d'Overbroeck's Dancers Ignite Christmas Lights

Last Friday evening saw Oxford's Christmas Lights Night, on which the city centre was transformed into a carnival of processions, dance, live music and market stalls to celebrate the turning on of the Christmas lights.

Our own d'Overbroeck's Dance Club performed on the main stage in Broad Street to a large crowd of onlookers:


Meanwhile, younger students from Leckford Place sang Christmas carols and songs in the Ashmolean Museum.


There will be another chance to see both groups in action: the Dance Club will perform at tonight's Sixth Form Winter Concert (Tuesday 30 November, 7pm at Leckford Place Hall), and the Leckford Place Choir will sing at the Leckford Place Winter Concert, the following week, which features performances from the 11-16 section of the College (Monday 13 December, 7pm at Leckford Place Hall). So do come along to either – or both!

See more photos of the Dance Club and Leckford Place Choir on Flickr

Singing to our neighbours

Not long ago, five members of the sixth form vocal group performed at Farfields Residential Home – which is next-door to The Swan Building on the Banbury Road. Students included Gidon Fineman, Samuel Barrett, Emiko Yukawa, Min Jia Pan, and Matt Thorns.

The recital kicked off with a performance of 'Takwaba' – a Zambian piece, learnt during the college trip to Zambia in 2009 and arranged by Gidon Fineman, before going on to perform a succession of songs such as 'Hallelujah', 'Fields of Gold', 'Dream a little Dream', and 'Seasons of Love' from the musical Rent.

Matt Thorns then finished the concert with a solo performance of his own composition (written as part of his A level Music course).

It was a great opportunity to build a connection with the Fairfields residents, and we look forward to similar performances in future.

Videos from the Winter Concert 2009

Here are the first pair of videos (more to come) from last week's Winter Concert.

First up, the d'Overbroeck's Vocal Group, performing an arrangement by upper sixth student Gidon Fineman. The song is a traditional Zambian melody which was taught to Gidon and others during the College trip to Zambia this summer.



... and second, a cover version of 'Hey Julie' by Fountains of Wayne – performed by Zanni Cohen and Dulith Wanigasekera.



Alternatively, view the videos on Vimeo or YouTube