The LJS hall was buzzing in the evening of Monday, 27th January, as parents, staff and children of Laxton Junior and Oundle School converged for the annual Percussion Concert. Led by our extraordinary and inspiring Percussion Teacher, Mr Rhys Matthews, children from Year 1 to the 6th Form performed a range of individual and ensemble pieces that had a packed hall smiling and seat-dancing throughout!
Evenings such as this are not just a display of the phenomenal musical talent that exists across both schools, it is an opportunity for the entire community to observe and listen to the progression of knowledge and skill from its origins, in Year 1 and Year 2 at LJS, all the way up to those working on Grade 8 and Diploma pieces at the top end of Oundle School. It is an incredible journey and one that involves exceptional levels of dedication and, importantly, passion; to see this evolution, then, so exquisitely portrayed before the audience’s eyes was an absolute joy to behold.
There were many highlights of the evening: the confident first public performances by LJS’s Junior and Intermediate Ensembles; the remarkably choreographed ‘body beats’ by the senior school’s percussionists; and the hugely entertaining ‘beats and brooms’ by Laxton’s Senior Ensemble. A favourite moment of so many of the audience, though, was watching the LJS children listen to the fantastic individual performances by Oundle School’s percussionists; they were utterly spellbound by these, and got a real-life taste of what they could become if they continue to work hard and love every moment of their musical adventure.
Mr Sam Robertson, Head of LJS
