Celebrating the outstanding success of the Kilgraston Christmas Concert
The spirit of Christmas filled the air at Perth Concert Hall as the annual Kilgraston Christmas Concert came to life in a dazzling display of talent, joy, and festive cheer. The evening was a resounding success, showcasing the remarkable abilities and unyielding passion of our students.
The Kilgraston Christmas Concert has always been a highly anticipated event, but this year’s rendition exceeded all expectations. The concert featured a diverse array of performances, ranging from the brilliant ‘Whoops a-Daisy Angel’ by our Junior Years pupils to stunning duet by Upper Sixth pupils, Erin and Laura. Every element came together seamlessly to create an unforgettable experience for all in attendance.
The concert showcased the exceptional talents of our students, highlighting their dedication, commitment, and artistic flair. Weeks of preparation and practice culminated in a performance that left the audience enchanted and inspired. The level of professionalism and maturity displayed by our pupils was truly astounding, leaving no doubt that they have bright futures ahead in the world of performing arts.
There were so many highlights of the evening including the Kilgraston Drummers Fanfare with the eye-catching glowing drum sticks. The staff choir’s performance of ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ wowed the audience receiving cheers from the audience and pupils alike.
The Kilgraston Christmas Concert truly exemplified the power of the arts to bring people together and create a sense of community. Pupils, parents, staff, and members of the wider community gathered in the spirit of celebration and shared in the joyous atmosphere that permeated the venue. It was a testament to the collaborative effort of all involved, from the performers to the dedicated staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring the concert to life.
Beyond the exceptional performances, the success of the Kilgraston Christmas Concert showcased the values embedded in our school community. It demonstrated the importance of nurturing and encouraging young talent, fostering a love for the arts, and providing a platform for pupils to shine. The leadership and guidance of our dedicated teachers, who invest their time and expertise into cultivating the skills of our students, were evident throughout the concert.
As the festivities of the Christmas season now envelop us, the Kilgraston Christmas Concert stands as a testament to the talent, dedication, and spirit of our school. The success of the evening would not have been possible without the unwavering support of our parents, who have consistently championed the arts and encouraged their children to pursue their passions.
We extend our deepest gratitude to all those who attended and were part of this outstanding event. The Kilgraston Christmas Concert has once again reminded us of the transformative power of music and art and the importance of celebrating and nurturing the talent that fills our school community.
May the joy and inspiration ignited by the Christmas Concert continue to resonate within us all and guide our students towards a future filled with artistic pursuits and cultural appreciation.
Merry Christmas to everyone.
Kilgraston Christmas Concert 2022
On Friday 2nd December, the whole school community gathered in the spectacular setting of the Perth Concert Hall for our annual Christmas Concert.
The audience were wowed by performances in music, dance and drama based on Christmas cards each portraying a different theme from Disney to a Scottish Christmas. Kilgraston must be almost unique in having every pupil in the school on stage performing which gives the concert a genuine whole school community ethos. Pupils and staff had been busy rehearsing all term and four days of intensive rehearsals in the run up to the concert itself were a fantastic build up to the night itself.
Mr Morley and Mrs Murphy with the technical help of Mr Pryke were delighted with the concert itself and despite many pupils battling with coughs and colds gave their all on the stage. Mrs Murphy said of the concert, “”I was so happy we got to showcase all the talents of Kilgraston - from the visual artists to the Highland dancers, from the lyrical trio to the comedy sketches. I loved putting together the programme and I genuinely hope it reflected the very special place Kilgraston is and all the magic that Christmas offers us” while Laura in Lower 6th who is our Music Captain and took a leading role in the concert made reference to the excitement felt by pupils each year, “I look forward to the Christmas concert every year. The whole school rehearsing and performing together makes it really special to be a part of.”
But it was not only the pupils on the stage who were buzzing after the concert, it was lovely to receive so much behind the scenes support from staff, with one teacher commenting, “I am so, so proud to teach at Kilgraston when as a school we are represented by such an amazing display of talent, teamwork and a ‘can do’ attitude”. As the strains of songs that have been heard sung in corridors and on buses since late September start to fade away it is already time to start planning ahead for next year, do put the date in your diaries, Friday 8th December 2023!
Kilgraston’s 2020 Christmas card
In keeping with tradition, Kilgraston’s 2020 Christmas card has been created by one of our talented pupils. This year’s Christmas card competition winner is Upper Sixth’s Alexandra.
The stunning painting in acrylic took Alexandra around two weeks to paint.
Alexandra said: “I wanted to create a painting that captured some of the magic of Christmas. The angel at the heart of the scene was inspired by the Angel Gabriel or the Christmas Angel as I would picture them. At Christmas angels represent light, hope and good news. I think this year more than any we need a bit of light in our lives and I hoped to create a painting that would capture that sentiment.
