Electro 5 let rip in the Royal Albert Hall

Published on isbi School News dated Monday 15th of October 2012

Six young musicians, comprising the Electro 5 Percussion Ensemble from St Benedict's School Ealing, had a day they will never forget, performing in front of 7,500 young Londoners on Wednesday 10th October at the Royal Albert Hall. They were first on the stage in the London Primary Prom organised by national music education charity Music for Youth.
The Royal Albert Hall is the world's most famous stage and its breathtaking auditorium hosts over 370 shows a year by the world's greatest artists. Onto such a stage stepped Evan Hobson (electronic drums), Alex Holmes, Arthur Aitken and James Ayson-Parrish (electronic xylophone) and Ollie Walsh (synthesiser). Evan was recovering from a broken leg so Adam Pietrzycki stood in for him on the bass drum. If they were nervous it certainly didn't show. After calmly and professionally doing their sound check and then powering up their PA, in the words of Music teacher Ben Gale, 'they just let rip. The sound was awesome you needed earplugs really!'
The group played 'Popcorn' followed by 'Axel-F' and their performance received a fantastic reception. Afterwards, Ollie Walsh and Arthur Aitken were interviewed by ITV for the evening news programme.
Ollie Walsh: 'It's amazing to think that we are only eleven and we are already performing in the Royal Albert hall. It's pretty cool!'
Arthur Aitken: 'It's my first time here and it's such a nice way to just come here and play. And the roar when you come outside literally blows you away.'
Ben Gale has been at the forefront of developing percussion at St Benedict's and his earlier work with the Krupa Percussion Ensemble (for older pupils) and now the Electro Ensemble is paying handsome dividends. He was understandably delighted with the group's performance: 'This was the real thing! We had previously performed at major venues but never in front of an audience anywhere near this size. The boys gave it everything and, on the day, performed marvellously well.'