ABRSM Results June 2010
Well done to the following girls who wrote the external ABRSM Theory examination in June this year: Pass = 66-79% / Merit = 80-89% Distinction = 90-100%
Grade Five: Gillian Pinder – merit (private candidate; teacher: Mrs A Pinder)
Grade Six – our first class of Grade 6 candidates (Grade 6 Theory is more difficult than the Theory component for Grade 12 FET Subject Music (teacher: Ms J Dernier)
Pass: Megan Mehnert; Emma Mould
Merit: Samantha Filby; Liezl McKenzie
Distinction: Jenny Robertson; Laurie Scarborough
And an early ABRSM Practical result:
Zahraa Mathews (violin, Grade 5) – pass (teacher: Mrs M Raynham)
Cape Town Eisteddfod, String Results May 2010
Well done to our string players who performed in the Cape Town Eisteddfod in May and achieved the following results:
MERIT
Kirsten Barratt, violin (Baroque)
Isabella Cupido, violin (Baroque)
Rania Davids, violin (Baroque, Romantic 1, Romantic 2)
Nina Lewis-Thomas, viola (Classical)
Nurain Mahomed, violin (Classical)
Zahraa Mathews, violin (Baroque)
Anja Mühr, violin (Classical, Romantic)
HONOURS
Sara Lambert, violin (Baroque, Modern)
Amy Stӧhrer, violin (Modern)
And thank you to Mrs Raynham for preparing our performers.
Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival Grahamstown 2010
In the early morning of Tuesday June 22 an excited group of music students, Saskea Jacobs, Amy Walton, Carolyn Ryder, Megan Hand, Lauren and Roslyn Sanby, accompanied by Ms Davis, met to board the bus that they would share with the SACS Jazz Band and some Westerford pupils. The first concert of the festival was a performance by the young choir from Berlin, Young Voices of Brandenburg. This was a polished performance which featured many of the singers, aged 18-24, as soloists. The music was fresh and joyful throughout with flawless intonation and vocal control throughout..
For the next four days the students were kept very busy. They were placed in different mixed-ability bands while Amy Walton and Saskea Jacobs were selected for the Jazz Choir. The first rehearsal at 9 am was followed by Electives at 10, 12 and 2pm. These were talks and workshops conducted by the musicians who were performing in the evening concerts.
Top artists from 15 different countries attended and performed at the Festival. These included South Africans such as Sibongile Khumalo and Melanie Scholtz, as well as Darius Brubeck and others too numerous to mention.
The standard of musicianship was world-class throughout and stunned the RGHS girls who were awe-struck by the expertise on display. The concerts began at 5pm and continued to the last jam-session which began at 11:30pm. On Monday afternoon the different bands performed and the Jazz Choir performed in the evening in the Youth Vocal Celebration arranged by Amanda Tiffin.
It was gratifying to hear a Rustenburg past pupil, Babalwa Mpulu, singing in the UCT Jazz Quintet, as well as to have a member of our Music Staff, Lee Gelderbloem, performing a solo at such a prestigious final concert.
A long journey back on the bus was filled with happy memories of a week which really inspired the students as to what great musicianship really is.
