The College recently held their annual Christmas concert at The Cathedral of St Michael & St George, Aldershot and was a wonderful evening of celebration and music.

The evening began with a congregational carol, ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’, accompanied by one of two student organists, Adrien Carrere. As the congregation took their seats, the first of the ensemble performances began, performed by the Chamber Choir singing ‘Coventry Carol’. This performance was then followed by a collaboration between the orchestra and two student soloists who sang ‘Nativity Carol’. 

After a reading by College Principal, Catherine Cole, the Chamber Choir returned to the stage, covered in delicate snowflake projections, they sang ‘God Rest’, a modern take on the traditional carol, arranged and produced by Curriculum Manager for Music Technology, Matt Prudente-Poulton. The harmonious blend of ethereal voices mixed with electronic arpeggiators, synth pads, booming bass drums and morphing projections was truly spectacular. 

The second student organist of the evening, Maria Achim, accompanied the congregation for ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’, followed by a string and woodwind collaboration for ‘Bethlehem Down’.

CEO of The Prospect Trust, Andy Yarrow, read ‘The Epiphany’ by Godfrey Rust before the Big Band’s rendition of ‘A Big Band Christmas’. This lively christmas mashup featured snippets from various popular christmas songs including: ‘On the First Day of Christmas’, ‘Rudolf The Rednosed Reindeer’, ‘Jingle Bells’, ‘We Three Kings’ and more! 

Our new student-run jazz band performed ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ and ‘All I Want For Christmas’, with vocalist Kaleena Cudiamat. 

Before the final congregational carol of the night, Contemporary Voices sang a gospel rendition of ‘Joyful, Joyful’, adapted by Music Enrichment Lead, André Da Silva. Emma Woolford, who previously wowed the audience as the opening act for SixFest 2022, sang the opening vocal solo accompanied by the Contemporary Voices band. 

“It was a truly memorable evening and a tremendous showcase of musical diversity with students accompanying and leading ensembles. The students showed great tenacity, professionalism and commitment within their performances.” Stuart McSweeney, Curriculum Manager for A-Level Music.