Felsted Siblings Shine at BBC Proms

Felsted School Musicians Sana and Shesh A-J have performed alongside legendary composers at the country’s biggest celebration of classical music, BBC Proms with the National Youth Orchestra (NYO).

Over the summer Sana and Shesh spent two weeks at Northumbria University with the NYO of Great Britain for their Summer residency. “We had a really amazing time” comments Shesh. “We spent our days in percussion and with the whole orchestra, rehearsing an exciting programme of repertoire.”

An All Round Felsted School Scholar, and a Junior Guildhall Music Scholar, Shesh is in Felsted’s Jazz Band, Steel Band, Orchestra, Guitar Group and Choir. Sana, Music Scholar and Felsted’s Young Musician of the Year 2022, plays percussion to diploma level, also performing with the Felsted Jazz Band and Orchestra. She is the principal percussionist in the Junior Guildhall symphony orchestra.

The NYO summer programme included the ballet Daphnis and Chloe by Ravel, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue where they were joined by piano soloist Simone Dinnerstein, and they had the chance to work with legendary composer Danny Elfman. They performed the world premiere of his new piece ‘Wunderkammer’ which was commissioned for NYO. 

After their concert tour and performances at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and Saffron Hall, their tour culminated in an unforgettable performance at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall. “Playing at the proms was definitely the highlight of the course and it was such an amazing experience to play with all of our friends in one of the most iconic concert halls in the country” comments Sana.

The BBC Proms is a classical music festival held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Its aim: to bring the best in classical music to the widest possible audience. The season is a significant event in British culture and in classical music.

You can still hear the concert on BBC Sounds and watch the TV Broadcast on BBC iPlayer.

As well as dedicating their summer to music, Sana and Shesh were some of Felsted’s top achievers in this year’s exam results, Sana at A Level and Shesh at GCSE. 

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