Tonight’s hour-long visit to The Manx Music, Speech and Dance Festival is another mix of spoken word, an operatic solo, a Victorian ballad, more young solo singers with their sights set on winning the Sheffield Plate, and some great instrumentals, including some fantastic 90-mark-winning saxophone playing by Joshua Brown.
The programme on Thursday 26 April featured the following (please note that the list below is not necessarily the order in which the pieces are played in the programme):
Buchan Falcons - Winners of the Boys Choir Class (up to year 6) singing ‘Creatures of the Deep’ by Alan Simmons
Buchan Doves - Winners of the Girls Choir Class (up to year 6) singing their two winning songs - 'Child of Peace' and 'Firefly' (please note - the songs are played separately at two different places within the programme)
Timothy Price - Winner of the Composition Class - competitors were challenged to compose a piece of music on a Manx theme. Timothy’s winning composition is for clarinet and piano, and is called ‘Traa dy Liooar’ Timothy is playing clarinet, with pianist John Riley
Amelia Corris - Winner of the Spoken Word class for Year 6, with ‘Star Turn’ by Frances Nagle
Gwen Thornton - Winner of the Girls’ Solo for years 7 and 8 - winning this class means that Gwen will complete for the Sheffield Plate on Friday’s Finals Night
Erin Loach - Winner of the Girls’ Solo for years 9 and 10 - winning this class means that Erin will complete for the Sheffield Plate on Friday’s Finals Night
The QEII High School Wind Band - Winners of the Music Making (Orchestras) for years 7 -13 (No fewer than 20 players, but no teachers allowed) The Band played a selection of 5 pieces - this programme includes the opening piece - ‘The Olympic Spirit’ by John Williams
Emily Coates - Winner of the Operatic Solo class for adults -Emily sings the Embroidery Aria from Peter Grimes by Britten - she is accompanied by Madeline Kelly
Terry Qualtrough - Winner of the Edwardian or Victoria Ballad class singing Nirvana by Stephen Adams and accompanied by Wendy McDowell
Joshua Brown - Winner (with 90 marks) of the Instrumental Solo - Orchestral Woodwind (Grades 6 and over) Joshua plays an arrangement of ‘Deep Purple’ on saxophone, accompanied by Frank Woolley
Isha Alapati - Winner of the Instrumental Solo - Woodwind (Grades 4 to 5) playing ‘Boogie-Woogalie’ on flute, accompanied by Frank Woolley.
