4th July 2011

Final rehearsals are now underway for 'Friday Afternoons'.  We have worked where we are going to sit in the church so all the audience can see and hear us.  We are busy learning the words of the songs, some of which are very difficult to remember, ready for when Graham Ross returns to do the final day of rehearsal next Wednesday.  He is currently conducting with his choir in France.  There will be a grand piano in the church to accompany us as we sing.

Today some of us had our picture taken for the Hunts Post.  We held balloons in the shape of musical notes as you can see.

Katie and Chelsea have commented on the experience of doing 'Friday Afternoons'.  "What made it a challenge is that you had to sing beautifully and it was very hard words.  But what made it FUN was that Graham Ross came and learnt the songs with us".

There are still a few tickets left, particularly for the 5pm performance. 

29th June 2011

Our Key Stage 2 pupils have been rehearsing for a choral performance of Benjamin Britten's "Friday Afternoons" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Britten  which will take place on Wednesday 13th July with two performances at 5pm and 7pm in our beautiful church at Fenstanton.  This will incorporate poetry reading and some audience participation (nothing too scary, don't worry!  However, we would like to share how we have developed the performances you will hear as some of it is very tricky and challenging).  We have been very fortunate to work with Graham Ross http://grahamross.com who is the artistic director of the Fringe on the Fen festival, but also a well known musical director working at Clare College, Cambridge.  He also works with his and other choirs across the world.  Alongside this, our Recorder ensemble will be performing a piece they have composed with the composer Alan Bullard http://alan.bullard.tripod.com/id42.htm entitled Fen Birdsong.

Our Woodwind group have also been rehearsing pieces to perform with Miss Eley, our woodwind teacher from Cambridgeshire Music (CIMA).

Blair wrote: "Miss Eley is creating a piece for Fringe on the Fen.  I play the saxaphone and Miss Eley created a piece for me and George.  He plays the recorder.  We also have 5 people who play the clarinet and they are also playing a song for us. 

Jessica, Georgia, Tegan and Isabel wrote:  "We have almost finished learning the songs for Fringe on the Fen with Graham Ross, who is head of Clare College Choir.  The songs are called Friday Afternoons and, in Mrs Byrne's class, our favourite is "Cuckoo" which is a song about what a cuckoo does during the year.  The Fringe on the Fen is a week of musical celebration throughout Fenstanton.  It raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support.  We are performing on Wednesday 13th July at 5pm and 7pm.  Hopefully it will be a massive success."

This adventure is a wonderful opportunity for us to undertake a huge musical challenge, to work with famous musicians and also raise money for Macmillan too.  We hope you will support us with this.

Tickets are selling fast, but there are some available from the Fringe on the Fen Box Office on Chequers Street.  Alternatively, Fringe on the Fen are setting up a mobile box office at school after Sports day on Tuesday 5th July, so you can buy tickets there.

We look forward to seeing you at the performances.