Young musicians travel through time

Published by Oakham School on Thursday 16th of October 2014

Over 200 singers and string players from schools across the country took part in an exciting 'Travelling Through Time' Music Day at Oakham School.

Talented young musicians from a range of schools all enjoyed the chance to make music together under the direction of Oakham's Music teachers.

'This is always an incredibly popular event,' says Director of Music Peter Davis. 'And this year it truly was a feast of music-making that literally saw pupils 'travel through time' to experience music from across the ages.' The String players enjoyed a unique opportunity to play a new work especially commissioned from Old Oakhamian composer, Danny Saleeb. Under the energetic direction of Head of Strings Martin Cropper, The Adventures of Greensleeves took the string players on an exciting ride through history as the folk-song Greensleeves was transformed in a multitude of different musical styles.

The singers experienced a different time-travelling journey under the leadership of Director of Music Peter Davis, encompassing music by Henry VII and a work commemorating the centenary of World War 1. The children particularly enjoyed three modern nonsense songs with music by Nicholas Maw, which were given a vigorous performance in the final concert at the end of the day.

The day culminated in an exhilarating concert for parents, which showcased all the hard work the pupils had put in during the day. It was entirely fitting that such an inspirational day of music-making ended with a performance of Peter Davis' new arrangement of the contemporary ballad You raise me up. The sound of well over 200 singers and string players in this moving musical finale will live long in the memory of all who took part.