What’s the score?
Welcome to the Pianodrome
It’s not every day that our pupils perform in an amphitheatre made entirely of upcycled pianos but in May, Neil, Eve, Cliodhna and Pavlina (all S6) headed to the Pianodrome in Granton to do exactly that.
A charitable organisation set up in 2016, Pianodrome CIC, according to its founders (and bandmates) Tim Vincent-Smith and Matthew Wright, was conceived to “create participatory, community-centred sculptures, made entirely from otherwise disused pianos. As part of a large network of makers, artists, performers and volunteers, we articulate the structure we build through festivals, one-off events and educational experiences.” In August 2018, the 100-seater Pianodrome installed at the Botanic Gardens for the Fringe attracted 18,000 visitors, critical acclaim and international recognition. The Pianodrome in Edinburgh has become an iconic symbol of community and cultural resilience in Scotland’s capital. Over 100 volunteers helped to build and run the project so we were delighted that Neil, Eve, Cliodhna and Pavlina could take part in the Pianodrome Sessions – a series of short, intimate one-off performances from local and travelling artists, filmed and broadcast on YouTube. The Sessions will be aired over the summer with Eve and Neil, both saxophonists, playing a jazz set of their own compositions, Cliodhna playing Telemann and Frank Martin on the flute, accompanied by John Cameron, and Pavlina playing Rachmaninov and Beethoven. The session is likely to be the first of many and we are delighted to be working closely with the Pianodrome team to develop opportunities for outreach and engagement with other school children and members of the local community.
“Pianos are made from a host of interesting materials and possess their own exotic shapes, colouring and character. Every piano is an individual work of art, so it is wonderful that in this very unique and special place, abandoned pianos are gifted a second life. It creates a magical atmosphere.” John Cameron, Assistant Director of Music and Head of Keyboard
Celebrating Celebrity 6
It was another star-studded term in which we welcomed… Arve Henriksen, the renowned Norwegian trumpeter and composer, who is currently working on his tenth album. Arve’s flute-like sound is inspired by the Japanese shakuhachi flute. | Stephen Hough, named by The Economist as one of ‘Twenty Living Polymaths’. Stephen combines distinguished careers as a pianist, a composer and a writer. | Manuel Barrueco, the Grammy-nominated Cuban classical guitarist, hailed as a ‘major artist with a remarkable musicianship’ by the Los Angeles Times and a ‘superior musician’ by the New York Times. | Sir Antonio Pappano, Music Director of both the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and (recently announced) the next Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. | Judith Weir, a celebrated composer and, since 2014, the first female Master of the Queen’s Music. Alina Ibragimova, the Russian/British violinist described as ‘one of today’s outstanding interpreters of the most elemental music in the repertoire’ by The Guardian. Alina has played with leading orchestras including Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra. For the full Celebrity 6 Guest List visit https://www.stmarysmusicschool.co.uk/event/celebrity-6-series
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Competition Results
Up for debate
Shutter speed
Primary school players
Summer term is competition time and we saw a large number of entries for the Junior Recital Prize (JRP), Intermediate Recital Prize (IRP) and Senior Directors’ Recital Prize (DRP). Congratulations to all who took part. The winners of the JRP and IRP were Michelle (piano) and Hester (violin), while the winner of the DRP was Layla (cello). This year’s judges were Jo Buckley, a Director of St Mary’s Music School and Chief Executive of Dunedin Consort; Bill Chandler, Director of Concerts and Engagement, Royal Scottish National Orchestra; and James Waters, Director of the Lammermuir Festival, Creative Director Classical Music at Perth Concert Hall and Joint Artistic Director of the Bath Festival. Accompanists were Elena Fischer-Dieskau and Simon Smith, while Cliodhna (S6) played in the intermission. The final took place at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh on 16th June and was live-streamed onto YouTube.
John and Carlo (both S4) launched a photography competition that’s open to everyone, from primary pupils to the teaching staff. Each week has seen a new theme emerge, from ‘reflection’ to ‘snow’, with some themes attracting over 30 entries. Oli (S3), a five-times winner, told us: “It has sparked creativity and has been a great way to get into the depths of nature.” Why not give it a go?
Singing and starring
A digital first Our String Ensemble and seven of our pianists headed to Pianodrome in June to record an arrangement of several of the movements from Grieg’s Holberg Suite. They were filmed by Neil and Amelia (both S6) who are keen on developing their digital skills and the collaboration was edited to become part of the Summer Concert, aired on 2nd July. You can find out more at https://www.pianodrome.org and subscribe to Pianodrome’s Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5O_ Di2BDyDS9QDetQRYyqw
Not only have our choristers been able to sing in public again, in their first live service at St Mary’s Cathedral for many months, they also featured in a new film, currently in production. The Lost King, starring Steve Coogan, follows the story of the discovery of Richard III’s grave in a Leicester car park in 2012.
Congratulations to…
Cliodhna (S6) (flute), who was a finalist in the Young Musicians’ Platform, part of The Bromsgrove International Musicians’ Competition, and Alexander (S6) who was one of three young composers chosen by the St Andrews Voices Festival to have their piece workshopped by Voces8. Alexander’s composition, When you are old, is inspired by the poem by WB Yeats.
Green fingers
Enthusiastic pupils are busy in the greenhouse and the grounds as part of the new Gardening Club set up by Ms Holm. Stars of the show this term include kale, radishes, coriander, basil and various salad leaves.
On 16th June, Alexander (S3) and Benjamin (S2) took part in the final of the COPFS (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service) Public Speaking Competition. They competed against two other schools, in front of the Lord Advocate and a panel of judges, on the topic ‘If I were the Scottish Minister for Equalities, the most pressing inequality I would tackle, post-pandemic, is…’ This followed a successful round against Cardinal Newman High School on ‘Gender has had its day’ in the semi-finals, with Alexander and Benjamin convincing the judges that gender was no longer required as a primary defining characteristic.
Since the beginning of June, our Primary pupils have been rehearsing The Angel of Nitshill Road, a play byAnne Fine that tells the story of a nasty class bully called Barry Hunter and his comeuppance. When a new student, Celeste, witnesses Barry tormenting his fellow students, she decides to take action. Every time Barry is unkind, his nasty deeds are written down by Celeste in a golden notebook that she brings to school, leading Marigold, one of Barry’s victims, to speculate that Celeste is a ‘recording angel’. With Celeste’s help, the class begin to stand up together against Barry and learn to fight for what is right. Diya and Klara (both P7) quizzed Ethan on how he tackled playing the class bully. How did you feel about playing such an unpleasant character? Well, I am not mean in real life, but I’ve always thought that an actor is really good if they can play mean and aggressive characters, so I wanted to bring that out. How do you learn and practice your lines? A technique I use when learning lines is doing them as often as possible – in bed, in the shower, when I’m brushing my teeth. Why did you want to play Barry? I knew how important the character was to the play and I wanted to test my skills by being mean and full of a nasty attitude! Have you had much experience in acting? I used to go to acting clubs and I would love to get into acting when I’m older.
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