“By placing the angel within a familiar setting such as the school grounds, it makes the whole scene feel more magical. That if you peered out of the school windows on a wintry Christmas night you might catch a glimpse of an angel in the snow.”
The Kilgraston’s 2020 Christmas card should be with our families now so we hope you enjoy them. If you would also like to find out how Kilgraston has continued to celebrate Christmas, have you read about our Christmas movie? You can read more here.
This is Alexandra’s painting:
Kilgraston’s Covid Christmas Show
Kilgraston’s Covid Christmas Show proved that anything really is possible…
What’s Christmas without a little family drama and Kilgraston’s seasonal homage had it with bells on. But, like any tension-inducing event, it was very much all alright on the night.
Director of Music, Jason McAuley’s ambitious production of an hour-long drive-in movie was testament to the grit and determination of a small school to not have its annual Christmas showcase spoilt by Covid: “We just wanted to give everyone a good time, something to bring a little cheer into this gloomy climate.”
And deliver joy he most certainly did.
With the help of a blow-up movie screen imported from Truro and school bus drivers hastily morphing into car park attendants and instant Bluetooth speaker experts, the weather also played ball, allowing nearly 200 cars to slip seamlessly into their allotted space and enjoy one of the three movie showings over one hectic night.
“I can’t tell you how hard everyone’s worked on this,” said an emotional Mr McAuley, wrestling with momentary sound interference and a sea of blinking hazard lights indicating poor reception.
Christmas is a time when magical things happen and just as tensions piqued, the technical fairies flicked their wands and all was well in the world.
The Kilgraston community is a cohesive unit with all 260 pupils and nearly 100 staff doing their party piece and adding to the festival spirit. Recorded over two weeks and appropriately socially distanced measurements in draughty marquees and windy front lawns, dancers, singers, pipers, jazz musicians, orchestra members, choirs, actors and speakers led the audience through the traditional tale with a contemporary twist: “We included ‘flock immunity’, gifts of fragrant hand-sanitiser and the R-number – rational reaction of reasonable repetitive response – to add a touch of much-needed humour,” said Mr McAuley.
Diced and spliced during a week of late-night sessions in the School’s recording and editing suite, the movie promised to take viewers on a ‘new journey’ where we ‘thought a little differently’. During the first few minutes, one performer asked: “Where are you Christmas, where is the laughter?” It was all there. Teachers donning cardboard camels, pupils re-enacting appropriately spaced nativity scenes.
You couldn’t make it up, but they did and to spectacular effect, spreading joy and happiness to a chilly car park in Perthshire, the audience going home for the night full of festive bonhomie.
“Phew,” said Mr McAuley.
“Thank you,” called everyone else.
Read more about the press coverage of this event here.
Kilgraston Junior School Christmas Fair 2020
Below, Junior School Head Girl, Willow, writes about the Kilgraston Junior School Christmas Fair 2020:
Recently, Upper Third held the Kilgraston Junior School Christmas Fair 2020 in the Atrium.
The fair was organised by the Junior School Head Girl team with loads of help from Mrs MacGinty and Ms Cooper .
There were ten stalls selling inventive things as we could not have a bake sale. Instead we have all been very busy at home crafting, coming up with ideas to make money and creating loads of goodies to sell.
The aim was to raise as much money as possible for our chosen charities - Mary’s Meals, Free The Bears and a homeless charity in Edinburgh.
At the fair there was so much to buy and do including stalls such as ‘guess the name of the teddy’, Christmas baubles to buy, a tombola, a Christmas tree raffle, as well as stalls selling hair scrunches, bracelets, dog treats, home-made Christmas cards.
Everyone had lots of fun and it was a real treat to all be doing something different and together for a great cause.
A very big thank you from the Junior School Head Girl team to Mrs MacGinty and Ms Cooper for all their help and I am so proud , on behalf of the Head Girl team and Upper Third, to announce that the junior school Xmas fair raised over £700.
Willow, Junior School Head Girl
Kilgraston’s Christmas movie features in the Telegraph
Kilgraston’s Christmas movie, a school only, drive-in movie event, featured in The Sunday Telegraph.
The article looks at how some schools are inventing ways of still allowing pupils and parents alike to soak up the excitement of the annual Christmas show.
In the article, Kilgraston’s Director of Music, Mr Jason McAuley, says: “It would be easy to say, ‘We can’t do this and we can’t do that’, but we have to accentuate the positive. It’s vital for the girls’ enthusiasm. Besides, their grannies want to see something.”
Our families will be able to enjoy this wonderful performance very soon, with the show available on YouTube in the coming weeks.
You can read more about the Kilgraston Christmas Movie by subscribing to the Telegraph at this link.
Image via Telegraph: Chris Watt