The Purcell School Honours John McCabe

The Purcell School Honours John McCabe

In a wonderful display of talent fostered by the Purcell School, the Contemporary Ensemble of the school, conducted by Edward Longstaff , put on a public concert  at Morley College in S. London, based around McCabe’s Australian-inspired Rainforest I and dedicated to his memory. The youthful ensemble gave a brilliant performance of this complex chamber work, involving string quartet, piano trio, flute, clarinet and glockenspiel. This was followed by four pieces by composition students at the school under the general title of Rainforest Reimagined. All the works displayed great skill, personality and imagination – El Bosque by J. P. Barrios, Moonflower by Lauren Marshall, Blind Void by Zakia Fawcett and Reflection by Thomas Sparkes – and all were well performed by the ensemble.

Prior to this there had been two pieces performed by almost frighteningly brilliant Junior composers, Three Threads, by Phil Theodorou, and Lost Ones by Chelsea Becker.

All the composers, of all ages, displayed excellent stage manners and spoke to the audience with total confidence. Altogether it was a wonderful display of present study and future potential.