ST DUNSTAN’S COLLEGE
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ST DUNSTAN’S COLLEGE
DISCOVER MUSIC INTRODUCTION
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elcome to the Music Department at St Dunstan’s College. Music and the arts are highly valued here and we are fortunate to work with an enthusiastic, committed and ambitious student body. It is an exciting time for the Music Department at the College, with our broad and ambitious offering now supported by our Performing Arts Centre, which satisfies the diverse musical aspirations of our student body. Opening in 2021, the new facility has a dedicated Recital Room for rehearsals and concerts, an ICT Suite with professional software, two multi-function classroom spaces and a Recording Studio. The opportunities for each individual student to explore their own musical passions really are endless. We support our young musicians as they strive to reach their potential through three principal areas, ensuring that every student is provided with a dynamic and multi-faceted programme of musical activity throughout their Senior School journey. This includes the classroom curriculum experience which provides positive, diverse
early experiences for all; the broad and ambitious co-curricular Forder Programme and individual lessons with our fantastic panel of Visiting Music Teachers (VMTs). These all culminate with our exciting calendar of concerts, events and trips across the academic year. Mr Dominic Oldfield Director of Music
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‘The music department and their staff inspired me to explore many different genres of music and encourages me to pursue a career in music’ Year 12 Student
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AN AMBITIOUS REPERTOIRE We pride ourselves on offering a musical programme that is inclusive, wide-ranging and ambitious, allowing all students the opportunity to develop as performers, composers and curious, active listeners. Classroom lessons in the Lower School focus on embedding musical knowledge through a curriculum centred around practical activity. We plan a course of study that is culturally diverse and relevant, providing students with exposure to global music and its attendant use of musical elements. For example, our Year 7 students currently study Samba, Reggae, Hip Hop and Film Music, developing their understanding of rhythm, harmony, melody and its performing contexts in each. Through practical activities, we offer performance pathways in keyboard, ukulele, and singing that equip any student with the tools to perform in our co-curricular ensembles, or to continue the subject to GCSE level. We believe in doing and creating rather than building our curriculum around music theory, but our consolidation of theoretical knowledge through creative activity provides students with the tools to read musical notation. The vibrancy of the musical life of the school is felt most acutely in the various ensembles, clubs and workshops of our
Forder Programme. We offer something quite unique, with high quality experiences to suit diverse musical interest. We do this by engaging with pupil voice, and then giving choice, to ensure that our programme is as versatile, diverse and challenging as suits the myriad musical tastes of our students. In the Lower School, we prioritise inclusivity and participation, so that all students can further their musical skills developed in the classroom. Popular clubs include SDC Voices, Training Orchestra, Rock Band, Composition and Music Production. From here, those students wishing to specialise in a particular musical pathway can join our advanced ensembles such as College Orchestra, Chapel Choir, Big Band and Concert Band, whilst receiving advanced support in theory and composition. Our panel of Visiting Music Teachers (VMTs) are an essential part of the team, providing expert tuition in all instrumental and vocal specialisms to support our students in their performance development for our co-curricular programme, whilst helping them realise their own ambitions in ABRSM or Trinity Exams and solo performances. These practitioners complement their teaching with professional performance and music production, offering their expertise with ensembles and the running of clubs. With our new facilities, we are delighted to now offer individual tuition in Music Production and DJing.
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A SYMPHONY OF OPPORTUNITIES We celebrate the achievements of our individual musicians and group ensembles through an extremely exciting and diverse calendar of concerts, events, workshops and trips. These inspirational opportunities for musical engagement are accessible to every student, regardless of their level of experience, help each individual realise their potential in their chosen specialisms, as they progress through their Senior School journey. In Key Stage 3, we recruit students to our ensembles through our classroom focus on Singing, Keyboard and Ukulele. In addition, after an instrumental demonstration day at the start of the year, we offer all Year 7 students the opportunity of a free trial lesson in an instrument of their choice, with additional financial support possible as part of our Benson Exhibition Awards for those instruments in which we have a particular need for ensembles. This has included Trombone, French Horn, Oboe, Viola and Bassoon. Our Music Scholars are a source of inspiration for others, through their commitment, leadership and individual achievements. They receive specialist mentoring from the Head of Instrumental Studies in preparation for solo and concert opportunities, as well as external performances. Our vibrant co-curricular programme benefits from the allocated time within the school day and our modern, enhanced facilities. Our new Recital Room functions as a
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dedicated rehearsal space for our Choirs, Orchestras and Big Band. The ICT Suite and Recording Studio give students in all years the opportunity to develop their composition, production and DJing skills through taught co-curricular clubs. These weekly rehearsals prepare students for our dynamic schedule of events across the school year, which see them perform in College concerts, Cathedrals and slightly unusual venues such as Car Parks! The action-packed programme averages more than one performance opportunity per week, including a weekly recital series, termly masterclasses with renowned musicians in the industry, chamber concerts at local venues and regular composition workshops. This culminates in four flagship events in the school calendar in which our ensembles present performances of ambitious repertoire at prestigious venues that include St-Martin-in-theFields, St John’s Smith Square, Southwark Cathedral, Catford Broadway, and of course our very own Great Hall. These comprise the themed Michaelmas Concert, the Christmas Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, the Spring Choral and Orchestral Concert and the St Dunstan’s Festival Finale Concert. Spring’s concert culminates in the performance of a masterwork by the massed choirs of St Dunstan’s, with recent examples including Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Fauré’s Requiem.
