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QE has become only the second state school nationally – and the first in the south of England – to be accredited by the Royal College of Organists.

A rare and prestigious accolade, the accreditation represents the establishment of a more formal partnership between the college and the School, following growing links over the past two years.

It comes as the School consolidates its commitment to the instrument with the announcement that Year 9’s Zach Fernandes (pictured top) has been awarded an organ scholarship under the partnership established between QE and Barnet’s St John the Baptist Church last year.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This accreditation is a significant honour for our School. It was awarded only after the RCO’s senior management team carefully considered our application and recognised our commitment to effective teaching and learning in pursuit of high standards in organ-playing and choral directing.

“It places us in some exalted company: only 16 other institutions have been awarded accreditation, and they include specialist music organisations, alongside some of the country’s leading public schools, such as Eton, Rugby and City of London School.

“My congratulations go to Zach on his scholarship. I hope he will enjoy it and get a great deal out of the opportunities it presents to him,” Mr Enright added.

Links between the RCO and QE have been growing since the college supplied the School with a Viscount Chorum 40-S electric organ at the start of last academic year under its Organs in Schools programme for state schools. RCO Chief Executive Sir Andrew Parmley and regional director Simon Williams also came on a visit to Queen’s Road. QE pupils are due to play at an RCO Young Performers concert at St Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall Church in the City of London on 23 September.

Last spring, the School’s organ scholarship scheme with the parish church was launched. It gave the first Organ Scholars, Joel Swedensky and Noah Morley, opportunities to play the organ at church services and to rehearse the church choir, alongside their involvement in extra-curricular music at QE. The scholarships include an honorarium. With Joel now in Year 13 and thus leaving this summer, Zach has been appointed as his replacement.

Noah, who is in Year 11, continues in his role. “It’s been an amazing first year as an Organ Scholar,” he wrote. “Learning new skills each week alongside singing with the choir has been wonderful.”

“The past 12 months have been filled with a wealth of musical experiences, from accompaniment, improvisation, psalmody, choral conducting and even the mechanics of organ, taking a look inside the currently dismantled instrument at St John’s [pictured].”

One specific highlight had been William Mathias’ setting of the traditional carol, Sir Christèmas, on Christmas Eve.

“A huge thank you to Patryk Korczak [St John’s director of music] for his invaluable lessons; and to the QE Music department and the Headmaster for offering this opportunity and their ongoing support.

“My first year opened so many doors, and I can’t wait to see what this year brings.”

Two Old Elizabethans have won Organ Scholarships from Cambridge in the 21st century – Drew Sellis (OE 2013-2020) and Peter Yarde Martin (OE 2002-2007), who is now a peripatetic Music teacher at the School.

Pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s School enjoyed themselves at the end of term with all the festivities, but also made time to remember those less fortunate than themselves during the season of goodwill.

The last few days of term featured the traditional Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in Chipping Barnet Parish Church; Christmas dinner at the School with all the trappings; and a trio of charity activities in the borough.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our carol service was magnificent – a spectacularly rousing evening. The music really was excellent, with a variety of arrangements used to make traditional tunes and texts feel fresh and resonate.

“The readers did well, too – and with the internal scaffolding above the chancel steps removed, following the completion of repair works following recent storm damage – the packed church was looking splendid.

“The carol service, combined with the charity work, made a fitting footnote to a year that has seen high success for the School. I wish all current QE families, staff, alumni and other friends of the School an enjoyable holiday and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.”

The service at St John the Baptist Church featured congregational singing of some seasonal favourites, starting with Once in Royal David’s City.  The School’s musicians played a full part, with the Barbershop and Chamber Choir performing some less well-known pieces, including carols from France and Austria. Members of QE’s growing cohort of organists took part, too, with Year 8’s Gabriel Ward, Zach Fernandez, of Year 9, and final-year student Joel Swedensky all playing before the start of the service.

The Barbershop were also in action at Barnet Grange care home, where they sang carols for the residents and then spent time chatting with them.

