| | | Guild Coffee Evening and Jazz Concert - 30 October |
Report and photos - Jim Paterson
St.
Mungo's Guild coffee evening took a musical twist on Monday 31st
October. The 'Haloween' evening featured Graham and Sophie McDonald
playing a wide selection of music for the entertainment of the good
number of people who turned out to hear the event.
The
evening started with coffee and cake in the church hall so everyone
could spend a little time chatting and catching up on the latest gossip
and news. Soon it was time to walk over to the church where Graham had
setup the Grand Piano for our concert.
Graham's theme for the
evening was how music styles are constructed, using 'Rowan Tree' and he
demonstrated the different parts of a tune to look out for, such as
stress and release. He used The Skye Boat song to demonstrate, moving
on to Jazz and 'Stride' piano used in Ragtime, culminating in his own
arrangement of the Fats Waller 'Ain't Misbehavin' from 1929. He
showed us how styles varied across a wide range of composers, including
'A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square', classical Chopin,
Liszt, ragtime, jazz, and modern. Graham introduced daughter
Sophie who played several pieces on her clarinet, including a duet with
dad Graham on Piano.
Our
audience continued to be amazed by Graham and Sophie's talent,
Sophie also plays violin and ukulele. Graham played a personal
favourite by Spanish composer Enrique Granados 'Maiden and the
Nightingale' before giving his 100 year old Broadwood Concert Grand in
our church a real workout with a piece by Liszt.
Graham not
only plays, but also teaches music, on a wide range of
instruments at Beeslack Secondary School. He leads their Jazz Band
and performs many concerts across Midlothian and beyond. He also
composes his own music, and we sat back to hear a small selection from
his own repertoire.
The final applause for both Graham and
Sophie was well deserved. A different style of evening put on by St.
Mungo's Guild, but one that we will remember for a long time.
As with the Rotary concert earlier in the month, we are blessed in Penicuik to have so much amazing musical talent in our community.
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