CHELMSFORD COMPETITIVE FESTIVAL

Prizewinners' Concert at CHS

28.11.08

Forty-eight years on, the Chelmsford Competitive Festival of Music and Drama continues to attract entries from all over the county and beyond.

What a broad church it is ! This year's 600+ entries included performers of all ages from beginners to advanced, from solos to ensembles to big production numbers. And all kinds of music, poetry, prose and drama.

The range was demonstrated at the Prizewinners' Concert: even the first item – the impressively disciplined Sandon School Chamber Choir – brought music from the Middle Ages to Fifties America: Gaudete to Goodnight Sweetheart.

Jostling for space in this annual showcase of the Festival's best were James McCallum's soprano sax, Sam Marlow's guitar, and Mendelssohn's Mosquito, brilliantly played, from memory, by 9-year-old Andrew Liddell on violin.

Dramatically, the ages ranged from Aidan and Oliver, who's just turned nine, to the students of Rickstones New Academy, with their inventive Muppetree mime.

Top of the bill were Stardust Dance Academy, with a familiar few minutes of Annie.

The presentations were made by Nicole Chapman, Headteacher of Chelmsford County High School. As she remarked, the performing arts develop qualities and skills for life, and both performers and audience can find their lives enhanced.