Trinity Music Prospectus

at Trinity

Welcome to Music at Trinity

Trinity School is proud of its reputation for musical excellence, combining ambition with inclusiveness. All Trinity students are encouraged to learn an instrument and to sing, and there are exciting opportunities to make music both in the school community and outside. The Music Department enjoys outstanding facilities and is a constant hive of activity as energetic and committed teachers inspire promising young musicians to fulfil their potential.

We very much look forward to welcoming you to Trinity.

David Swinson, Director of Music

Parent

"I was told of Trinity’s reputation for Music, but nothing prepares you for the reality. The variety and wealth of opportunities are amazing!"

2 Music at Trinity

the right note

4 Music at Trinity

Instrumental

All Trinity students are encouraged to be actively involved in a musical activity. To support this, free instrumental lessons are offered to new students who have previously not learnt an instrument.

Well over fifty instrumental groups rehearse each week, giving opportunities to players of all levels. These include orchestras, wind bands, jazz bands, guitar groups, percussion groups, and many chamber ensembles.

The calendar boasts concerts, masterclasses, competitions, courses and tours, all of which are organised to provide the very best musical experience.

A new student

"I haven’t been playing my instrument for very long so I thought I would have to wait to join a music group. I was so excited that there was a group for me immediately that is at my level"

Music

Teaching the world to

sing

Singing

Trinity Boys Choir is one of the busiest professional boys’ choirs in the world. It performs regularly at the BBC Proms, on TV and radio, on film soundtracks and in opera houses around the world. The Choir has recently performed in Austria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.

All boys are invited to sing in the choir and many boys who represent the school professionally have little previous experience.

There are also exciting opportunities for older boys and girls: the Girls' Choir, which has performed professionally alongside the boys at The Royal Albert Hall, The Royal Festival Hall and in recordings at Abbey Road Studios; the Sixth Form Chamber Choir, the Close Harmony Group, the Male Voice Choir, and jazz singing with the Big Band.

Music at Trinity

Instrumental

Instrumental Teaching

in their learning

Trinity’s visiting instrumental and singing teachers include many top performers and recording artists, as well as professors at conservatoire level. The style of teaching is deliberately ambitious, with students encouraged to make quick progress. This is actively supported by the Heads of Sections in Woodwind, Brass, Percussion, Piano, Strings, Guitar, Singing and Jazz, Rock and Pop, with the progress of students in each discipline carefully monitored and nurtured by these expert teachers.

Tours

In addition to the annual Junior Music Course in Cornwall, there is an annual instrumental tour. Recent destinations have included Austria, Cyprus, Dubai, France, Italy, Romania, South Africa and the USA.

A former student

"The music tours are some of the best memories of my time at Trinity. We presented some amazing concerts in some beautiful locations and I made lots of friends for life."

Music

Jazz, Rock & Pop

With Jazz Collective, Funk Band, Session Pro’s and no fewer than three Big Bands, Trinity’s eclectic Music Department prides itself in its diverse celebration of music from the last 100 years. Regular masterclasses and workshops from visiting experts help to nurture singers’ performance styles and techniques whilst instrumentalists gain invaluable knowledge from our own staff and guest specialists. We have recently enjoyed working with Michael Bublé’s arranger, Callum Au, Sam Smith’s vocal coach, Joanna Eden and Director of the Ronnie Scott’s Big Band, Pete Long.

Every year Trinity’s top jazz bands perform at the iconic Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, whilst rock and pop groups get the mini-festival experience of the Trinity Proms; an outdoor music event with 1,000 attendees. Younger musicians thrive at our termly Rock and Pop Nights and Jazz Evenings.

The department is headed by Joe Pettitt, whose recording credits include Noel Gallagher, Joss Stone and Burt Bacharach, as well many West End shows and frequent jazz appearances with international acts from Curtis Stigers to Michael Feinstein. His own band, the Len Phillips Swing Orchestra, has recently topped the iTunes UK Jazz Chart and broadcast several episodes for Sky Arts.

