Wandsworth's young musicians sell out Albert Hall

Music students from schools across Wandsworth performed to a full house at the Royal Albert Hall at the Wandsworth Schools’ Music Service Annual Concert.

The seventh Brighter Sound concert featured the largest number of Wandsworth children yet, with 1,120 instrumentalists and singers at both primary and secondary levels taking to the world-famous stage. Amongst the audience were local dignitaries, including Wandsworth mayor Stuart Thom, as well as a mixture of friends, family and music-lovers.

The evening’s programme had something for everyone, with pieces ranging from Handel’s coronation anthem Zadok the Priest to a Blues Brothers medley.

Among the many groups who performed, the elite musicians of the Wandsworth Pops Orchestra and the Wandsworth Junior Orchestra (making its Brighter Sounds debut) particularly stood out.

The council’s cabinet member for children and schools, Kathy Tracey, expressed her delight at the concert’s success. She said: “In Wandsworth we are very proud of our Schools’ Music Service and I continue to be amazed by just how much our students achieve. We aim to inspire our young people, give them a lifelong love of music and, through concerts like this, share our vision with others.”

The Wandsworth Schools’ Music Service is an organisation dedicated to helping budding musical talent in the area get the training and support necessary to achieve great things.

In addition to the first-class venue, the young people also received excellent support as they prepared for the concert. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment ran a series of sessions with Linden Lodge School, which culminated in the performance of the students’ own composition, Come Dine with Me.

The Wandsworth-based National Opera Studio also worked with the two secondary school choirs to ensure that they were note-perfect for the big day.
Many of the groups also gave massed performances that combined orchestras and choirs, hinting at a future of large-scale collaborations and people across the borough coming together to celebrate great music.

Published 20th March, 2015

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