Habs Elstree School’s Festival Concert brought musicians from Habs Girls and Habs Boys together for an ambitious programme celebrating Black composers and the lasting influence of Black musical traditions.
The Festival Concert marks the first major event in the musical calendar and offers a special welcome to new Year 7 students.
Marking Black History Month, the programme explored the far-reaching influence of blues, jazz, soul and hip-hop, celebrating not only a rich breadth of musical styles but also the people, histories and stories behind them.
The Symphonic Wind Orchestra opened with Katahj Copley’s Ayo, a joyful fusion of hip-hop, jazz, R&B and traditional orchestration. The String Orchestra performed movements from William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panama, drawing on Panamanian folk themes and Central American dance traditions.
The Choir presented the traditional spiritual O Mary, Don’t You Weep and Walter Hawkins’ I’m Goin’ Up A Yonder, with both pieces conveying powerful messages of hope, perseverance and liberation. The Big Band then celebrated South African saxophonist Dudu Pukwana through energetic performances of Mra Khali and Diamond Express.
The Symphony Orchestra performed the first movement of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1. Price was the first African American woman to have a work performed by a major orchestra, and her symphony combines the European symphonic tradition with distinctive musical influences of her own.
Music at Habs is for everyone
The concert culminated with Year 7 students performing alongside the Symphony Orchestra. Together, they presented Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke, celebrating the power of music to bring people together, and Bill Withers and Skip Scarborough’s uplifting Lovely Day.
The performance of Sir Duke also marked the 50th anniversary of Stevie Wonder’s album Songs in the Key of Life, with Year 7 paying tribute to Wonder and the great figures of African American music who inspired him.
Students played an important role beyond the stage, researching the origins of the works and composers before writing the programme notes in their own words. Their contributions brought valuable context to each performance and encouraged the audience to engage more deeply with the stories behind the music.
The Festival Concert showcased the strength of collaborative music-making at Habs, bringing together musicians and ensembles while giving every performer the opportunity to contribute to an inspiring, shared experience.
The evening was a powerful reflection of the ambition, collaboration and talent of our musicians, demonstrating how music brings our community together and enriches school life.
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