The past months have seen a number of new ventures in Music at Woodford.  The repertoire has widened appreciably to include jazz, swing  and a-cappella singing, and there have been new musical ensembles (a brass band, a guitar ensemble ,a  flute sextet and pop groups) springing up everywhere to the evident delight  of concert audiences.

The success of our first musical collaboration with the boys’ grammar school, Ilford County High, has been the high note of this half term.  A joint Spring Concert on Tuesday 7 May  brought us an inspirational programme of music from Bach to Shostakovich, from Purcell to Bernstein.  Students from the two schools played cheek by jowl  in an orchestra the depth and tone of which moved us all.  Items prepared separately by each school brought a frisson of competition to the proceedings, perhaps most evident in the consecutive performances of the two school choirs.

The concert certainly demonstrated the benefits of this form of collaboration and, in particular, the energy, tone and potential of a fully stocked orchestra.  We  look forward to many more such events in future and we record our thanks to the Music Departments of both schools for an evening thoroughly enjoyed.