'War Song' a resounding success

A cast of 163 students were joined by a local school for a diverse programme of music and poems for an emotional and appreciative audience.

The event featured performances from a varied cross-section of the 35 student music societies at the University to reflect on war and its impact on humanity. The orchestra united members of nine societies;  many of the student music societies have numerous associate members who represent alumni and retired staff, as well as an enthusiastic relationship with current staff, who balance their work at the University with their involvement in their chosen music society.

Original compositions by students Georgie Lewis and Isabelle Ballantine-Dykes were performed alongside popular wartime works and contemporary pieces. Students have been working with the choir of Topsham School as part of an outreach project, and the children performed a medley of World War One songs on the night magnificently. 

Mark Barretto, Music Manager, said:“This event underlines that fact we have a hugely gifted and dedicated community of students. ‘War Song’ was very much a student event, as the initial idea for the project was presented to us by ExTunes. Although the music content of the production was steered by Alex Hawker, our Music Artistic Coordinator, it was the students who equally made the idea become a reality thanks to their commitment and enthusiasm for performing. Despite their academic obligations the whole ensemble proved to be dedicated and keen to be actively involved in a public performance of this scale.

“We were all overwhelmed by the response of the audience and are sincerely grateful for their donations to our chosen charity, ‘Help for Heroes’. Early indications are that our initial funding target of £800 has been exceeded and we expect the final sum to nearer to £1,000. This is an exceptional achievement and one that each of the musicians should be proud to have been a part of.”

Professor Sir Steve Smith, Vice Chancellor of the University, was in the 150-strong audience and said:“I expected it to be a good evening, but I honestly was blown away by both the individual performances and also by the combination of music that was performed. The evening showed the fantastic quality of music-making here at Exeter with an incredibly professional set of performances. I know a lot of people worked very hard to make it a success and they succeeded.”

The University of Exeter has the largest extracurricular music programme of any UK University, with 35 societies and close to 1,000 members.  

‘War Song’ was presented on Sunday 8 June at the Great Hall, University of Exeter.