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Music

Welcome to the Music Department.

Music is an important part of life at Taylors'. There are so many things to get involved with when you come to the school. All year round there are formal events often in spectacular venues: as in the major choral and orchestral concerts at Merchant Taylors' Hall, the Barbican and the Great Hall at School.

There are also endless opportunities for less formal music making: as in Music Week in the summer, which reaches a climax at our outdoor 'Summer Serenade'. There are also music tours to Europe (Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic in recent years) and band concerts. Many of these events are organised by the boys rather than the teachers.

Did you know that recent research shows that children who learn an instrument or sing, and who take part in group music activities have better concentration, better self confidence, and more often than not do extremely welll in their academic subjects?

You can find out more about music at Merchant Taylors' by clicking on the links under the 'Music' heading in the left hand column on this page.

If you would like to know more about music at Merchant Taylors', or attend a concert, please telephone the Music Department through the school office on 01923 820644

Past Events

Grosvenor Choir Concert

THE CHOIR OF THE GROSVENOR CHAPEL MAYFAIR

An enthusiastic audience of parents, staff, boys and friends attended the Grosvenor Chapel Choir’s concert in the Great Hall.

The first part of the concert included repertoire from the Tudor period – music by William Byrd, Robert White, Christopher Tye and Thomas Tallis and the breathtaking “Miserere met, Deus” by Gregorio Allegri with the choir placed on the stage and in two of the balconies above the stage. Richard Hobson played Buxtehude’s Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne in C.

During the interval, members of the Music Support Group served refreshment s to the audience.

The second half of the concert moved into the 20th century with Benjamin Britten’s “Hymn to St Cecilia” and motets by Gustav Holst, Rachmaninov and Stanford and unfamiliar, but refreshing pieces by Jonathan Dove and Morten Lauridsen. The Theme and Variations by Hendrik Andriessen was played by Richard Hobson.

Our Director of Music, Richard Hobson, conducts the professional choir at Sung Eucharist each Sunday morning and other festivals and special services and for the concert also played organ pieces.

Deborah Whalley

Chair, Music Support Group

House Music Competition

The biennial House Music Competition is a chance for the music staff to sit back and watch while the senior musicians from each house rush around persuading, cajoling, threatening and possibly even bribing their fellow musicians to attend practices. Within six weeks of returning from the summer holidays, they have to choose, rehearse and perform an instrumental and vocal piece for the House Music Competition.

This year was the first year for some time that every house entered both sections of the competition. The standard, as usual, was extremely high and the audience enjoyed a varied programme. Tony Henwood, Director of Music at Latymer Upper School, was the adjudicator and had a difficult task judging each performance. He provided many useful suggestions and comments. The first half of the competition was for instrumental pieces. After much deliberation he awarded first place to Clive, second to Mulcaster and third to Andrews. In the vocal section, Hilles were first, Clive second and Manor third. The overall winners of the House Music Competition were Clive, beating Mulcaster (the previous holders of the cup) into second place, with Hilles and Spencer in joint third place.

Clive Winners of
the Instrumental Section Hilles Winners of
the Vocal Section Clive
Overall Winners

Congratulations to everyone who took part!

Autumn Concert

The annual Autumn concert was, once again, a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining evening. The Concert Band opening the evening with a rousing performance of ‘Mack the Knife’ and ‘It don’t mean a thing’, followed by the Junior Strings, the Vocal Group, the Wind Band and the Swing Band. After a short interval the second half began with the School Choir performing two of the pieces sung recently at the Triennial Service in St Paul’s Cathedral. The Chamber Orchestra and Dixieland Band followed before the Senior Orchestra closed the concert with a dramatic performance of ‘Overture Der Freischutz’ by Weber.

The concert once again showcased the amazing talent of the boys at Merchant Taylors’. A great number of boys performed in the concert and it was clear that both the performers and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Thanks to all the music staff, particularly Mr Hobson, Mrs Stubbs, Mr Couldridge, Mr Francis and Mr and Mrs Saunderson.Without their constant support and encouragement the concert would not have been possible.

Senior Music Competition

The finals of the Senior Music Competition were held on Wednesday 1st March in the Recital Hall. The standard of the finalists was extremely high, giving the adjudicator, Dr Nigel Springthorpe, a difficult task to choose a winner in each of the five classes and an overall winner. Congratulations to all the finalists. The results were as follows

Piano Class
Finalists - Kenny Sakuda, Chris Teskey, Prakash Parameshwar Winner - Chris Teskey

Brass Class
Finalists - James Booth, Olly Slator Winner - James Booth

Singing
Finalists - Chrishan Raja, Ciaran Singh, Richard Pinching, John Pilgrim Winner - Chrishan Raja

Woodwind
Finalists - Chris Teskey, Lawrence Hunt, Jonathan Ho Winner - Chris Teskey

Strings
Finalists - Jonathan Ho, John Pilgrim, Amrish Lakhani, Mark Lindley Winner - Mark Lindley

Winner of the Reynolds Cup for Overall Best Performance - Mark Lindley

MTS 2008 Inspection

'An outstanding school'
Read the ISI Report here

Examination Results Day

Who, What, When, Why? Answers to all your questions...
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Open Morning

Our Next Open Morning is Sept 26, 10-12:30. No need to book. You're welcome to come along!
Plan your morning here

The Great Tradition

Will your son be a great poet like Edmund Spenser, found an Empire like Clive of India or conquer Hollywood like Boris Karloff? They all attended MTS
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