News From Bowie to Fauré: A Remarkable Spring Choral Concert 13.03.2026

Our Spring Choral Concert was of a staggeringly good quality this year.

The concert began with the Junior Chamber Choir who performed Chilcott’s Two Singing Songs entirely from memory, and with real shape and lyricism. Next, the Octaves (our student-run Sixth Form a cappella group) performed Lower Sixth student Jay’s arrangement of Blackbird. This was a beautifully reflective and sensitive performance, and the arrangement was stunningly good. The Year 7 Choir followed with a moving and uplifting rendition of David Bowie’s Heroes (with a beautiful solo from Lavinia in Year 7), before the Senior Choir gave a wonderfully mature and sophisticated performance of Can’t Help Falling in Love. Finally, the Year 8 and 9 Choir gave a delightful, upbeat performance of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang medley that left every foot in the audience tapping…!

After a short interval, our Senior Chamber Choir, Junior Chamber Choir, Staff Choir and Parent Choir performed two pieces by Craig Courtney, accompanied by our Symphony Orchestra. Courtney’s Festival Gloria was filled with drama, energy and vitality; this was a compelling and exciting performance. This was followed by Courtney’s Psalm 23, which (we believe) was the UK premiere of this beautiful, lyrical composition. This was a truly uplifting and deeply expressive performance.

The concert concluded with a complete performance of Faure’s magnificent Requiem, where our choirs were accompanied by our magnificent String Ensemble (numbering 50 players!). The final two movements were also performed by our Year 7 and Year 8 and 9 Choirs, meaning that the concert concluded with approximately 250 performers on stage! Many congratulations to Amaia, Year 9, on her superb singing of her Pie Jesu, and to Mr Edward Caswell (one of our wonderful singing teachers) for his expert singing of the baritone solos in the Offertorium and Libera Me.

It felt so special to bring together so many constituents from the school community, and this felt like a very special concert indeed. Bravo to all of our performers!