Music

Music

Grange always had an excellent reputation for music during our time there. The choir, especially, was highly regarded and always seemed to be winners at the Wharfedale Festival etc.

Richard Darke writes: “At one time a very eminent musical scholar, Watkins Shaw, was a pupil and a younger contemporary of his was Frank Mumby who was for many years Senior Lecturer in Music at Leeds University. My own brother, Malcolm, who was in the Sixth Form in 1957-58 remembered a music master who had the delightful name of Meanwell Henton. He in turn produced programme notes for years of Halle concerts at St George’s Hall. His successor was John Victor Pollard who sunsequently moved to Ilkley Grammar School just before Keith Rhodes came to Grange. Keith, like so many of his colleagues, was an Old Granger himself. Brian Baines, onetime Assistant Music teacher and later of “Look North” was a pupil at the same time as Keith, as was Hedley Teale, who for many years was Music Master at Belle Vue Boys’

1958 School Magazine Report

During the past year members of the school have been engaged in musical activities of various kinds, ranging from the choirs with a total membership of over 70 to the Music Club with some half dozen enthusiasts.

Grange is better equipped with instruments than many schools and thus special opportunities are afforded for boys to learn to play an instrument. Many do take advantage of the opportunities, and though a small number fail to realise that hard work is necessary if they are to make any progress and abandon the attempt, there are some each year who do well and graduate to the orchestra. The usual wisecracks directed towards school orchestras in general and amateur string players in particular have not been merited this year by our own school orchestra. Indeed, when tuning up, they sound just like the Halle. Especially successful have been their performances of movements from a Purcell Suite, given at the Speech Day and at the School Concert. The string section is much indebted to its “associate” members - Mr Mitchell, Mr Jackson and Andrew House.

A new venture this year has been the formation of a Junior Choir consisting of form one boys only. What the boys have lacked in vocal maturity they have made up for by their general keenness, and have provided a serious rival to the Senior Choir. Both choirs performed together at the Speech Day and separately at the School Concert.

The Semi-chorus, which has been in existence for over a year, now consists of first and second trebles, altos, tenors and basses. The more difficult type of music which this group tackled has necessarily limited membership to those with special experience and musicianship. The performance of the Dowland part song and “Strange Adventure” from “Yeomen of the Guard” at the School Concert was well done and well received.

There has been a notable increase in the number of boys attending the Halle Orchestra and Bradford Festival Choral Society concerts. Grange has, in fact, taken a larger number of student tickets than any other boys’ school. The school has also provided a larger number of tenors and basses for the Bradford Youth Choir than any other single school.

5/4/08