After a year off, we once again took part in the Herefordshire Performing Arts Festival, which sadly is to be the last ever one after running for 85 years. We entered a number of ensembles and soloists in varied categories. Once again pupils performed brilliantly, receiving excellent feedback from the esteemed judges, including one who was amazed with the amount of talent coming from JMHS, and therefore felt he really needed to visit Ledbury! Our piano quartet were also given stunning feedback, that they showed all the skills that the judge had been telling competitors they needed all day! We received an extremely high number of Distinctions (80-89/100) and some Outstandings (90/100). Notable achievements include:
JMHS Clarinet Quartet – Won Advanced Wind Chamber Group
JMHS Jazz Band – Won School Jazz Band
JMHS Piano Quartet – Won advanced Chamber Group with an outstanding score of 90/100
JMHS String Ensemble – Won Open String Ensemble
Harry Unthank – Gold medal in Grade 6 woodwind
Anna Brown – Gold in Songs from Shows & Films, Girls aged 12-15
Libby Warren – Gold in Songs from Shows & Films, Girls aged 16-18, with an outstanding score of 91/100
Fred Gunning – Gold in Songs from Shows & Films, Boys aged 9 – 13
Tom Hill – Silver in Grade 6 Woodwind
Kath Owen – Silver in Grade 3 Woodwind
Angelina Gill – Silver in Songs from Shows & Films, Girls aged 12-15
Anna Brown – Silver in Youth Solos, Girls aged 12-15
Elly Merryman – Silver in Grade 8 Woodwind by 1 mark
Katy McCabe – Bronze in Songs from Shows & Films, Girls aged 12-15
Isabel Horne – Bronze in Youth Solos, Girls aged 12-15
Isabelle Thompson – Bronze in Songs from Shows & Films, Girls aged 12-15
Lotte Kroese – Bronze in Grade 1 Strings
We were delighted to be invited to perform at the Gala concert at the end of the week, showcasing the best performances of the week. Libby Warren gave a heartfelt performance that had many of us in tears, and the Jazz Band were the grand finale of the concert, giving their best performance to date. To end this spectacular week we were awarded the esteemed Elgar in Hereford Young Musician’s Award for the amount of students that performed in the festival and the high standard shown by all. This is the fourth time that we have won this sought after award, but it is a great honour each time, and is well deserved by all of our students that worked so hard. Well done everyone!
