We were thrilled to welcome Hugo Jennings (piano), Eleazar Ruiz (bass), Louis Brown (drums) to FHS on Tuesday 19th, for an afternoon of jazz. The trio worked with the students in preparing a number of jazz classics and standards, which they later performed to an admiring audience of parents and peers (and some teachers!). A video will follow shortly, and I encourage you all to watch it – all performances were genuinely impressive, and the girls were complimented on their voices by the professionals and audience alike. Without wishing to single out students, special mention should go to Stella H who performed two numbers – Feeling Good and That’s Life, made famous by Nina Simone and Frank Sinatra respectively. Her peers in the year 10 cohort (Marianna D, Freda M, Sofia O, Mairéad W, Leela S, and Sophie E) also performed hugely impressively, far beyond their years, and members of the senior chamber choir learned two (very difficult) songs in next to no time.
This marks the inaugural collaboration with Battersea Jazz Festival, a community-interest company promoting international-level jazz in and around Battersea; the trio above have performed on both sides of the Atlantic, and in all of London’s premier venues. Musicians visiting for the festival this year can usually be found on tour with the likes of Olivia Dean and Dua Lipa. Members of the FHS community are warmly invited to the festival, 3-13 June, and can enter the code FHS26 at www.batterseajazzfestival.co.uk for 20% off tickets to any event.
Mr King, Music Teacher
