The last few days of our 2018 summer course came all too soon, but our Festival Showcase was a wonderful way to conclude our four weeks in Winchester. It's time to look back on all the excitement and music making over the weekend...

 

 

Friday was a big day for our pianists, when they played in a lunchtime recital in Winchester's iconic 11th Century cathedral. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the inside of this beautiful building, and the public were incredibly impressed by the talent of our international young musicians.

 

 

After the recital we returned to the Music School for our musicianship session, which was a panel discussion about life in the music industry. In the first half the students had the chance to hear from a panel of staff members about their experiences at different music colleges and universities and ask any questions they had about higher education in England. In the second half the panel was formed of some of our tutors and music staff, who have successful careers in the music industry as performers and conductors. Our students asked insightful questions, and it was a valuable opportunity to hear first-hand about what a career in music is really like.

 

 

After this, we had our weekly barbecue (indoors this week due to the return of British summer rain…) followed by our final awards ceremony. In true Ingenium style, each student received a certificate of attendance, an award for something memorable they had contributed to the course, and applause from the whole school for their achievements over the last few weeks.

 

 

After a well-earned rest, our finale day arrived. The morning was focused on final preparations for our Festival Showcase, which comprised three concerts throughout the afternoon and evening, featuring the hard work of students across all our courses.

 

 

We were delighted to welcome our students’ family and friends, who joined us for the concerts and also had the chance to enjoy a traditional English afternoon tea, a tour of Winchester College’s beautiful campus, and a reception with wine and canapés. Entertainment was provided by small groups of students performing everything from a clarinet duet to jazz and soul songs, before everybody eventually piled into the concert venue for our finale concert.

 

 

The performances were a great success, featuring the results of all the hard work our students had put in over the week, and the atmosphere in the concert hall was simply fantastic.

 

 

The finale of the day brought all the students and staff together, for a performance of ‘A Million Dreams’ from The Greatest Showman. It was a magical but also emotional moment, seeing everyone making music together for the last time this summer.

 

 

We ended the concert with a surprise video that contained highlights of the amazing four weeks we spend together followed by emotional goodbyes. To see such wonderful achievements and strong friendships formed over the four weeks is one of the best parts of Ingenium.

 

 

It was then time to say goodnight and prepare for our journeys home the next day, to countries all over the world.

 

What an incredible four weeks! We can't believe it's gone by so fast! Thank you everybody for a truly incredible Ingenium 2018. We've loved living and working with you all over the four weeks, you have all proven yourselves to be incredibly talented, you’ve grown and learned so much and made long lasting friendships. We're sad that it's over, but we are already looking forward to next year's course.

 

 

See you next year for Ingenium 2019!

#ingeniumrocks

 

Dates for next summer:

Sunday July 21st to Sunday August 11th 2019

 

Visit our Facebook page to see more photos.