Music at the Vaughan over the next few weeks

The run up to Christmas is always the busiest time of the year for the Music Department but the next month or so is especially hectic.

Sixth Form Choir (which has record numbers this year!) is traveling to Cambridge this week to sing Evensong at Selwyn College, Mr Jackson's old college. And on Sunday, for Remembrance Sunday, the Schola is to sing an Evensong service at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square.

Boys are currently singing in La boheme at ENO (see video below) and have also just started rehearsals for Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at the Royal Opera House which is on in December.

The Schola is also about to record a new CD - a recording with the Belgravia Chamber Orchestra of the Fauré Requiem and other works. This will hopefully be available in the New Year.

On Friday 20 November the School will hold its annual St Cecilia Concert. This is often the biggest concert of the year and this year looks to be no different. Music by Schubert, Saint-Saens, JS Bach and Ravel is on the bill including Bach's wonderful cantata Wachet Auf whilst the second half of the concert will be made up of extracts from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. We will be joined for the performance of Orff's masterpiece by forty young singers from Corpus Christi Primary School in Brixton.

There will be a Junior Concert for the younger ensembles on December 2, which will include a performance of Britten's Ceremony of Carols by the Schola trebles, plus Second Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra and Junior Strings.

On December 12 twenty lucky boys get to sing at the Royal Albert Hall in a live performance of Danny Elfman's music from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, as the film is shown on a giant  screen.

And there are all the Christmas services as well of course; a Carol Service for the Mayor of Kensignton of Chelsea being given by Sixth Form Choir on 3 December, one at the National Liberal Club for the Schola trebles on 8 December and the Vaughan's Service of Lessons and Carols which will be at 7.30 pm on Thursday 17 December at Our Lady of Victories, Kensington High Street. Oscar-winning film composer Mychael Danna (who wrote the music for Life of Pi) has composed a carol for the Schola which they will give the first performance of that evening. Another carol the Schola will sing is this wonderful miniature, just to get you in the mood!

Boys singing in ENO's new La boheme

Boys from the Vaughan, joined by girls drawn from a number of schools, are currently singing in English National Opera's new production of Puccini's La boheme. 

Here are some photos (by Robert Workman) of the boys and girls in action.