Midland Chamber Orchestra

Orchestra in Residence

Hallfield School

In Summer 2024, Midland Chamber Orchestra became orchestra in residence at Hallfield School, following the huge success of the collaborative concert in December 2023.

MCO defines a musical residency as the active presence of a musical artist or ensemble on campus and, more specifically, within the Music Department. A successful residency provides students and staff with a variety of opportunities to interact with, collaborate with, and learn from the residency. The orchestra will engage with Hallfield School with one major project every two academic years, featuring one large-scale musical work. Multiple smaller projects will take place every other year, between these major projects.

2025-2026: Vivaldi's Gloria

MCO's next major project with Hallfield School focused on their choirs, including an ambitious, successful performance of Gloria by Vivaldi. Involvement with the school included:

Two weekend rehearsals with Hallfield Chamber Choir and MCO's music director, dedicated to learning Vivaldi's Gloria
Hallfield Chamber Choir performing excerpts from Vivaldi's Gloria, accompanied by MCO
Hallfield Centenary Choir performing Lin Marsh's Earth, Sea and Sky, arranged for and accompanied by MCO
Hallfield Orchestra and MCO combining together to perform an arrangement of Karl Jenkins' Adiemus
A performance of the 1st movement of Haydn's Piano Concerto in D by a Hallfield music scholar, with MCO
Two competitions - an art competition for the programme's front cover, and a poetry competition

Cover Art Competition 2025-2026

1st: Amaya S

2nd: Amy P

3rd: Rheya G

Poetry Competition 2025-2026

1st: Summer Poem by Imogen H

I see a picnic in a park,

Sunshine gleaming brightly,

Green grass dancing far and near,

Oh it’s so relaxing.

Birds tweeting happily,

In the sky so blue,

The sound of laughter fills the air,

Just me and you.

Flowers swaying in the breeze,

Spreading joy and cheer,

Eating ice cream happily,

SUMMER IS HERE!

2nd: The Last Leaf by Mahi C

Autumn arrives

Like an experienced robber,

Grabbing the green,

Leaving no tracks.

Autumn leaves shower down

For some people, they earn a frown;

Summer and Winter claiming all the votes

Yet Autumn never boasts.

Sneakily doing his job,

He turns a new leaf –

This experienced thief.

Like golden flames on the ground,

They wait for the wind to swing around

Yet soon they shrivel to prunes.

The wind stands as an ally, an accomplice.

Autumn is not too pompous.

Our food for the year – our harvest

So cherish Autumn before we venture into

Winter Solstice.

The last leaf has fallen.

3rd: The Four Seasons - 'Spring' by Serah J

The rabbit hops a gentle step

The lark sings lyric songs

All the world’s alive again

Spring rights the winter wrongs

Mother hen protects her chicks

White blossoms are in bloom

All the world’s alive again

No snowy clouds to loom

A kitten chirps his tiny meow

The child blinks his eyes

All the world’s alive again

A new world crystallized

2024-2025: Orchestral Play-Day

This was MCO's first orchestral play-day with Hallfield School in January 2025. This involved rehearsals and performances by Hallfield Orchestra with repertoire they had prepared in Autumn 2024, combined with MCO. The play-day included:

Full orchestra rehearsals, combining the entirety of Hallfield Orchestra with MCO
Sectional rehearsals, separating Strings and Wind for detailed, instrument-specific work
Two quick study pieces; one for strings, and one for wind, learned on the day in sectionals and performed later in concert
An opportunity to watch MCO rehearse in action, who would later perform the 2nd movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor in the concert
A special arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, combining the school arrangement with the original writing from the 3rd movement of Symphony No. 9
A late afternoon concert showcasing all that had been rehearsed and learned that day

2023-2024: Peter and the Wolf

Coinciding with MCO's 5th Anniversary, the orchestra engaged in a collaborative concert with Hallfield School, centred around Peter and the Wolf Op.67 by Prokofiev. Involvement with the school included:

A chamber choir performance at the start of the concert
Support of the Hallfield Orchestra's performance with MCO members, including music by Vivaldi and an arrangement of "We Caught the Wolf" by Toscana Strings
A collaboration of Hallfield Orchestra and MCO on Mozart's Sleigh Ride from his German Dances K.605
Selected advanced Hallfield musicians joining MCO in weekly rehearsals to perform Mozart's Symphony No. 32 and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf
Two art competitions; one for the programme's front cover, and a mask-making competition.

Cover Art Competition 2023-2024

1st: Zachariah Farooq

2nd: Heather Yuen

3rd: Handuo Cao

Masks Competition 2023-2024

1st: Florence & Samuel Clarkin

2nd: Clara & Laurie Dhesi

3rd: Anya Parmar

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse