Junior Music

This year we were very happy to continue with the much loved Tea Time Concerts at the Junior School providing performance opportunities for our younger musicians. The children continued to be enthusiastic about these events and it was great to see so many parents and teachers supporting by watching. When we went into lockdown we continued sharing our love for music by moving our concerts online - nothing could stop us performing! The carol service is always a highlight of the school year here! The Service, held in the beautiful candle-lit St Peter’s Church, was yet again a magical and special evening as we celebrated Christmas. The service opened with a procession of children as the congregation followed soloist Elisa Zaman in singing ‘Once in Royal David’s City’.

Our Year 6 children led the service with readings which were delivered with poise and clarity as the congregation listened. The choirs sang with passion as their young voices filled the church. An especially memorable moment was hearing the children sing The First Noël while the violin accompanied with the theme from Pachelbel’s Canon. When Reverend William gave his final blessing we all felt Christmas had begun and were so blessed to be part of another stunning carol service.

The Junior Concert is always a colourful and exciting evening of music. Yet again, children from Years 5 and 6 took to the stage with an inclusive dynamic concert which all enjoyed. The show opened with all the children on stage singing under the colourful lights a fabulous rendition of Sam Cooke’s ‘What a Wonderful World’. What a jolly way to open our concert! We then saw our Year 5 children performing as part of their very own percussion orchestra, to the backdrop of some very impressive black and white rock and roll photographs of the children! Throughout the concert we saw compelling performances from our Drama and Poetry Clubs as well as a vibrant and polished performance of Samba from our Year 6 children. The audience all left in high spirits as we finished with a performance of ‘One Moment One People’ with soloists Isla Woodward and Hannah Johnson.

As well as our wide range of musical ensembles, we incorporate music into our everyday learning as much as possible. In October, we celebrated world music with a special visit from Earthsong. They brought lots of Nepalese instruments and we learnt all about the music and the culture of Nepal. Year 5, meanwhile, created a class band, learning songs by Oasis and Coldplay, and had great fun designing and modelling for their own album covers!