Congratulations to all the Williamwood pupils involved in the Junior Conservatoire Christmas concerts over the weekend.  A special mention must go to S4 pupil Chris Vettraino for his outstanding performance of the oboe concerto ‘L’Horloge de Flore’ with the Junior Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night.

Congratulations to the following pupils on their success in their recent Associated Board and Trinity examinations.

ABRSM

S1 Pupils: May Jackson Grade 4 Violin with merit, Nina Jackson Grade 4 Violin with distinction

S2 Pupils: Aalia Shah Grade 6 Violin with distinction, Tom Simmonds Grade 5 Violin with distinction

S3 Pupils: Nina Adams Grade 4 Viola with merit, Charlotte McKenna Grade 4 Violin with merit

S4 Pupils: Sophie Boyd Grade 7 Violin with merit, Callum Corrie Grade 4 Viola with merit, Mark Miller Grade 4 Violin with merit

Trinity/Guildhall

S2 Pupil: Orla Lang Grade 6 Oboe with merit

S3 Pupils: Kitty Lamont Grade 4 Flute with merit, Catriona Macintosh Grade 4 Flute with distinction, Alasdair Notley Grade 6 Oboe with merit, Julie Sinclair Grade 4 Flute with merit

We are always delighted to celebrate the talent of the pupils at Williamwood so please let Mrs Selbie know if we have missed anyone out.

To mark the centenary of WW1 it was decided that entrants of the Young Composer of the Year Competition would use an aspect of WW1 as a focus for their stimulus.

Work was completed both as school lessons and also during after school works shops, where pupils were encouraged to consider how to express an aspect of life during the war.

Using a variety of perspectives conveyed by artists, writers, musicians and film makers as a starting point, the young composers developed expressive work that reflects on stimulus such as soldier’s struggles with day to day life in the trenches, of mother’s waving their children off to war and of the terror on the battle field. The result was thought provoking and sensitively constructed work that the adjudicators; Mr Doherty and Mr West were very impressed with.

The composer’s work had been divided into Junior and Senior sections. Sam (S4) was awarded Senior Young Composer of the Year, while Jennifer (S3) was awarded Junior Young Composer of the Year. Music scores by senior and junior competitors; Lewis Graham (S6) and Caleb Hunter (S3), were highly commended for their distinguished work.

The winning candidates work was performed at the WW1 commemoration evening in Williamwood with a very positive reception.

All material that was presented to the adjudicators illustrated compassion and awareness of the experiences of war. Well done to all candidates that took part.

S4 student Chris Vettraino is performing the Jean Françaix Oboe concerto L’horloge de flore at the Junior Conservatoire Christmas concert on the evening of Saturday 12 December.  Mrs Selbie has a number of tickets for this concert so please see her if you would like to go.

A big thank you to some of our Advanced Higher students who provided the entertainment on Tuesday lunchtime, 17th Nov, at Netherlee Age Concern in the Albertslund Hall in Newton Mearns.  The pupils involved were:  Sophie Aziz and Luisa Walker singing duets, Lewis Graham on clarinet, Jamie McQueen singing songs from shows and Andrew Vettraino on piano.

This year Williamwood High School is delighted to be bring to the stage the smash-hit Broadway musical Hairspray.  The show runs from 2nd to 4th December at 7.30pm in the Ena Millar Theatre.  Tickets are available from the Performing Arts Base at a of cost £6 adult and £4 concession.

Get your tickets early to avoid disappointment!

Last Wednesday night Williamwood High School hosted its annual Young Singer of the Year competition.  Over 60 pupils auditioned for a place in this year’s final.  The fifteen finalists all performed to an exceptionally high standard and there was a huge amount of talent on display.  The Senior Choir, Junior Choir and Vocal Ensemble all gave excellent performances whilst the adjudicators had the difficult decision of deciding on the winners.  The overall winner of the Junior Section was Elena Guevara-Rose (S1) with Shay O’Dowd (S1) taking the runner up prize.  The winner of the Senior Section was Jamie McQueen (S6)  who stole the show with his unbeatable performance.  Nicholas Mayer (S6) took the runner up prize in this section whilst Cameron Black (S1)  received a special ‘Rising Star’ award for his performance of ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Happy’.  Overall a fantastic night was had by all!  The event can be viewed here.

Congratulations to bassoonists Lucy Gibson S5 and Andrew Vettraino S6, clarinettist Lewis Graham S6 and horn player Alec Ross S5 who have all got into NYOGB 2016.  This is a tremendous achievement and we are delighted that four pupils from Williamwood have received a place in this outstanding orchestra.  The students will get the opportunity to perform in many exciting venues including performing live on television in the BBC Proms in the Albert Hall next year.

The Williamwood High School Performing Arts Music Festival 2015 on September 17 was an exciting event, with pupils at Williamwood providing accomplished and enjoyable performances in a variety of styles and instrumentation. Adjudicators Donald Finlayson and Siobhan Anderson were clearly impressed by the outstanding musical talent within the school, and identified the evening’s most exciting performance in the Junior Section as Andrew Cramb for his Piping skills, while the Senior Section winner was recognised as Matthew Donaldson for his unique Drum kit technique. Highly commended positions were awarded to Malachy Arnold in S1 for his musical performance on the Clarsach, and Andrew MacLeod in S6 for his confident and entertaining interpretation on the Trombone.  Well done and congratulations to all pupils that took part.

The Dewar Arts Awards are proud to support the brightest and best of Scotland’s young artistic talent.