Baroque music, new music, gospel singing with Ken Burton... and so much more!
- Overture Week Day 1
16th July 2019
The music making of Ingenium 2019 has officially begun!
We started with our daily Whole School Warm Up, giving our young musicians the energy and motivation to make the most of a marvelous day of music making ahead.
Warming up with some streching in the sunshine
Chamber students were quick to get stuck into every detail of the pieces they were playing, from studying the rhythms and phrasing to working with Baroque articulation and instrumental awareness. This high level of concentration produced some really promising results, and the sounds of their hard work echoed around the Music School. Having the sensational Tamar Andruiser, Lisa Ueda, Simon Callaghan, Clíodna Shanahan and Susan Torke to guide them through gave them much inspiration for the rest of the week.
Chamber ensemble rehearsals in Old Hall
Our pianists started the day with a meeting together as a programme, before a day of individual lessons with our fantastic piano team. There was also time for individual practise to develop what they have been working on, and everyone is already challenging themselves, working together and developing their technique. During the afternoon there were opportunities to try a taster lesson on the organ, discovering the differences to their familiar keyboard technique.
Piano lesson with Richard Sisson
Musicianship in the afternoon was a true highlight - an opportunity for the whole school to express themselves in a new way, through gospel singing. We welcomed the incredible Ken Burton to lead the session, whose expertise in gospel and choral music have taken him all over the world, arranging and directing for everything from the BBC's Songs of Praise to Marvel's blockbuster Black Panther films, and even working with Andrew Lloyd Webber on an arrangement of "Love Never Dies" for Nicole Scherzinger. Ken's infectious joy and energy, along with the rousing songs soon had the whole room dancing in musical celebration.
The composers and chamber musicians came together in the final session of the day. Split into smaller groups, they had to create short pieces with one rule: that every person had to contribute ideas, to write some collaborative music. It was a joy to see everyone come together at the end to listen to each other’s ideas, and the results were so good that we may hear some of in performance later this week!
After a well-deserved dinner, we all gathered for the whole school meeting to reflect on a great first day of music and announce the "Musician of the Day" for each programme - a favourite Ingenium tradition. Lastly it was time for the evening activity, an opportunity for students to blow of some steam after a long intensive day of music - a good, old-fashioned game of Sardines!
It's only the start of the first week, but with out talented and enthusiastic students, the rest of Overture week is looking full of potential for some fantastic music.
See more photos from this summer on our Facebook page.
Musicians of the day:
- Piano: Sion, for super jazz chord on the piano and organ and having grown as a pianist so much in the twelve months since being away
- Chamber Ensemble: "Dumky" (Ines, Va and Polina), for being so enthusiastic, excellent preparation, and using their initiative to practise together
- Composer: India, for working really hard and getting stuck into improvisation, as well as writing a great chord scheme and melody with lots of focus
Our Programmes
More information on our seven programmes: Chamber Music, Composition, Conducting, Orchestral, Piano, Saxophone and Vocal.
Programmes range from 1 week to 4 weeks long. Students can attend one immersive programme, or broaden their experience by combining programmes to suit their interests.
Any Questions?
We love speaking to young musicians, teachers and families from around the world - so don't hesitate to get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!
Email: info@ingeniumacademy.com
Phone: +44 (0)20 7060 4076
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