There were School-wide charity collections for Chipping Barnet Foodbank and Homeless Action in Barnet, and for Sebby’s Corner, a charity based just around the corner from the School on the Queen’s Road industrial estate, with which QE has formed a new partnership this year.

Pupils and staff donated non-perishable food, clothing and toiletries, as well as new toys for children who might otherwise go without this year.

Christmas dinner at the School proved as popular as ever, with Year 7 in particular eager to don their paper hats from their crackers!

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Well over 400 boys performed at this year’s Winter Concert, delivering a highly entertaining programme drawn mostly from the pop and rock repertoire.

The evening featured fun elements aplenty, and there was music to suit almost all tastes. It ranged from the contribution of the ever-popular Indian Ensemble, who included a percussion improvisation in their performance, to the pulsating rendition of Guns N’Roses’ Paradise City from the Electric Guitar Ensemble – a sound that just grew and grew.

One notable feature of the concert was the level of pupil leadership: eight pupil conductors took the baton during the evening, while the Indian Ensemble and Electric Guitar Ensemble have no conductor but are student-led and directed.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate our Director of Music, Ruth Partington, and her colleagues on a concert delivered on a grand scale, with the Shearly Hall packed to the rafters and almost a third of our pupil roll involved.

“The music was both highly entertaining and varied, displaying the enthusiasm, talent and dedication of boys and staff alike.

“Our conducting club is supporting boys in their leadership of their peers and in developing higher-level skills. It was great to see those young conductors in action, and to witness how the boys responded to their peers and came together as one.

“All the music was of a high standard, but a special mention must perhaps go to Year 12’s Simi Bloom, who received a rapturous reception from his peers for his vocals for Skyfall played by the Jazz Band.”

Lighter moments during the evening included:

• The sound of cowbells in the pre-concert entertainment from the Year 12 Kowbell Kwintet
• A skit that began the concert proper, which revolved around missing performers who then appeared from all directions to join the Orchestra in its performance of the opening movement of Sibelius’ Karelia Suite
• The Cantina Band (Star Wars theme) in the piece, John Williams Swings, played by the Senior Winds
• The pizzicato playing of Leroy Anderson’s Plink, Plank, Plunk! by the Junior Strings
• Boys very effectively simulating the sound of rain – light, then heavier, then a thunderstorm and back again – using their hands and feet to open the Junior Choir’s performance of Toto’s Africa

Near the end of the concert, Mr Enright presented Music Colours, for which boys from Year 8 upwards are eligible. Two boys receiving Junior Colours – Gabriel Ward and Krish Bhatia – were in this youngest age group (being awarded at the earliest possible opportunity), while a further eight boys from Years 9 to 13 also received colours.

Two students received Music Bars (for those who have already received colours, but whose contribution is such that they warrant further recognition). These were Ryuki Watanabe and Leo Sellis, both of Year 12. Miss Partington said: “Both contribute to a huge number and variety of ensembles and allow difficult repertoire to be chosen, such is our confidence that they will be able to provide a lead.”

The perquisites of winning Music Colours include being able to use the practice rooms before school, at break or at lunchtime, without seeking permission!

The concert was attended by The Worshipful the Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet, Councillor Tony Vourou, accompanied by The Mayoress.

Thanks were given to School Stage for their work on the sound and lighting, which so enhances the concerts, as well as to all the FQE volunteers who looked after guests during the interval.

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QE’s Music teachers and pupils have been reflecting in a podcast for the Royal College of Organists on a year that has seen the organ take centre-stage at the School.

The academic year began with the arrival of a Viscount Chorum 40-S digital organ, supplied to QE under a Royal College initiative to locate organs within state schools.

Since then, as well as an organ club being established at the School, there was the launch last term of a new partnership with Barnet Parish Church, with sixth-former Joel Swedensky and Year 10’s Noah Morley named as the partnership’s first Organ Scholars.

More recently, QE pupils enjoyed a special day at St Paul’s Cathedral, where they were able to play the organs, receive a masterclass from the cathedral’s Organ Education Lead, Jeremiah Stephenson, and enjoy a privileged view of evensong. While St Paul’s sometimes hosts primary schools, QE’s was the first such visit by a secondary school.

