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Kilgraston’s Spring Concert throws light and shade across the Chapel

Kilgraston’s Spring Concert throws light and shade across the Chapel


Never let the hailstones stand in the way of a good Spring Concert.

Despite the inclement weather, Kilgraston’s Senior School left the audience in no doubt that this was a very topical show. Like the weather outside – bright, light and upbeat one minute, with a touch of sombre reality the next – the concert packed in no less than 15 varied numbers in just over an hour.

“What a lot of talent we do have,” said Head Mrs MacGinty. And indeed they do. Vivaldi’s rhythmic duo Autumn & Winter – performed flawlessly by the school’s Woodwind Ensemble – immediately imbuing you with seasonal mood.

Leaping forward to Lady Gaga’s contemporary A Million Reasons, by the Senior Choir, the audience lilted and pitched, drawn into a sensation of light-dappled fields.

But just when you thought the horizon was clear, Hebridean ballad, Dark Island, hauntingly performed by the Clarsach trio, reminded you that Spring can always ‘take’ as well as ‘give’ and dark clouds loomed above the seas ahead.

Xylophones are not an instrument that often feels the limelight. However, Yolanda N’s fast-paced Hungarian Rhapsody whisked you away to the mountainous region, finishing with a full-keyboard flourish and a timely indication that modulation was the theme of the night.

As if the performance hadn’t already flexed its variable muscles, the School’s Jazz Band leapt in with foot-stamping number Take on me. Norwegian trio, A-HA, hit the headlines with this tune over thirty years ago – a fact not lost on participating parents. But A-HA’s rendition didn’t include a trombone and tambourine. And neither did it have their Musical Director leaping from one instrument to another!

Concluding proceedings, a soft and forgiving performance of Chilcott’s Irish Blessing by the Chamber Choir, symbolised the end of the seasonal battle. Calm, soft and warming, it was, like any perfect Spring day, a balm to the soul.

A truly memorable night of variation.

Mairi Fraser

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