Composer hears Bedales musicians perform his anthem

PETERSFIELD, U.K. - March 12, 2014 - PRLog -- Bedales students from Years 10-13 performed a wonderful lunch-time concert at St Luke’s Church in London’s Chelsea last month. The audience of parents, alumni, prep school and primary school teachers and pupils, and a renowned classical composer enjoyed a rich variety of musical ensembles from the School’s Cecilia Consort, Recorder Consort, Barbershop Boys and Woodwind Trio.

The setting and acoustics of St Luke’s church provided a fantastic back-drop to hear the Bedales students perform compositions by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Sir Malcolm Arnold, William Byrd, Franz Schubert, and Henry Balfour Gardiner. Year 13 Music scholar Callum Anderson gave an impressive performance of Olivier Messiaien’s L’Apparition de l’Eglise Eternelle (Vision of the Eternal Church) on the church’s famous organ, which has featured in BBC broadcasts by internationally renowned organists.

The concert concluded with a Bedales ensemble performing The Call of Wisdom, a composition by Will Todd who is a former pupil of Nick Gleed, Director of Music at Bedales. Will attended the concert to hear the impressive Bedales rendition of his anthem, which was heard by millions when it was broadcast live as part of Thanksgiving for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II from St Paul’s Cathedral in 2012.

Commenting on the Bedales concert, Nick Gleed said: “I am very grateful to Will Todd for coming along to hear us perform his composition. The positive feedback from people attending was testament to the talents of our young people. Prep Schools, Old Bedalians and parents alike were full of admiration for the students’ performing skills.”

The students now look forward to their next performance, the Spring Concert, on the 28 March in the Bedales Quad.