Director of Music Ruth Partington told The Organ Podcast why the School joined the RCO scheme and she explained the impact of the organ since it arrived in The Friends’ Recital Hall in the autumn. “At Queen Elizabeth’s, we have a very rich heritage and that includes a very formal Service of Nine Lessons and Carols every Christmas and, again, a very formal Founder’s Day service in June: the organ is an important part of both these services. So along with my mission to expand our orchestral instrument range and our ability to provide piano lessons and singing lessons, the organ seemed to me the next logical step.

“I think it’s made a big difference, and certainly when it arrived, there was this real buzz – ‘Ooh, what is this amazing machine that’s suddenly appeared?’ – and we had quite a few pupils coming to ask to play.”

She also outlined the additional possibilities for higher education that encouraging boys to learn the organ opens up. “Many pupils every year apply to Oxbridge to study a whole range of subjects and, again, it seems a natural progression that we encourage them not only to read Medicine, English and Music, but also to apply for choral scholarships and organ scholarships.”

The partnership with St John the Baptist Church offers the Organ Scholars rich opportunities to play regularly and gain expertise with church music. However, peripatetic organ teacher Adam Hope told the podcast that having an organ at the School brings with it additional opportunities to “interact with other genres and traditions of music that they couldn’t do in a church – it makes the organ relevant”.

The day at St Paul’s Cathedral was led by Mr Stephenson, a prize-winning graduate of Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music.

It started with a demonstration of the Grand Organ (one of the largest in the country, built by Henry Willis in 1872), and the opportunity for all boys to play pieces they had prepared.

The group then visited two other instruments on the cathedral floor before going to the crypt to play another organ built in a historical style by William Drake, which is particularly suited to composers such as JS Bach – a new experience for QE’s organists.

After lunch, the group headed up to a newly installed practice organ, hidden away in the triforium (upper-level interior gallery), which is not generally accessible to the public. On their way, they saw the historic Dean’s Library, experienced a spectacular view of the cathedral from high above the West Doors, and saw Christopher Wren’s 1:25 wooden scale model of the cathedral. Mr Stephenson then gave them a masterclass on matters of technique and improvisation.

Music teacher Jas Hutchinson-Bazely said: “This was an inspiring day, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the boys. We are very grateful to everyone at St Paul’s for their generosity.”

Organ Scholar Joel added: “I really enjoyed discovering the variety of organs there, and especially getting access to see some of the inner workings of the Royal Trumpets, high above the West Doors. It was insightful learning about some of the sound physics from Mr Stephenson.”

The eight boys attending also included Joel’s fellow Organ Scholar, Noah, as well as Akein Abeysinghe, of Year 9; Adithya Ananthakrishnan, of Year 9; Kevin Mao, of Year 8; Hasan Gul, of Year 8; Zach Fernandes, of Year 8; and Gabriel Ward, of Year 7.

Four Year 12 students – Nikhil Mark, Jason Tao, Akshat Bajaj, and Harrison Lee – joined the group to attend evensong. St Paul’s had reserved seating for the QE group near to the choir, and they were given a special welcome at the beginning of the service.

• You can listen to the podcast here. The QE segment starts at around 30 minutes. The podcast is also available on all podcasting platforms, including Apple, Spotify and Amazon Music.

A Sixth Form musician’s composition is to be performed at the world’s longest-running music festival, after he won a place on a highly regarded programme for young composers.

Harrison Lee’s piece, Ego Flos Campi, will be sung by the acclaimed ORA Singers amid the medieval magnificence of Worcester Cathedral as part of the famous Three Choirs Festival.

The A-level Music student was one of only ten successful applicants to have secured a place on the ORA Singers Young Composers scheme.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “We are thrilled that Harrison gained a place on this prestigious scheme, and that all the hard work he puts into his composition has been rewarded.

“We have already performed one piece by Harrison this academic year and look forward to the next one!”

Ego Flos Campi will be heard at a showcase concert on 2^nd August 2024 held as part of the festival, which rotates between the cathedral cities of Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester. The title of the piece is taken from the Latin first words of the Song of Solomon in the Bible, meaning ‘I am a flower of the field’.

