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Sunday, February 24, 2013

A Magnificent view of great Talent!


The Cambridge House Community College / Forest School of London Concert
"One Sun, One World"
February 21st, 2013
Held at La Palau de la Música, Valencia, Spain 
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WoW! What a Concert!





This past week, February 21, 2013 provided my wife and myself with a very special experience. We attended the annual school concert as presented by Cambridge House Community College, Rocafort Valencia, Spain.

Usually school concerts are held in the auditorium and they reach up to a certain crescendo showcasing new young talent. They are normally enjoyable events attended by proud and delighted parents and grandparents. This was all in evidence at the Cambridge House concert, but it didn't stop there. It was held in the top venue for concerts in Valencia, The Palau de la Música, The Palace of Music, where la créme de la créme perform. The school took its approximately 300 person choir, together with a 41 piece classical orchestra from the Forest School that had travelled from London with their director, Alex Redpath, and under the overall direction of the school's Master of Music, Tim Davis they presented the concert entitled, "One Sun, One World."

It is not my intention to do a critique of the concert per se, but rather I wanted to comment on how wonderful an experience it is to be entertained by los jovenes, the young people, some very young indeed. The children were drawn from the youngest in year 3 to the oldest in year 13, with a sprinkling of adults. Had I wanted to present a critique I could sum up in any number of one word choices, such as Wonderful, Fantastic, Extraordinary, Amazing, Brilliant, Enjoyable, etc, etc, etc.

The theme was our world and our responsibility to take care of our environment. We have been given just One World and as human beings it is up to us to be responsible. That is a powerful and commonsense message that so many adults completely ignore. Sometimes it is done out of greed, other times it is done because of laziness or apathy and ignorance, but whatever the motivation it is tantamount to committing suicide unintentionally.

The choir wore bright yellow tee-shirts and when they stood and were flooded by lights I felt I should have averted my eyes as it was like looking directly into the sun. A wonderful effect!

There were six soloists from whom I expect we shall be hearing much more in the future. They are possessed of beautiful voices that they have already learned to control artfully. I imagine a bright future if they continue their training and keep their heads tightly screwed on.

A Profile in Courage:
I must not leave this piece without turning my spotlight on a unique person. She is a little girl, about seven years of age who is battling with a complex of issues that confine her to a wheelchair and that sap her strength. She attends school and tries to participate where she can. She may not have the energy to even hold her own head upright, but she can sing. She was brought to the stage in the arms of Ana and sat in her wheelchair, with her head held upright, and she sang most heartily. I think that no one can understand that type of courage and determination, we can only just admire her and applaud her. Well done, little one!

On a less positive note some people sitting in our area were behaving very badly. They were busy having a running conservation among themselves, or using their smart phones to send texts, or reading e-mails. I am from a different time when such behaviour was considered rude,obnoxious and extremely disrecptful to those on stage and in the immediate vicinity. I know the world is changing and things change but it seems to me that if you have such a tiny brain and concentration it may be better for you to simply stay away from situations that require good manners and focus.

This was the second time that such a concert has been presented at the same venue and in collaboration with Forest School of London. When these two mighty entities come together, in the words of Alex Repath, they achieve so much more than they could do alone.

Copyright (c) 2013  Eugene Carmichael