On Thursday 10 February, Mrs Lodge and Mr Harrington took 12 musicians to Uppingham School for their Prep Schools’ Orchestral Day. It was a truly amazing day with 223 pupils attending from 14 different schools from around the country.. and so lovely to bump into some old Beechwoodians too! 

The day started with sectional rehearsals for each instrument – practising in many different rooms around Uppingham School. After lunch all the wind, brass and percussion instruments joined together to practise their pieces  – a medley of Queen songs and a rendition of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’. Meanwhile, the strings worked separately on their pieces – ‘Basse Dance’ by Peter Warlock and ‘We’re all in this together’.

Finally everyone came together in the large Memorial Hall for a final rehearsal before the concert. It was a real privilege listening to the fabulous Uppingham Jazz orchestra performing at the start of the concert, but the star of the show was definitely the huge Prep Schools’ orchestra playing ‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘Eye of the Tiger’ – a truly incredible sound from so many players!

The Beechwood pupils thoroughly enjoyed themselves throughout, and were a real credit to themselves and the School with their hard work and superb engagement.

As we travelled home, rather tired, I heard the pupils describing the day – it was musical, loud, fun, a thrilling experience, inspiring, challenging and an eye-opener. One pupil said that ‘it was the best day of the year so far and had never felt anything like this before, working all together as a community on instruments, knowing they all had something in common’.

Mrs Lodge
Director of Music