Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

31 music Writing this now, it seems hard to remember a time before I had to find the quietest room in the house to record and waiting for hours for videos to upload. But as hard as it is to recall, the time before VML was, as ever, jam- packed with events. The year kicked off with House Music, a highlight in the musical calendar, with West ultimately emerging the winners. A Chamber Concert followed in quick succession featuring 20 performances by students from all years. By then, rehearsals were well underway for the Michaelmas Concert with many of the School’s choirs and ensembles taking part. I really enjoyed the opportunity to play the piano in the Symphony Orchestra’s Jurassic Park Suite . Yet almost as soon as the audience had left the Auditorium, preparations were taking place for Les Misérables , the next big event of the year. It was an incredible production by all involved, and in terms of the music I found it difficult to remind myself that it was a small student band playing the music rather than a full-sized professional orchestra! The next musical highlight was the Battle of the Big Bands in February. It was an amazing evening and I seem to recall some dancing both on stage and at the back of the Auditorium! This was closely followed by the Lent Concert which featured the newly formed Flute Choir and group ‘The News’ along with the usual choirs and bands. From jazz to Jolene and The Sound of Music to a fantastic film medley arranged by Sammy Li, it was a great evening, but sadly was destined to be the last musical event of the year. We were all looking forward to the rest of the musical events including the Symphonic and Choral Concert and the Prom Concert, but coronavirus halted us like a double barline. But we weren’t going to let that stop us.... By Joanna Burgess AT Brentwood