Birkenhead School 27th February 2014
What a treat I had in February when I was invited to do some vocal coaching with the cast members of Birkenhead School’s Les Miserables production. Birkenhead School is an Independent HMC school for boys and girls and is situated in Oxton on the Wirral Peninsula. I was delighted in 2012 to sing with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Conductor Vasily Petrenko to celebrate the schools Anniversary and had also perform there previously at the Two Rivers Festival which is held there each year.
Les Miserables is one of my favourite musicals so it was a great pleasure to be able to work on the repertoire with the pupils and to contribute in a small way to their preparations. Their Head of Music Philip Robinson had done an amazing job with the music and created such a professional stage set; and we had a great time running through each of the main songs and exploring the movement on stage. I was fortunate enough to go to one of the sell-out final performances of the production and it was brilliant! The cast were amazing and it was a credit to the school to see such a wonderful performance.
I returned to the Bushell Hall at Birkenhead School on 21st March 2014 to perform in a recital with pianist James Baillieu for the Two Rivers Festival. The Two Rivers Festival was created in 2008 by Andrew Thomson and Peter Davison to bring musical performers of international quality to Wirral. Since its inception the festival has gained a reputation for presenting informal concerts in the intimate setting of the Bushell Hall at Birkenhead School. The Headmaster of Birkenhead School, John Clark, was leaving at the end of the current school year so the concert was also a special event to mark the occasion. It was wonderful to perform for a very enthusiastic audience and I was thrilled to see many of the pupils who I had been involved in coaching for the ‘Les Miserables’ production had also come along to the recital. Thanks to everyone involved!