An absolute stalwart of the Leighton Park Summer Term calendar, Music for a Summer’s Evening has been a fabulous opportunity to get together for an al fresco picnic on the Park, enjoy the company of family and friends, and listen to a wide variety of exceptional music from musicians spanning the year groups for more than a decade. This year we may not have been able to gather on Grove Field but a virtual gathering was available online, enabling the community to continue the annual musical tradition, despite Covid-19. Some students did manage to get together for a socially distanced digital viewing and as is often necessary, given the British climate, came equipped with rugs!
“It is very strange organising and running an event and then not seeing an immediate reaction from an ‘audience’.” Commented Director of Music, Rosemary Scales, “It’s also very strange to rush to prepare an event for a certain time, like a concert, then it launches and you don’t have anything to do!”
With ‘bubbles’ to click on in different categories, there was an opportunity for listeners to navigate the concert in their own unique audio journey. The audience could remotely choose from solos, ensembles, original compositions and sessions recorded in the Yamaha Live Lounge during the Spring Term.
Reflecting on the pupils’ support of and contribution to the online event, Rose added, “I was incredibly impressed with the enthusiasm and resourcefulness of our musicians who taught themselves new technology skills and perfected pieces and then recorded them from home. The students always love being involved in this event, which is always a real musical celebration of the year.”
One member of the virtual audience said, “This is really wonderful! Thank you for all of the hard work that must have gone into presenting so much brilliant content in such an attractive and accessible way. What a talented bunch!”
Another enthused, “I have been watching bits of Glastonbury, including most of Adele’s performance last night This morning I opened the email with the compilation for MFASE. I am enjoying it just as much, if not more so.”
You can experience Music for a Summer’s Evening for yourself until the end of July.
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