Concert time is a winner for the school
Ca r r ick Academy ’ s Christmas Concert got off to a rousing start in Maybole Town Hall.
Tia McLanaghan is principal piper in the music department and got feet tapping with some traditional and Christmas tunes.
Tia was followed by the Christmas guitar group who had been working hard to prepare some Christmas pieces for the show. Christmas came early in the music department, as rehearsals started around October. Merry Christmas Everybody and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday continued the festive theme.
Next was Holly Maxwell with a clarinet solo, a very technically challenging piece Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano. Holly is an accomplished musician, and is also a talented pianist as well as clarinettist. She is a member of the South Ayrshire Chamber O r c h e s t r a , ha v i n g successfully auditioned earlier in the session.
The school’s wind band then entertained with Eye of the Tiger, Feliz Navidad, Somewhere In My Memory and Living On A Prayer.
Many of the pupils in the wind band also perform in other authority- wide ensembles such as the brass band and chamber orchestra.
Cairn Primary choir are always a firm favourite at Carrick’s Christmas concerts and this year sang Shut Up and Dance With Me before being joined by Carrick Academy choir to sing Bridge Over Troubled Water for the finale to the first half.
The senior vocal group began the second half of the show with a pop medley incorporating some of the biggest recent chart singles, and a more acoustic piece as a contrast entitled Happy Ending.
They are a group of committed senior pupils who have been active members of the music department throughout their time at Carrick Academy and, as a leadership challenge, they were asked to prepare these two items for the concert.
Steffi Purdie followed with a dance solo – Tap Into Christmas; Steffi is a third year pupil, who has been a valued member of the music department since S1.
Carrick Academy choir is always sought after for various events and commitment within the school calendar. This year, the choir has been working on a contrasting programme. They sang the hit single Dancing On My Own, most recently made famous by Calum Scott, and followed this with a Christmas song called Tonight.
Vicki Green has been working very closely with the music department staff this session, and is undertaking her work experience in the department. There are always plenty of jobs for her to take on, and she is very able and willing to help. Vicki is a natural leader, and has been able to help organise many of the department activities throughout the session.
As a small payback for her hard work in the department, it was decided to offer Vicki the opportunity to perform a vocal solo at the concert and she sang Someone Else’s Story from the musical Chess.
She was followed by another solo, this time a xylophone solo by Libby Purdie who is a very talented musician and vocalist. In addition to working hard within the music department, Libby is a percussionist with the South Ayrshire Chamber Orchestra, and performed at a concert in Ayr just a few weeks ago. Libby is working towards her grade eight in percussion, performed a xylophone piece called Black and White Rag.
Then it was time for the finale.
The school’s music department are big fans of the musicals so when the Disney film Aladdin was opened as a Broadway show, it was inevitable a Carrick Academy production of this would follow.
Aladdin was Daniel McMillan, Jasmine was brought to life by Vicki Green, while the Genie was Keiron Robb.
The audience was treated to a selection of some of the well- loved themes from Aladdin and taken on a magical carpet ride into a Whole New World!