It's been one week now since Kadian's Memorial Celebration took place at Bedales. We are still reeling with its phenomenal energy.
Has there ever been a grief Celebration so deeply moving and cathartic? The stage performance glowed with that loving power that Kadian had. It managed to capture his sense of fun and charm, as well as his beauty. It was also a real testament to the way Kadian could deeply connect to people, and in such short period of time. Over 60 people from the Bedalian community performed to a packed audience of over 300 people.
The Celebration also spoke to the uniqueness of Bedales School. Kadian loved Bedales. He experienced an immense amount of personal and intellectual growth last year because he was in a creative learning environment where artistic expression is considered center to the understanding of ourselves and our world. And even more exciting for Kadian, is that he had a rich community of friends to share it with.
Nick Gleed, Director of Music at Bedales, wrote a stunning review of the Programme which can be found on the Bedales School website. It is also in the Memorial Section of Kadianproject.com. You'll also find in the Memorial section, video footage we edited into eleven individual performances. Not all have been uploaded yet but will be by the end of the week.
We were able to thank the performers in each film - but we were not able to thank the people behind the scene.
The Memorial Celebration would not have happened without Joanne Greenwood of Bedales Drama Department. That she had to navigate a complex host of emotions is an understatement. She took our vision and built beauty around it, she recruited the cast when needed, designed the set, and pulled together rehearsals all in two weeks, (while staging two other performances) and with only one full rehearsal on the day itself. *She was amazing. *
The Crew did an excellent job with a number of technical challenges. The lighting demands of dance, drama and music performances were complex. There were also two films to project and many still photo changes. Not once were there timing issues, or technical faults. Thank you George Veys, Jack Paxman, Chris Bury and Mim Evison.
Clare Gammon, Head of Dance, stepped forward immediately after the news of Kadian's death with a desire to contribute. She began work with a group of Kadian's friends to Coldplay's Paradise at the beginning of the year. She also quickly recruited student and faciliated the choreography for dance pieces, Count On Me, and I Love My Mac.
Nick Gleed, Director of Music, moved by his relationship with Kadian, stepped forward and offered to direct two choir pieces that had special significant in relationship to Kadian. Nick also helped to faciliate the performance of the other musical pieces in the programme. Paddy Burrowes, was Kadian's vocal coach, and performed the solo in Schubert's Intende voci orationis.
Graham Banks, Head of English, gave us emotional ground when we could not stand.
Graham Banks and Al McConville, Head of Academic Affairs worked closely with a group of Kadian's closest friends to produce a film that served as a moving tribute
Koa Padulsky filmed the entire programme.
Jay Greene Head of Drama gave us the guts to pursue a Celebration that was so far out of the box, there was no longer a box to reference.
Dominic Oliver, Head of Bedales steered Operations with huge diplomatic grace.
Finally Keith Budge Bedales School Headmaster has, since the first days of our tragedy, lent his support with extreme class.