Guildford High School hosted its 2009 Autumn Concert on Thursday 19^th November, featuring over 200 girls performing in six instrumental ensembles. The evening was a thoroughly enjoyable display of the commitment invested by both students and staff during the Michaelmas term and pupils across all year groups excelling alongside each other.

The concert opened with the Wind Band performing all three movements from the highly demanding Folk Song Suite by Vaughan Williams, contrasting lively march rhythms with more sensitive solo passages. The String Orchestra demonstrated stylistic playing in two contrasting genres with a programme including the ‘Allegro' and ‘Minuet' from Handel's Concerto Grosso in G and Leslie Searle's ‘Music School Rag' from Ragtimes. The Big Band energetically accelerated proceedings through to the interval in their characteristic, vibrant style with polished renditions of Low Rider and Thriller.

The Chamber Orchestra opened the second half with three out of six movements from Janáček's underperformed Suite for Strings, each presented with their usual elegant and youthful flair. The Mathias Band followed, performing the much-loved pop standard Blue Moon and surprising the entire Senior School Hall with their party atmosphere in an arrangement of Hot Hot Hot. A highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the Symphony Orchestra's impressive and sensitively-performed programme of ‘Morning' from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No 1 and the first movement from Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor.