Christmas concert packs Ardnamurchan High School
Tuesday evening saw Ardnamurchan High School pupils perform to a packed hall, showcasing the wide range of talent young people have in Ardnamurchan and Movern.
The evening started with practically the whole of S1 on stage performing ‘A Christmas Despasito’, with their own lyrics to a well-known song. The school’s Guitar group performed a stunning version of ‘Walking in the Air’ followed by The Traditional Group, led by Head Girl, Kate Bradley, performing a local arrangement by of ‘Chasing Daylight’.
Virtually a whole class group came up on stage again as S2 then performed ‘Thunder’, complete with synthesised sound effects, before Rachael and Bethan White came on stage to perform a beautiful flute duet for a Christmas Medley.
Jim Hunter’s influence across the Lochaber was clearly in evidence as his students; Hunter’s Heroes performed ‘Jessica’, complete with amazing instrumental solos, to rapturous applause. The school’s vocal group then performed the ‘Coventry Carol’ with beautiful lead vocals by Isabella Sutherland and Christina Findlay, before the String group performed a surprisingly jazzy version of an ancient medieval piece ‘Gaudette’.
The band, ‘Moving Swiftly On’, ended the first half of the evening with ‘Counting Stars’ and ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’. The second half was opened with return of Moving Swiftly On, led by Janie Patterson’s soaring vocals and with Aaron Mellis’s thundering bass, playing ‘7 Nations Army’ (a staff request).
The next whole-class performance was S3’s brilliant version of Queen’s ‘Don’t stop me now’. Bethan White returned to the stage to sing a heart-rendingly beautiful version of ‘Oh Holy Night’ with sister Rachael’s piano accompaniment, followed by Ruby Sansom’s stunning version of The Norah Jones classic ‘Don’t Know Why’.
Mr MacInnes’s Gaelic Folk group then returned us to our Gaelic roots with ‘Tàladh Chriosda’, a 19th Century carol local to the Moidart area and the ‘Kesch Jig’, followed by Kate Bradley’s return to the stage to dazzle the audience with her brilliant clarsach playing.
Chloe Macpherson followed this by nailing Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, again, to rapturous applause, followed by Rachael White’s return to the stage to demonstrate her excellent grade 6 skills with a classical piece on the flute.
The orchestra (uniquely and ably supported by guitars) performed a brilliant version of ‘Viva la Vida’ before all performers returned to fill the stage to overflowing to lead the audience for the finale with ‘Merry Christmas everyone’.
Head Teacher, Chris Millar-Craig, thanked all involved for their efforts and said how overwhelmed he was by the audience turnout on such an icy and cold night in support of the young people of whom the school is so proud. A special thank you went to music teacher, Jillian Campbell for all her hard work and encouragement of the pupils to make the concert possible.
Ardnamurchan High School is located in Strontian and serves the wider areas of Sunart, Morvern, Moidart and Ardnamurchan and has a roll of 107 pupils.