Music at Trinity

In collaboration

"Trinity’s provision is outstanding and I am thrilled that we enjoy such a close link through the Steinway Scholarship."

Professor Vanessa Latarche, Head of Keyboard, The Royal College of Music

Professional Links

Great value is placed on links with the professional world of music and key relationships exist with universities, music colleges, orchestras and individual performers.

The Trinity-Steinway scholarship enables an advanced pianist to study at the Royal College of Music with Professor Vanessa Latarche and the link with Steinway & Sons is further enhanced with regular visits and concerts at London’s Steinway Hall.

Chamber groups which regularly coach our young musicians include the Maggini Quartet, the Aquinas Trio and the Trio Shaham-Erez-Wallfisch.

There is a particularly close relationship with Croydon’s professional orchestra, The London Mozart Players, and this includes sideby-side and concerto projects.

Senior chamber musicians enjoy an annual invitation to perform in the Palazzo Cavagnis and the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice

Trinity Big Band performs regularly at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and is coached by the Len Phillips Swing Orchestra.

Junior Orchestral Day

This fun-packed day attracts many children from all over the Croydon area each autumn. Boys and girls of Grade 2 standard or higher on an orchestral instrument spend the day learning new repertoire and performing in an informal concert at the end of the day.

Trinity Music Academy

We are delighted to share our excellent facilities and teaching with gifted young musicians from the South London area. Our Saturday Music Academy offers outstanding tuition, masterclasses and performance opportunities to local Trinity and nonTrinity boys and girls.

Facilities

The new Music School was opened in 2017 and boasts outstanding facilities. Trinity became London’s first AllSteinway secondary school in 2012 and the fleet of twentyfive pianos, including six grand pianos, currently inspires over 300 students to learn the piano. The Steinway Suite, the only teaching hub of its kind in the world, ensures that there are always spaces for personal practice as well as teaching. Each discipline has a teaching base, with dedicated teaching rooms for orchestral percussion, drum kit, jazz, rock and pop, guitar, strings, organ and singing. Trinity Concert Hall, which seats 500, has a Steinway Model D grand piano and a three manual Wyvern Custom organ; it is used for both rehearsals and concerts. At the heart of the department is the attractive Recital Hall, which seats 100, also has a Steinway Model D grand piano, and is frequently used for rehearsals, concerts and recordings.

Studio In the

A professionally equipped recording studio is linked to the Recital Hall, the choir room and numerous teaching rooms. This is used to record coursework for GCSE and A Level as well as professionally for the Boys’ Choir’s studio work. Students are encouraged to learn to use the recording programs ProTools and Logic and to assist with professional recordings.

Scholarships

Music scholarships are offered at 10+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ to young musicians of outstanding promise. These include free instrumental tuition and may be awarded in addition to a bursary. Two open mornings are arranged each autumn to explain the audition process and the School’s expectations. Details are available from the website each September.

“Music is

at

Academic

Music is taught to all students in the Lower School until it becomes an option in the Second Year. It is a popular subject at GCSE and A Level, and each year students go on to study Music at top universities and music colleges. The focus in the Lower School is on building core skills, such as reading music and singing, so that all students can achieve success at their own level. All styles of music are studied, and ICT plays an important role in composing. For those who wish, tuition is provided in Music Theory up to Grade 8. A rigorous approach to academic music characterises Sixth Form teaching where the intention is to provide the best possible grounding for further study. With a significant portion of GCSE and A Level dedicated to performing, Trinity students undoubtedly benefit from the outstanding extra-curricular music provision.

Higher Education Links and Alumni

Trinity teachers have strong links with the top universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, and the music colleges. Many former students enjoy top positions in the music profession, including Tony Britten, West End Musical Director and composer for TV, film and radio, including The Champions League Theme, and Stephen Bryant, Leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

"My time in Trinity’s music department was full of joy but there was always an underlying sense of purpose and ambition. It was the perfect preparation for the professional world of music."

A former student