St John’s School & Sixth Form College musicians recently performed at Durham Cathedral as part of the Sacred Song and Script Art Exhibition. Students performed The Journey, a piece depicting a walk through the Anglo-Saxon era, incorporating both live performance and pre-recorded sound effects. Listeners are taken on a journey that begins in an ancient monastery, passes through a diseased ridden town, then onto a battlefield ending in a dramatic climax. St John’s students collaborated with musician Jack Burton in creating this unusual soundscape that was premiered in a 7th Century Saxon Church in Bishop Auckland. The ensemble piece incorporates violin, piano, trumpet and vocals with pre-recorded sounds such as mud squelching, church bells, horses and the recreation of a medieval blacksmith’s. Laurie Kalus, Charlie Frankcom, Holly Hankey, Edward Stringer and Ellen Poot all participated in this exciting event.
St John’s Singers also performed at the Cathedral performing a variety of Liturgical Music. This recently formed ensemble rehearse weekly at St John’s preparing a variety of repertoire appropriate for the more reflective moments of St John’s Catholic culture. Their most exciting event to date was performing for Bishop Seamus during his recent visit to St John’s, December 2013.
Singers are Jane Hayman, Megan Whales, Kate Osbiston, Hannah Poulton, Neve Reynolds, Jack Clarke, Millie Cairns, Ryan Jackson, Maria Fidrych, Declan Simpson, Kaitlyn Savage, Eve Patchett, Charlotte Caton.
