On Tuesday the 18th of December, St. Andrew’s Church once again hosted the ISM Krylatskoe Upper Campus Christmas Concert. The church was packed to the rafters and festive cheer was augmented with mince pies and other yuletide sustenance.
The concert started with a performance of Pergolesi’s Magnificat, with a mass choir accompanied by the ISM Orchestra. No doubt enthused by this opening, the audience were invited to join in some festival carols both traditional and popular. The Orchestra, led by principal violin, Margarita Nekhorosheva, then launched into a performance of their most challenging work to date, a selection of pieces from ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ conducted by Dr. Paul Tkachenko. The Upper Primary choir brought the attention back to Christmas with the suitably slavic ‘Carol of the Bells’, and ‘We Need a Little Christmas’ conducted by Ms. Michelle Whelan.
The GCSE groups offered a reggae interpretation of the 15th Century Latin hymn ‘Gaude’ featuring Karen Kuroiwa and James Allen from Year 10 and the more light-hearted ‘Santa Baby’ and ‘This Christmas’ led by Mr. James Langford. A reprisal from ‘Annie’ reminded us that ‘You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile’. Ms. Channon’s chamber choir performed Billy Joel’s classic ‘And So It Goes’. The newly-formed ISM Big Band accompanied the audience in a rousing performance of ‘Let it Snow’ and got the audience’s feet tapping with the Horace Silver classic ‘The Preacher’.
The Upper Campus Guitar Ensemble, led by Mr. Vadim Kvyatkovskiy performed Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’ with delicacy and finesse. Both Upper Primary and Secondary students gave readings which brought home the true message of Christmas and reminded us of our unique community. The staff choir, under the direction of Ms. Michelle Whelan, surprised a number of people with their hidden choral talents in ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire’ (The Christmas Song). A level Music students Marina Ogawa and Maxim Taptygin delivered a theatrical and impressive performance of ‘Turkey Lurkey Time’ which was as entertaining as it sounds. The Senior Choir concluded the student performances with the archetypical ‘Jingle Bells’ with a fresh and jazzy arrangement. Everyone joined in for a grand finale performance of ‘Hark the Herald’, a suitably grand ending to a concert that celebrated this most wonderful time of the year.
By Mr. James Langford, Head of Creative Arts Department and Dr. Paul Tkachenko, Music Teacher and Music Programme Coordinator
