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Howard Goodall launches GSAL arts festival at Leeds Town Hall

Tuesday 17 March 2015

WEB Howard Goodall at Leeds Town HallOn 11 September 2001, Howard Goodall was due at a 9.00am meeting under the Twin Towers in New York, but something made him half an hour late.

Four years after he had watched the horrific events of 9/11 unfold, he read Wendy Cope’s poem Spared, which exactly described the feelings that remain with him and many others since that day. As a composer and eye-witness he was moved to reflect his experience in music and so created his 2005 setting of Wendy Cope’s words.

Spared was one of a number of Howard’s pieces performed during ‘An Evening with Howard Goodall’ in Leeds Town Hall on Sunday night. Working with the composer himself and hearing these personal insights into the music gave the singers and instrumentalists an extra special connection with the music they were performing.

The concert marked the launch of Arts15, a two-week arts festival at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL), and brought together performers from GSAL, Leeds College of Music and Bradford Festival Choral Society.

The programme included a full performance of Howard’s King James Bible oratorio Every Purpose Under the Heaven and several shorter choral works such as excerpts from Eternal Light: a Requiem and some familiar TV theme tunes. Instrumental repertoire included Inspired for orchestra and guitar, Sewing Schools for string ensemble and the cello suite Spring. Howard himself played the piano solo Shackleton’s Cross.

Howard said: “I’ve been blown away by the skills and preparation of the students performing here today. I applaud GSAL for the ambition of their arts festival and the amount of live performance they do with students; the only way to learn about music is to do it.”

There is lots more coming up over the festival fortnight, including musical performances and workshops in different genres, drama productions and sessions with well-known dramatists, art and design exhibitions and food technology demonstrations.

Children from across the whole school are involved, with special creative activities at Rose Court and Junior School as well as Senior School during the two weeks. The highlight for Junior School will be their choral performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at St Chad’s Church Headingley on Saturday 21 March.

For full details visit the Arts15 pages

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