Music at Downside School

It is my very great pleasure to welcome you to the Music Department at Downside School, which is also the first point of contact for dance and drama. I hope you will enjoy playing a full part in the performing arts while you ’ re here at Downside..

The Music Department, based in the recently refurbished O’Flaherty Music School, is happy, busy and flourishing. It delivers more than 250 individual instrumental, singing, dance and drama lessons every week, and it supports our bands, choirs, orchestras and other ensembles with around 20 weekly rehearsals. Not surprisingly, many new pupils and their parents find this all a little daunting! I hope the information which follows will help to guide you through the day-to-day practicalities of individual music lessons, private practice and membership of the ensembles.

Please don

’t hesitate to ask if you have a musical query, however trivial it may seem. Contact details are given in the

‘Members of the Music Department’ section.

JuLIAN MCNAMARA Director of Music

Music Ensembles and events There are lots of different ensembles at Downside and you will be encouraged to join those which are appropriate to you. Singers have Schola Cantorum (the main school choir), the Mixed Chamber, Boys ’ Chamber, Girls ’ Chamber Choirs and Barbershop while instrumentalists have everything from Orchestra to Concert/CCF Band, Brass Group, Pipe Band and Jazz Band. Chamber ensembles such as Cello Group, String Quartet and Junior PianoTrio are put together on a more ad hoc basis and there are plenty of opportunities for music-making with others. Some of these groups are auditioned and your teacher will be able to advise you on which is appropriate for you. Over the course of a year there are many musical events including Choral Concert, St Cecilia Concert, House Music Competition, House Singing, Rock Nights, Music for a Summer ’ s Evening, regular Abbey services and the joint Charity Showcase various local bands, plus a variety of ‘ one-off’ events involving musicians.

How much do lessons cost? Music lessons cost £290.00 per term in the academic year 2022-23. This is based on an average of 9 lessons per term. In reality, pupils are likely to receive more that this in the (longer) Michaelmas term and fewer in the (shorter) summer term. In the event of a pupil not receiving 27 lessons over the course of a full academic year, an adjustment will be made to the final summer bill. It is important that you read and understand the school policy on missed music lessons.

If a pupil uses a school instrument rather than their own you will be charged £40.00 per term for instrument hire.

Where do lessons take place? All lessons take place within the Performing Arts Centre, also known as the O’Flaherty Music School.

Lesson times – where to find them All lessons are shown in the SOCS School App for pupils. This will be explained to your child in their induction. Fixed Lessons: Pupils in the 6th form are offered a fixed time for their music lesson which avoids all academic lessons. Fixed lessons may, in exceptional circumstances, also be offered to pupils in other years where it is clear that this is necessary.

Other Lessons: For the majority of pupils in First to Fifth Form, the time of a music lesson with a particular teacher will change every week. This is done to avoid missing the same academic lesson too often and we work closely with tutors to ensure that the system is as fair as possible. Finding out when your lesson will take place: Every week, usually on a Friday afternoon, timetables for the following week are published in various places.These will be explained in more details once you ’ ve joined the school. Timetables are also posted on the Parent Portal of the website every Friday for the following week. Music Department and House staff are all glad to help pupils with their music timetables.

What happens if a pupil can ’t make a lesson? It’ s important that the Music Department knows as soon as possible. We can try and re-arrange things if we know beforehand, preferably 48 hours in advance. If a pupil is ill and not in school then we ’ll know from the registers and there ’ s no need to contact us. House staff including House Parents can get messages to us.

What happens if a pupil misses a lesson by mistake? We ’ re all human and know that, in the busy life of a school, things are sometimes forgotten. The Music Department has a policy on missed lessons which is both on display in Houses and given below. We pride ourselves on treating all pupils as individuals and work closely with tutors and house staff to help ensure that music lessons are a success for each pupil, but they also need to make sure that they do their best to attend lessons; 100% attendance is not impossible and is achieved by most pupils every term!

Pupil Absence Procedure (Music Lessons) Missed a lesson? • Come down to the Music School and see Mrs.

Rees-Jones or Ms Child • Did you miss because you were ill / on a school trip / involved in a sports match (NOT just a normal games session)? It will not be treated as an absence but if you know in advance then you should see Mrs.

Rees-Jones or Ms Child in the first instance • Did you miss because you forgot / misread the timetable / didn ’t check the timetable? It will be marked as an absence Missed 2 lessons on the same instrument this term through forgetfulness / misreading or not checking the timetable? • The missed lesson will be marked as an absence and your child will receive a de-merit

Missed 3 lessons on the same instrument this term through forgetfulness / misreading or not checking the timetable? • The missed lesson will be marked as an absence, your child will receive a de-merit and parents will be contacted to advise them of the missed attendance

A CHARGE WILL BE MADE FOR ALL LESSONS MISSED WITHOUT A VALID REASON

Practice times, including smart card access The Performing Arts Centre is protected by a series of electronic locks and each pupil taking music lessons will be asked to sign a contract of responsible use before being issued with a smart card giving them access to the building as appropriate. The first smart card issued is free but, in the event of a smart card being lost, replacements are charged at £10 to cover the cost of the smart card. Pupils are able to access the building at the following times:

Monday to Friday 07.00 – 21.00 Saturday 07.00 – 18.00 Sunday 11.30 – 18.00

There is no formal booking system for the practice rooms; if it is not in use by a teacher or another pupil then you are able to use it. Pianists are also able to use the piano in theTheatre and the Gasquet Hall.

Stopping music lessons If you wish to stop lessons in a particular instrument, we need a full half term ’ s notice in writing (email is acceptable). You will then be charged to the end of the following half term. This is in accordance with the terms and conditions of music lessons as given on the on-line Music Lessons Form. The half term notice period is in order for us to fulfil our contractual obligations to our instrumental staff.

Members of the Music Department DIRECTOR OF MUSIC, ORGANIST AND MASTER OF THE SCHOLA CANTORUM Mr Julian McNamara MA (Oxon), FRCO, PGDipPerf (RNCM) jmcnamara@downside.co.uk

HEAD OF ACADEMIC MUSIC Mr George Bevan BMus (Hons), MA,ARCO(CHM) gbevan@downside.co.uk

MUSIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR Mrs Patricia Rees-Jones BMus (Hons), PGCE, MA music@downside.co.uk

MUSIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR (TIMETABLING) Ms Natasha Child music@downside.co.uk

Please find a list of the Instrumental MusicTeachers here, together with introductory information about the Music Department.