Charlotte Howdle opened this week’s lunchtime recital with an assured performance of the final movement of Franck’s incredible Violin Sonta, displaying a warm tone and great versatility in all registers of the violin. Naomi closed the recital with contrasting piano works by Rachmaninoff; Prelude op. 23 no. 4 and Étude–Tableau op. 39 no.9, both in D major. The audience was drawn in by her long melodic lines and attention to detail of the inner melodies. Ivy (violin), Zoe (violin) and Ami (cello) also performed as part of a String Quartet with Junias (viola) from KES. Their rendition of the second movement of Shostakovich’s String Quartet no. 8 in C minor, op.110 was exciting from start to finish and showed a clear understanding of the turmoil in Shostakovich’s life.

German exchange trip to Hamburg
When we were not out on trips, our pupils were attending lessons with their exchange partners in our partner school, the Gymnasium Oldenfelde in Hamburg-Rahlstedt. It was fascinating to see the many differences between the English and German school systems.