As part of the programme, and in preparation for the concert, Harrison has  been receiving ten hours of mentoring from Kemal Yusuf, a young British composer who has composed more than 150 works for various ensembles, films, dance productions, and solo performances.

Harrison’s piece has already been the subject of a workshop by the ORA Singers, with guest composer Oliver Tarney, best known for his work with filmmakers Ridley Scott and Paul Greengrass. The award-winning vocal ensemble, which is also a world-leading commissioner of choral music, is directed by Suzi Digby, Baroness Eatwell OBE, who is a choral conductor,  music educator and visiting professor at the University of Southern California.

After the concert, each of the ten successful young composers will receive detailed feedback from the panel, along with a video-recording of their piece, which is provided for them to use to kick-start their musical portfolios. The concert will also feature a prize-giving ceremony.

Harrison, who is in Year 12, said: “It’s such a great opportunity to be working with singers of this calibre, and I think it has helped me to develop my composition skills a lot more. I have learned a lot from this programme and it will definitely help me with my ambitions of being a composer.”

Last term, his Magnificat was one of the highlights of QE’s Chamber, Choral and Composition Concert. Performed by a full orchestra and the Chamber Choir, and conducted by Harrison himself, it filled the The Friends’ Recital Hall with sound (pictured top).

Having previously won Senior Music Colours, Harrison this year had a bar added to those colours for his exceptional contribution to music at the School: Headmaster Neil Enright presented it to him in March. Harrison was also the winner of this year’s Music (academic) prize for Year 12 at the School’s Senior Awards ceremony.

QE’s Chamber Choir relished the opportunity to sing evensong at King’s College Chapel – one of the world’s most famous venues for church choral music.

Singing alongside the King’s Voices – the college’s mixed-voice choir – in only their fourth-ever evensong, the QE boys not only enjoyed the chance to sing in an inspiring setting, but also to sample the life of a university Choral Scholar.

The historic event also proved to be a draw for Old Elizabethans, with two singing with the choir and other alumni joining the congregation.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It is a tremendous honour to be invited to sing at King’s College Chapel. This was, therefore, an historic occasion for our School, and one that will live long in the memory.

“I know our boys really enjoyed the chance to sing amid the soaring Gothic architecture of King’s College Chapel. Musically, it was a great success, with the boys attentive and sounding superb in their rendering of Dyson’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D major and Wood’s choral setting of Bramley’s O Thou the Central Orb.

“It was also a pleasure to see alumni turning out to support the current boys – my colleagues and I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with them afterwards.”

Renowned for its choral tradition, including its Christmas Eve Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which is broadcast worldwide, King’s College Chapel welcomes members of the university, local residents and tourists to its services.

As well as taking part in afternoon rehearsals, the QE Chamber Choir spent time looking around Cambridge, visiting the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences and touring a number of colleges with OEs Raphael Herberg (2015–2022) and Jao-Yong Tsai (2016–2023), who are studying Music at Cambridge and who rejoined QE’s choir for the occasion.

At St John’s College, they had a Q and A session with the current Director of Music, Christopher Gray, where the boys found out more about choral scholarships and asked questions about the application process.

For the evensong back at King’s College, the Chamber Choir were directed by the Interim Assistant Director of Music, Ralph Woodward, who is also the current Director of King’s Voices.

Music teacher Rebecca German said: “We were extremely fortunate to be given the chance to sing evensong at King’s College Chapel; it gave the boys a taster of what life would be like as an Oxbridge Choral Scholar. We hope that a large number of them will go on to apply in the future.”

Current Year 13 student Arjun Patel has won a Choral Scholarship from Merton College, Oxford.

Hovan Sarkissian, of Year 8, said: “It was greatly enjoyable to explore the beautiful sights of Cambridge with my fellow choir members. Even so, nothing could top the truly unforgettable experience of singing with my peers and the King’s College Chapel Choir in such a historic and remarkable place.”

• Click on the thumbnails below to view more photos.