PHILLIPS PERIOD

Mr. Gordon Phillips, the present music master, joined the staff in September 1957. Instead of the, by this time, almost traditional combined School, Staff and Old Boys and Girls Gilbert and Sullivan production (or home-produce on similar lines), he decided to change the whole style. In 1959 he and Mr. J. C. Chamberlain presented “Let’s Make an Opera” by Benjamin Britten. This work called for audience participation and was thoroughly enjoyed. The total attendance reached nearly 1000 on the three nights it was performed - some of whom came every evening. Angela Bradley (then in the V1th) wrote “The casting was excellent and the use of purely school talent was a welcome change and entirely suitable for such a production. The children were so natural and unaffected that the audience was ‘caught up’ in their gaiety and enthusiasm for the opera and seemed only too willing to help out as the chorus”. Indeed the whole performance depended on the co-operation of the audience and they were inspired by Mr. Phillips’ enthusiasm. He himself says that without his co-producer’s work it would never have reached the stage.

Angela went on to add “Sheila Turley made a most efficient old girl. Her voice was distinct and natural and she completely filled the part. Yvonne Turley really shone as Rowan.; her clear soprano voice was a delight to everyone. Robert Gwilliam’s acting was outstanding. He has a very distinct speaking voice and his deep bass tones well filled the role of the sweep. David Merrett his ‘partner in crime’ was also excellent. Carol Brown was very confident and her voice well filled her role of an amateur dramatic singer, whilst Anthony Davis sang like an angel - we really did not hear enough of him. Jane Akrill and David Pitt acted well and sang strongly.”

To these I would specially like to mention not only Leslie Aston and John Houle as the twins but also Bernard Sims who all sang very well; but the producer himself has a special word of praise for Christopher Nelmes who, to quote him verbatim, “had a lovely natural voice of choir-boy timbre”. Angel concluded “Mr. And Mrs. Fowler of the Art School must not be forgotten for the originality and modern style of the scenery which was well in keeping with the new opera. The support given by Mr. H. T. Pitt and David Hoult on the piano was unfailing and polished and Dr. H. Howells and Denis McKernon on the percussion made an admirable partnership. In fact the opera was a success in every way and the participants were justly pleased with themselves”.

In spite of this successful venture it was felt that this kind of musical occasion employed only a small percentage of the entire school because of the special talents required of the performers. Consequently in 1963 the first school concert under the direction of Mr. G. Phillips took place and in this over one-third of the school performed as members of the Junior and Senior Choirs, or the chamber string orchestra, or as individual performers. These concerts were to become, with few exceptions, annual occasions which followed the same general pattern: in the first half the Junior Choir was the mainstay between whose groups of items came solos and duets on a large variety of instruments, including the piano, cornet, oboe, horn, violin, clarinet and euphonium. The human voice was not forgotten and there were many solos and duets. Without exception these items reached a very high standard indeed. There were also many instrumental ensembles and on a number of occasions, particularly towards the end of the series, the school orchestra (which now has twenty-five players consisting of strings, brass and wood-wind sections) gave several items. Here again both groups performed with great skill; the second half of the programme was devoted principally to some major work given by the Senior Choir and, depending on the length of this work, the performances of the ensembles and school orchestra were given in the first or second half.

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Lydney Observer”) “with the style of professionals, by two talented Sixth Formers, Lynne Gurney and Richard Fry, one item of which, “Whispering Wind”, Mr. Fry composed himself.” The critic went on to add “Much appreciated by the audience was the performance of the school orchestra, and the playing of the clarinet by Richard Kirk, who has been accepted as a student of the Royal College of Music.”

To return, finally, to the concluding item, Bach’s Easter Cantata: the general high quality of the evening’s entertainment - if one may use such a word for such a solemn and moving work - was well maintained. Indeed as one listener remarked it was a fine ending to a very rewarding evening. Some people do not enjoy audience participation, but for the final “Chorale” such was the enthusiasm engendered by the conductor that he not only managed to teach the audience what he wanted them to sing but they joined the choir with enthusiasm and enjoyment. Their response showed how much everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the whole concert which was a fitting climax to the musical work done at Lydney Grammar School over the seventy years of its existence

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J. H.