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‘The Music Department has provided me with different ensembles within forder. These are Wind Ensemble, College Orchestra, Training Orchestra and SDC Voices. I’ve made friends across different forms and year groups and we have explored genres including broadway and EDM/ pop’ Year 8 student
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‘It is fun being with my friends and in a space where I can think less about the stress of exams and have more fun’ Year 11 student
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A RHAPSODY OF MUSICAL CREATIVITY Tomorrow’s musicians will manifest themselves in many different ways and we do not interpret musical excellence at St Dunstan’s as only students that aspire to their grade 8 on an acoustic instrument. For students, there are numerous pathways of musical development, from the more traditional fare of live performance to musical production and recording. Our co-curricular offering ensures that students can pursue routes of performance, composition, and production in their own unique journeys to musical excellence. Much of our planning responds to pupil voice, to ensure that our ambitious and forward-thinking musical education and opportunities we offer are relevant to their own individual interests and aspirations. As a direct result of pupil voice, we have invested in music technology in our curriculum and new facilities. Students in Key Stage 3 now have a subscription to Soundtrap Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, which allows them to compose away from the classroom. Through our Forder Programme, we have Music Production classes taught by a specialist to individual year groups, in which students have access to production techniques and create their own electronic music. Our ICT Suite is now stocked with iMacs that run the latest Logic Pro software, and our new
Recording Studio means individuals and bands can record and master their own work ready for public dissemination. Students wishing to pursue production seriously can sign up to individual lessons with a VMT who is also an established producer. Our curriculum aims to give all composers the tools and theoretical understanding necessary to create their own music. We prioritise the recording of student compositions and celebrate them through frequent public performances and an annual composition competition. Recent examples of these have included a symphonic poem by an A Level student which was performed by a professional orchestra at our Choral and Orchestral concert! We believe in the non-hegemonic plurality of musical literacies and traditions, whilst aiming to expose our students to the wonders of musical notation and the Western Classical tradition. As a result, we run a Jazz programme centred around developing improvisation skills. We regularly invite specialists to run workshops to our students and recent examples include Indonesian Gamelan, Sub-Saharan African Drumming and Indian Classical Music.
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STRIKING THE RIGHT NOTE Music clearly does not exist in microcosm at the College, and forms an integral part of the dynamic, collaborative and liberal education that we offer. Students take advantage of interdisciplinary projects in which Music acts as a formative component, most notably as part of the Performing Arts Productions with the Drama and Art Department. We have a rich tradition of Musical performances, with at least two annual productions, including a Lower School musical as part of the St Dunstan’s Festival. Recent highlights include Legally Blonde, Chicago, Hairspray Jr, Made in Dagenham and Parade. We support the Drama Department in their devised productions, with our students creating soundscapes to accompany the performances. Future innovative plans include further interdisciplinary projects that utilise electronics and sound Art.
Music is an important part of the St Dunstan’s community identity, and we regularly have musical performances at large College events. The most notable include our Commemoration Day service at Southwark Cathedral which includes performances by our Choirs and Brass Ensemble. The Chapel Choir sing Evensong on a termly basis at venues including Oxford University (Jesus College), All Hallows by the Tower and Salisbury Cathedral. We believe the students benefit tremendously from community involvement in our musical events. This includes our Community Choir, which comprises parents, alumni and members of the local community, and rehearses for our large-scale choral performances and the Festival. We also use our facilities as a public examination centre and work with partnerships to open up our facilities for public use.
‘The College values all different types of music, so that students can explore new skills and interests. I’ve been able to step outside my comfort zone and discover things I never would have known I liked’ Year 12 student 12
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MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS AT ST DUNSTAN’S COLLEGE
100% A*-B A Level Results 2021
Recent international trips including Rome, New York and Venice. European Tour planned for 2022
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Ensembles and clubs as part of our Forder Programme
Weekily recitals, performances and practice opportunities
5 High numbers of students taking A Level & GCSE Music
91 ABRSM Entries
76% of students receiving a merit or distinction in instruments, including the organ, oboe and harp
Conservatoires Many take part at junior conservatoires in London. Recent leavers gained Oxbridge places with choral scholarships and prestigious London conservatoires
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350 Weekly individual music lessons
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St an s te a d Ro a d , Lo n d o n S E 6 4 T Y A co -ed u c at io na l , i n d e p e n d e nt Co l l e ge fo r a ge s 3 to 1 8 www. s t d u n s t a n s . o rg . u k 020 8516 7200 Charity number: 312747
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