To begin with, he introduced himself and his wife (who also plays the flute and is the assistant to Mr Clarke), and showed us a really unusual piece on the flute which includes special techniques. He then asked us to have a go at the technique where we blow into the flute as if we were laughing out loud, using the C major scale. I found this really challenging but very helpful and interesting. After that he gave us a piece of music that we had never done before – The Swan from Carnival of Animals by Saint-Saens – and explained what it was about. After some guidance from him, we could play the piece very well. After that, we were given his two part arrangement to the Jupiter Theme by Holst which is a tune we know because we sing it as a hymn in Chapel. Mr Clarke was very inspiring telling us about this piece. This was my favourite piece among the three that we performed. Finally, we performed Galop from William Tell which we had practised beforehand and was played really well by all of us. Mr Clarke was a kind and very inspiring person. He played amazing pieces in the concert later in the evening.
