Spring Term concert review – Thursday 19th March 2026, St Joseph’s Church

On Thursday 19th March, our symphony orchestras and soloists, senior strings and large choirs delivered a superb musical extravaganza as part of our Spring Term 2026 concert series. The concert took place in the grand setting of St Joseph’s Church, an ideal venue with its superb acoustics and ample space to welcome our audience and the large number of students who took part.

The symphony orchestra delivered a rousing start to the concert, performing Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture with real flair and youthful enthusiasm. Next, it was the turn of our two big choirs – Conabor and Cantemus – who joined forces with our chamber orchestra and our vocal soloists – Eve C, Juliet B, Anna G, Teresa G, Beatrice M, Mei-Xing LC, Molly S, Susie D, Isabel M – to perform Schubert’s magnificent Mass in G. This is a work of large proportions and not without its challenges. Our pupils rose to the challenge and delivered it with flair and conviction, making a real statement not only in terms of ensemble quality but also in terms of vocal ability; our individual students mentioned above delivered some superb vocal solos, and the two choirs were worthy partners in a truly superb musical collaboration.

The Mass was followed by Mrs Dodds’ finely tuned Senior Strings, who gave a mature and impassioned performance of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro. Elizabeth S. took to the stage next with an impressive rendition of Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for solo violin, accompanied by our symphony orchestra; this is a well-known piece of the violin repertoire that would put any professional soloist through their paces, and Elizabeth had the audience spellbound, dispatching it with real élan.

It was the turn of another one of our vocal soloists next – Maika P – who performed, with sincerity and musical integrity, the iconic vocal aria O Mio Babbino Caro from Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi; this is an aria that is not only vocally demanding but requires the performer to dig deep into their emotional world, and Maika did just that.

The following item was quite special as it received its world premiere on the night, and it was written specifically by Ms Zanardo (ex-Channing staff and member of the music department team) for one of our saxophone soloists – Kezia C – and our symphony orchestra. The title of the suite of two pieces is Light Shines and Light Dances. Kezia and the symphony orchestra worked together in real synergy and delivered a convincing premiere of this characterful suite.

Next, Yesterday by the Beatles was the chosen item for the collaborative effort of Cantemus Chorus and Conabor Choir, who, under the direction of Miss Bacon, gave a poised and assured performance of this ever-popular song. Another superb collaboration of the two choirs mentioned above with the symphony orchestra took place next, performing fluently Denver’s upbeat and youthful number Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Following that, our saxophone soloist – Kezia C – returned to the stage to give a hypnotic solo performance of Salleras’ Recerca II; at times it felt like two saxophones were playing a duet, which we can only assume is the effect that Kezia wanted to create with this piece, taking full advantage of the reverberating acoustics of the church and Salleras’ expert composition for solo saxophone.

The concert came to a close with the symphony orchestra’s rousing performance of Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony. This gargantuan-sounding piece, due to the sheer size of orchestral forces that it requires in addition to the church organ, is a true masterpiece of the Romantic symphonic repertoire. Our students, with Mr Deen as soloist on the organ, did the piece justice, giving a fitting close to a truly memorable concert.

We would like to thank all our backstage crew, team of helpers and visiting music staff who contributed to this fabulous event. Big concerts like the one we witnessed last Thursday are a team effort, where a large section of the Channing community comes together; without the expert help and guidance from our trusted colleagues, concerts of this magnitude cannot happen. Finally, a huge thank you to all our students – soloists, ensemble players and choir members – who took part in the concert and rehearsed tirelessly for it. We are immensely proud of all of you; keep up the good work!