Scotch College

A few hints of Ireland signal the end of an era

At the Foundation Day Concert, a sprinkling of Irish tunes marks the end of the Donaldson era.

Words: JOHN FERGUSON • DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

The Foundation Day Concert ended in fine style this year with a performance of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It was a mighty rendition, with professional soloists, the Symphony Orchestra and the combined singing of the Years 10, 11 and 12 students making for an unforgettable finale.

It would be fair to say that getting the boys to sing in German had its challenges, but the result was some of the best Foundation Day singing in years. Catherine Northey, Lynlee Williams, Peter Mander and Manfred Pohlenz were our professional soloists. None are strangers to Scotch, having sung for various ScotchArts concerts, and Catherine and Peter are staff members.

The concert opened with the national anthem, sung by the Cardinals using Human Nature’s version, with Catherine Northey singing the second verse with the orchestra, and everyone uniting for the reprise of the first verse – with David Stanhope’s superb orchestration (written for the Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony).

There were some wonderful moments in the concert. Thomas Gin gave a stunning account of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, a performance that contained drama and sensitivity, and he was neatly accompanied by the orchestra. Carl Nielsen’s ‘Little Suite’ was beautifully played by the Academy Strings under James deRozario’s excellent direction.

The Symphonic Wind played with great style and vigour, its performance of ‘Rising Dragons’ by W R Smith being particularly memorable. The Military Band, still on a high following its tour of England, looked and sounded terrific, and the Show Band, under the magic direction of Daryl McKenzie, sounded fabulous – soloists Nick Johns, Hughie Marshall and David Dower all acquitting themselves with aplomb.

Singing is one of the major traditions associated with the Foundation Day Concert, and while the massed singing rehearsals are now undertaken in a much shorter period than in days of yore, the unaccompanied performance, in harmony, of the African song ‘Siyahamba’ was very special. The boys themselves particularly enjoyed performing Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. The College Choir, 140 auditioned voices, delighted the audience with Rutter’s arrangement of ‘When the Saints’ and ‘Take my Hand’ by Thomas Dorsey, conducted by Choral Director, Andrew Hunter.

This concert was very special, as it was the farewell concert for Ross Campbell who has directed and taught our pipes for over 30 years. The Pipes and Drums did Ross proud, with excellent, precise playing. It was also the last Foundation Day for the Head of Year 12, Neil Cracknell, and a memorable night for him.

Of course, this was also the final Foundation Day for Dr and Mrs Donaldson, a fact that did not escape the Music School community. As a consequence, there were a few drops of Ireland sprinkled through the concert. The orchestra played Arnold’s ‘Irish Dances’, the Chamber Choir sang two traditional Irish songs, ‘Star of County Down’, with superb solos from Nathan Su, Christopher Baker and Timothy Daly, and ‘The Rose of Tralee’ arranged by Nicholas Buc and sensitively conducted by Andrew Hunter.

I gave my own tribute to the incredible support that music has received from Gordon and Joyce, and conducted the orchestra in a performance of Ireland’s most famous tune of all, ‘Londonderry Air’, arranged by an Australian who once lived in Hawthorn – Percy Grainger.

However, as our Principal has often said ‘We’re here for the boys’, and, as I put down the baton at the end of the concert, I harboured the hope that the boys will always remember the night they sang Beethoven’s Ninth! GS