The Ysgol Greenhill Expressive Arts AoLE staff were delighted to welcome friends and families to the school to watch an immensely talented group of students take part in the first Christmas concert since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The audience on Wednesday, December 14 was greeted on arrival by a selection of traditional Christmas carols performed on trumpet by Carys Wood of Year 11, before being officially welcomed by the head of the AoLE, Mr Lloyd Evans - the MC for the evening.
First up was talented Year 7 singing ensemble, ably backed by their very own rock group, who performed two pieces, “Jingle Bell Rock” and the classic Shakin’ Stevens Number One hit, “Merry Christmas Everyone”. This group of budding musicians have been working very hard in preparation for their first Christmas concert at Ysgol Greenhill, and hopefully will be performing for many years to come. In a change of pace, this was followed by a delightful performance of “Fairytale of New York” from a string quartet made up of students Ella, Bronwen and Poppy, together with their peripatetic string teacher, Verity.
Next up was the school Concert Band, led by Mr. Colin Barrett, who performed three pieces: “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”, “Little Donkey” and “Frosty the Snowman”. The band is largely made up of younger students from Years 7 and 8, and their outstanding performance on the night bodes that music in Greenhill is going to be in good hands for many years to come.
The school choir is a regular, and much looked-forward-to part of any concert at Greenhill, and it was lovely to welcome them back to the stage after such a long break. Conducted by Mrs Rapi, and accompanied by Mrs James, this year they treated the audience to two pieces, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Somewhere Only We Know”. They were followed on stage by the Flute Trio, Anya, Beth and Thea, who took the audience into the break with two beautiful performances of “Pachelbel’s Cannon” and “The First Noel”.
During the interval, the audience had the opportunity to tuck in to some fantastic refreshments, which were laid on by the GCSE Hospitality and Catering students. These students had been working very hard all day in preparation, baking dozens of delicious mince pies for the visitors. The school would like to say a massive thank you to Mrs. Palmer and the students for all their hard work in organising this. While refreshments were being provided, the music continued, with two of the school’s Rock Bands providing entertainment. Georgia and Seren performed George Ezra’s “Tiger Lily”, followed by Willis, Iestyn, Corey and Georgia, who performed the classic Elton John standard “Step Into Christmas”.
The second half kicked off with a performance from some of Greenhill’s more senior students in the school Jazz Band. This ever-popular group performed two high energy pieces, “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Poco Loco”, and was just what the audience needed to get them back into the spirit of the evening after the break. This was followed by excellent solo performances from Carys Wood on trumpet, playing “Twelve Days of Christmas…Excluding Weekends” and “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”, and Ella Bromby singing “Vienna”.
The evening concluded with the Ysgol Greenhill Orchestra, this year conducted by Mr Tom Bromby and accompanied by Mrs James. The orchestra were in excellent form, revelling in being back on stage in front of an audience again. They performed three Christmas favourites: Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, and John Lennon/Yoko Ono’s “Merry Christmas (War is Over)”, before accompanying the audience in their sing-a-long of “O Come All Ye Faithful”. It was a wonderful way to end this festive musical offering, sending everyone home in the Christmas spirit.
The school would very much like to thank each and every individual who helped to make the event the resounding success it was. The members of the Pembrokeshire Peripatetic Music Staff, whose time and talent was generously given, the school’s very own Mr Lloyd Evans for compering the show so enthusiastically, and Mr Doug Chapman for bringing the light and sound spectacularly into play throughout the entire evening. A special mention to Mr Tom Bromby, for all of his hard work and time in helping the orchestra prepare for the evening, and to Miss Rhian Morgan and Miss Eleanor Catt for retaking their seats within the orchestra so many years later - There is no substitute for experience! Also a massive “well done” to all the talented students who took part in the concert, many of them for the first time as a part of the Ysgol Greenhill community. Performances were outstanding and something to be very proud of - well done all!