This Friday we welcome back trumpeter Simon Desbrulais (seen here rehearsing for a concert in our recent Summer Festival) for a special lunchtime concert, and to contribute his expertise to our junior and senior composition classes.
In the lunchtime concert, Simon will be premiering the work ‘At the Still Point…’ written by composer and composition tutor John Cooney. This piece is for solo trumpet and was actually written as a farewell gift for another Simon – Simon Larter-Evans our previous Head of English and Housemaster, also a keen trumpeter. “The title comes from a poem by T.S.Eliot,” says John, “an extract of which is included in the preface to the score.”
At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
from 'Burnt Norton' T.S.Eliot
"The choice of the T.S.Eliot was to reflect two of Simon Larter-Evans' interests - literature and dance and the mention of dance inspired the rhythmic, dance-like quality of the final section of the piece."
In the composition sessions, John and Simon will be working with the students to examine the particular qualities of the trumpet and how it’s played, in preparation for creating their own compositions featuring the instrument. Simon will return later in the year to further inspire progress and to workshop the pieces as they develop.