Each September, our new and returning students bring with them an exciting and often surprising range of instruments and musical talents. In Week 1, our ‘Introduction to IC Music’ session provided an opportunity to break the ice and uncover these talents, led by a performance from our multi-talented visiting music teacher, Diego Soncin.
Before long, over half of the students at the College had begun one-to-one music lessons, some taking place in the College itself and others with instrumental specialists at the Senior School. Several bands and ensembles were swiftly formed, with students successfully auditioning for the Becket Singers or Chapel Choir, while others took on roles in Legally Blonde.
Our first ‘billed’ event of the year was Filmhouse, which involved students composing film soundtracks at the Malthouse Theatre alongside a group of professional string players and two other Canterbury schools.
From Lunar or Orthodox New Year through to Christmas, music plays a vital role in marking key celebrations at the IC. In September, we were privileged to enjoy a performance of 水调歌头 (Shui Diao Ge Tou) by Richard and Yuantong on vibraphone and piano for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Our first large-scale show was our ‘Showcase Concert’ in the Malthouse on Saturday 12th October. Memorable performances included Minnie and Iakov’s stirring ‘All I Ask of You’ from Phantom, Jacob and Laizhi’s ‘Horse Racing’ on flute and erhu, and a new original song, ‘You Beside Me’, written by Amy Liu.
