Head's Newsletter 16 September 2016

performance at this year's BBC Proms. The choir performed Mahler's 3rd Symphony alongside the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra with Bernard Haitink. The performance had special significance, as Haitink (aged 87), respected for his interpretation of Mahler's Symphonies, was returning to the proms on a significant anniversary of his first proms performance. Rehearsing in the Royal Albert Hall to the orchestra's busy schedule was fascinating.

MUSIC

In July, the Boys' Choir returned from their rewarding tour to Milan. The tour included singing mass at the cavernous, gothic Milan Cathedral, and performing concerts in two very different venues: a candlelit garden on the shores of Lake Maggiore and at the ornate, baroque church of Santa Maria presson San Celso. Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia, Howells Te Deum Collegium Regale and Parsons Ave Maria formed three beautifully contrasting parts of an all English programme. Excellent weather and ice cream were present throughout the trip, as was the opportunity to climb man- made structures, including the cathedral and the statue of Carlo Borromeo, at one time the largest bronze statue in the world and under whose shadow we performed.

The conductor helped the boys' choir to relish their moment in front of the full house drawn by this significant performance. The concert was broadcast live to hundreds of thousands, on BBC4, the distinctive Tiffin blazers standing out on television and computer screens. Tiffin Oratorio is reverting to the Autumn term and rehearsals are now under way for Mendelssohn’s Elijah to be performed in the school’s Sports Hall on Sunday 20 th November at 7.00 pm. Rehearsals will take place in the Main School Hall 7-9 pm on Wednesdays. The subscription cost is £40 and Novello scores are available to purchase for £10 at the first few rehearsals. New parents at the school are warmly encouraged to join the choir, with the normal arrangement that they can sample a rehearsal or two before committing. You can follow Tiffin Oratorio at www.facebook.com/TiffinOratorio .

BBC PROMS

This summer, fifty of Tiffin's trebles spent a week at school in preparation for their