Week 1 is here!
Our orchestra beginning rehearsals
We are super excited here in Winchester, as we are kicking off the week with SIX courses!
But not before we gathered as a complete unit for the first Whole School Warm Up of the week, led by our superb choral director Tom Appleton. With our forces of 108, we made a human triangle, counted to ‘rubber chicken’ and even did some singing! All with the theme of connecting as one Ingenium family, it was a positive way start to the week.
Our lovely pastoral team was then on hand to take our students to their first sessions of the day, and with all hands on deck everyone found their sessions promptly and soon the school was full of music!
Vocalists this week are looking at the theme of "love", so with the direction of Tom Appleton delved into songs of romance, including Whitacre’s This Marriage, Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, Jessie’s Song from the family film Toy Story 2 and some beautiful and challenging music from contemporary composer Judith Weir. The repertoire gave our young musicians lots of variety to get stuck into, and were already able to have complete run-throughs of some of the pieces by the end of the day!
Vocalists led by Tom Appleton
Matthew Taylor led the orchestra for the start of an exciting week of classic orchestral repertoire, including Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture, Rossini’s Thieving Magpie Overture and Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. With such iconic pieces, the musicians knew they had to give that extra bit of commitment, but already by the end of the day there were some real moments of promise and the sound resonated beyond the four walls of the rehearsal space.
Delving into classic orchestral repertoire
Our saxophonists spent the day playing together under the direction of Dom Childs, playing through an arrangement of British Folk Songs which featured every member of the ensemble. They worked on switching between playing the melody and accompaniment within an ensemble arrangement, and also focussed on air-flow and intonation to create a unified ensemble sound.
Dom Childs mentoring our saxophones
Our piano department was straight into individual lessons with our excellent team of tutors, Simon Callaghan, Clíodna Shanahan, Richard Sisson and Hiro Takenouchi. It was instantly clear how prepared our students were and our tutors were really impressed with the levels of dedication that went into playing across the board. The students then also had time to improve the material in their own individual practice rooms and some took the opportunity to socialise over duets.
Pianists playing music together
Tim Redmond, recent appointment for Winston Salem Symphony, was here to guide our conductors once more. With and without instruments, they worked on the shape of their beatings and then got to conduct our orchestra and gain true experience behind the podium. It was an invaluable day for them all.
Conducting with Tim Redmond
Composers spent the morning getting to know each other and discussing the various modes, primarily the Lydian, which they then used to create some first pieces in groups. They then moved on to motivic development, taking tiny fragments and developing them to link their material together. Rhythm was the final focus of the day, where the group used clapping exercises to learn different meters, which they could then use in their own compositions.
Composers learning new meters
Our first musicianship session of the week was a busy one! On offer were composition workshops with Michael Betteridge and Matthew Taylor, a taster in Alexander Technique with Helen Kearns, a conducting workshop with Tim Redmond, and a very useful masterclass in vocal health from visiting expert Sophie Grimmer (Royal Opera House). Students from our piano programme were treated to a session of 'Piano Circus' with our répétiteur Dawn Hardwick, a rare opportunity for so many piano players to play together as one giant ensemble.
Tonight’s evening activity was a good old fashioned quiz - a chance to see if the kids have been paying attention whilst here in Winchester. Categories included the Ingenium round, UK geography, music mash-up and guessing the pastoral team member by their baby photo! The competitive but friendly spirit of the students shone through, making for an evening full of fun.
Quiz night
Phew! That’s it for Day 1, join us tomorrow to see what else unfolds in Ingenium 2019!
See more photos from this summer on our Facebook page.
Musicians of the day:
- Orchestra: Sarah, for coping so well with transposed parts and playing more than one part at a time, as well as writing a great piece in composition class
- Vocal: Kasia, for having a really professional attitude all day and being on the edge of her seat, always hungry for more information
- Saxophone: Brian, for solid sight reading all day and the high levels of concentration shown throughout
- Piano: Ailynn, for being open to new ideas in the individual lesson and being able to explore these immediately
- Conductors: Gioa and Sarah
Gioa, for being the first person to conduct and setting the bar high
Sarah, for paying attention through every part of the music and having a professional conducting technique - Composer: John (Ioannis), for workshopping lots of other people's pieces on the violin, playing really well and being compassionate and caring, taking everyone's ideas into consideration
Our Programmes
More information on our seven programmes: Chamber Music, Composition, Conducting, Orchestral, Piano, Saxophone and Vocal.
Programmes range from 1 week to 4 weeks long. Students can attend one immersive programme, or broaden their experience by combining programmes to suit their interests.
Any Questions?
We love speaking to young musicians, teachers and families from around the world - so don't hesitate to get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!
Email: info@ingeniumacademy.com
Phone: +44 (0)20 7060 4076
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