, the Chapels of Magdalen and Queen’s College Oxford, Westminster Abbey, and at El Escorial and Madrid Cathedral in Spain, and they performed repertoire including Handel Messiah, Bach St John Passion, and Monteverdi Vespers with period ensemble at St David’s Hall. Many of this group sang in the Christmas Special of BBC Doctor Who, in a major Hollywood feature film, and performed frequently on BBC Radio 4 before an audience of 1.8 million. Other highlights of their time with the choir and orchestra include performances with international ensembles such as BBC National Orchestra of Wales, The Tallis Scholars in the forty part motet, Spem in alium, the Philadelphia Boys Choir (USA), and the Chamber Strings of Melbourne (Australia). We are very proud of all their progress and achievements, and we wish all our students every success as they embark upon their university courses this month:

The Archdiocesan Festival of Music led by St John’s College at St David’s Hall

Our choristers singing at Westminster Abbey in 2015

Our choristers singing at the magnificent basilica of El Escorial in Spain in 2014

Our choristers, guests of King’s College Choir in Cambridge in 2009

Matthew Barbato Cathedral Choir and Concert Orchestra clarinettist: Law at Bristol University

Eleanor Dimond Cathedral Choir and Concert Orchestra harpist: History of Art at the University of St Andrews

Abhinaba Guha Cathedral Choir and Concert Orchestra percussionist: Economics at King’s College, Cambridge

Aimee Howell Cathedral Choir & Concert Orchestra flautist: Economic History at LSE

Ross Lisney Wilson Cathedral Choir & Concert Orchestra bassoonist: Ross is applying to become an Officer in the RAF

Daniela Mizzen Cathedral Choir & Concert Orchestra flautist: History at Warwick University

Hannah Son Cathedral Choir and Concert Orchestra violinist: Dentistry at King’s College, London

Natasha Sturrock Cathedral Choir and Concert Orchestra violinist: Architecture at Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Feyi Ajayi Concert Orchestra cellist: Medicine at the University of Liverpool

Natasha Aziz Concert Orchestra clarinetist: Medicine at the University of Liverpool

Sian Jenkins Concert Orchestra viola player: French and Politics at Nottingham University

Andee Liu Concert Orchestra timpanist: Music at Bristol University

Natalie Lloyd Gale Concert Orchestra trumpeter: Medicine at Queen Mary's University London

Namitha Michael Cathedral Choir & Concert Orchestra violinist: applying for Medicine during her gap year

Martha Sanders Concert Orchestra cellist: English Literature at the University of Birmingham Karthik Kumar Concert Orchestra Leader: Medicine at Queens’ College Cambridge

We are very pleased to welcome back St John’s College alumni Jerry Zhuo, Karthik Kumar, and Morgan Foley for this evening's performance.  Jerry is about to embark upon a Masters at the London School of Economics alongside further studies in music: his most recent symphonic works have been performed at Xiamen City Council and Gulang Music Hall in China, and we are very pleased to give the première of his String Fantasy this evening. Karthik Kumar has been Leader of the Concert Orchestra since Sixth Form, and will be beginning his degree in Medicine at Queens‘ College Cambridge later this month. Karthik continues to achieve success in a range of pursuits, notably in mathematics competitions and as a finalist in the English Speaking Union Debating Competition, and his starring performances in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore and Trial by Jury. Morgan Foley is studying Physics at Cambridge University (Trinity College) and has been awarded a special prize from the WJEC for achieving the very highest mark in A-level Further Mathematics: he achieved 600 / 600 in Mathematics and Further Mathematics. Morgan is an oboist for Cambridge University Opera Society, Trinity College Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.

Our choristers singing at the basilica of El Escorial, on the outskirts of Madrid SJC Concert Orchestra performing Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto at Christ Church Cathedral Oxford

The Choristers of Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral Choir sing the weekly cathedral services, alongside an exciting programme of concerts, broadcasts and tours. Dr David Neville, the first appointed Head of St John’s College, has been Cathedral Organist since 1981, and the choir is directed by Dominic Neville and James Neville, who received their musical training as choristers of the Metropolitan Cathedral and pupils of St John’s College before taking up a Choral Scholarships at King’s College Cambridge, and James also at Magdalen College Oxford. The Choir will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship from the Metropolitan Cathedral on 10 January, and we would be delighted to see you at our forthcoming concerts:

• Tuesday 1 December 2015 at 1.00pm: Christmas Carol Concert at St David’s Hall.

• Tuesday 15 March 2016 at 1.00pm: Easter Concert including Lenten motets and anthems for Easter, Bach Cantata BWV 4 Christ lag in Todesbanden and Mozart’s beautiful Missa Brevis in G (K140) at St David’s Hall. Tickets available from the Box Office 029 20 878 444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk

•Wednesday 27 April 2016 at 7pm: Spring Concert at St John’s College CF3 5YX given by the school’s choirs, ensembles and soloists. Admission free.

•Wednesday 6 - Friday 8 July 2016 at 7pm: The Sound of Music at St John’s College.Tickets will be in short supply, so please call 029 20 778 936 in the Spring to book tickets in advance.

Sixth Form Open Evening: Monday 28 September, 5.30pm - 6.45pm

www.stjohnscollegecardiff.com

St John’s College, Cardiff A leading independent day school for boys & girls aged 3-18

The Best A Level Record in Wales over 16 Years

Please contact the Admissions Tutor to book your place:Tel: 02920 778936

Email: admin@stjohnscollegecardiff.co.uk

Sixth Form Open Evening Monday 28 September 2015, 5.30-6.45pm

Top Academic School in Wales in The Sunday Times ‘Parent Power’ 2014-15

St John’s College has been listed as the top school for A-level results in Wales

for the 15th successive year, and has been listed as the top performing school

in Wales in The Sunday Times’s most recent “Parent Power”, and we invite

you to join us at St John’s College on Monday 28 September, 5.30pm -

6.45pm to hear more about life in the Sixth Form at St John’s College.

Details of the school’s outstanding

inspection report are available from the ESTYN website and from

www.stjohnscollegecardiff.com.