GYA National Brass & Percussion Day Date: Sunday 5 July Venue: Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Barbican London, EC2Y 8DT Time: 10am–1:30pm (doors open from 9.30am) (Includes a 1pm play through to friends and family). Age: 9 -18 Approx standard: Suitable for players ABRSM Grade 3 – 6
About GYA – National Brass & Percussion Day
This play day is for instrumentalists playing any brass or percussion instrument. It is led by our lively team of inspiring Guildhall tutors and special guests to support and develop your skills in a fun and friendly environment.
What can I expect? Play alongside your friends and meet new ones, enjoy some amazing music, experience different styles of music and get top tips whilst having fun.
Course Fee: £30 per student £20 if you are currently attending a Centre for Young Musicians or Guildhall Young Artist centre/ensemble. £0 or pay what you can and come along (please enter any amount you are happy to pay)
The Chitty trip is next Thursday 21st May (evening). Details on where to meet, what to wear etc. are on Satchel for those with a place on the trip.
Interview with Emma in Year 13
Emma has been a huge part of the music department since she started in year 7!
List all the music clubs you’ve been involved with since you started at Hayes.
Choir, Jamsesh, Concert Band, Musical Theatre, Jazz ensemble, Jazz band, Brass quintet/quartet, ukulele band
Favourite music/songs that you’ve performed at school over the years.
I have quite a few favourites, mostly some of the first things I ever played, like African Symphony in concert band, Jerico in choir, and then also One Day More in Musical Theatre. I think my favourite pieces though have to be two pieces we played in Brass Quintet, which are an arrangement of Bach’s little future in G minor, and then the Canadian brass arraignment of Putting On The Ritz for brass quintet.
Best memories of your time in the music department?
The best parts for me have been the composing, arranging and conducting, because it’s kind of surreal playing that big of a part in an ensemble/concert as a whole, and then to also see people’s reaction to it. Of course playing has been a joy too but nothing quite compares to the action of others to a piece you have written. However, the most memorable parts of the music department are things like trying to catch the practice room keys when Mr Brett throws them at you, people being ‘knighted’ with a foam sword before a concert, and trying in any way possible to not overheat in the school hall on concert day. The little things are what make it home for me.
What are your plans once you leave Hayes?
I am attending the Royal College of Music next year, doing a 4 year Bachelors of Music, which basically means practicing for another 4 years so I can go and then play in a London orchestra.
Opportunity for brass and percussion players grade 3-6
GYA National Brass & Percussion DayDate: Sunday 5 July Venue: Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Barbican London, EC2Y 8DT Time: 10am–1:30pm (doors open from 9.30am) (Includes a 1pm play through to friends and family). Age: 9 -18 Approx standard: Suitable for players ABRSM Grade 3 – 6
About GYA – National Brass & Percussion Day
This play day is for instrumentalists playing any brass or percussion instrument. It is led by our lively team of inspiring Guildhall tutors and special guests to support and develop your skills in a fun and friendly environment.
What can I expect? Play alongside your friends and meet new ones, enjoy some amazing music, experience different styles of music and get top tips whilst having fun.
Course Fee: £30 per student £20 if you are currently attending a Centre for Young Musicians or Guildhall Young Artist centre/ensemble. £0 or pay what you can and come along (please enter any amount you are happy to pay)
The Chitty trip meeting is next Wednesday, 13th May in CGG at 3:05-3:15pm. There will be a reminder on Satchel for those of you who are coming on this trip.
Congratulations are in order again!
A huge well done to Emma in year 13 who has been selected to perform in the Junior Guildhall Lutine Prize Final in June.
Thursday 21st May 7:30pm – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Trip, Churchill Theatre, Bromley
Music Tour to the Netherlands 2026
Cricket on the dunes near SoestMuseum of music-making machines in UtrechtLunchtime concert in Delft’s main squareEvening concert in NoordwijkBoat trip in Amsterdam
NYO news
Congratulations to Emma and Will for performing with the NYO this Easter for their Collide tour. They performed at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Oskar Wilhelm Fischinger was a German-American abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter, notable for creating abstract musical animation many decades before the appearance of computer graphics and music videos. Wikipedia
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) wrote the Ring cycle. He composed the libretti (or text) for each opera in reverse chronological order, starting with the text for Götterdämmerung, and ending with the text (or ‘poem’, as Wagner called it) for Das Rheingold. He then proceeded to compose the score sequentially, starting with Das Rheingold, followed by Die Walküre, Siegfried and lastly Götterdämmerung.
How long is the Ring Cycle?
If played continuously back-to-back, the four operas in Der Ring des Nibelungen would last 15 hours in duration. Das Rheingold is the shortest opera in the cycle, lasting approximately 2 ½ hours without interval. Exclusive of intervals, the music of Die Walküre lasts approximately 5 hours, Siegfried lasts just over 4 hours, and Götterdämmerung lasts approximately 4 ½ hours. Performances of Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung are usually performed with two intervals each, and complete performances of the Ring cycle usually unfold over a minimum of four consecutive days. It is the ultimate artistic and logistical undertaking for any opera company.
How many operas are in the Ring Cycle?
The Ring cycle consists of four operas, the first of which (Das Rheingold – The Rheingold) Wagner described as a Vorabend (preliminary evening), setting the main events of the rest of the cycle in motion. Die Walküre, the second opera in the cycle, marks the start of the story in earnest, with Siegfried and Götterdämmerung continuing the mythic tale to its climactic conclusion.
What are the operas in the Ring Cycle ?
The four operas of Wagner’s Ring cycle are Das Rheingold (The Rheingold), Die Walküre (The Valkryie), Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the gods).
What are the most famous pieces from the Ring Cycle?
The most famous piece of music from the whole cycle is The Ride of the Valkyries, the galloping orchestral fanfare which opens Act III of Die Walküre. Other famous excerpts from the Ring include the Prelude to Das Rheingold, Siegfried’s Journey down the Rhine and Siegfried’s funeral music, and Brünnhilde’s immolation scene, all from Götterdämmerung.
What is the story behind the Ring Cycle?
Inspired by ancient German, Norse and Icelandic Sagas, the Ring cycle tells the mythic story of a ring of power that curses the owner, drawing gods and mortals into an epic tale of rivalry and conspiracy. Wagner was also inspired by Greek tragedy, using the orchestra as a ‘chorus’ to articulate the innermost feelings and motivations of the characters.
All music clubs are performing at this event so please make sure you are practising your part(s) at home.
The rehearsal schedule for the day of the concert (Wednesday 25th March) is below. Please make a note of when you are needed and make sure you have your instrument/music in school with you on that day.
Your teachers will know why you are absent from lessons that day, but it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and catch up.
Usual lunch rehearsals will take place up until the concert.
Here are some things you need to know about the concert itself:
The concert is at 6.30pm in the Hall. It will be finished by 9pm.
You need to wear all black. Not blue, not brown, not patterned, and no big logos. If you want to wear a bit of tinsel etc. on yourself or on your instrument, go for it.
Tickets are £5 on the door for adults or pay via ParentPay. Under 18s and senior citizens are free.
The music classrooms will be available for coats, instrument cases etc. Please arrive in enough time to warm up and get organised.
Any questions, please ask.
When the concert is in progress, you must not hang out in the classrooms or corridors. You need to be at the back of the Hall being a supportive, considerate, appreciative member of the audience who shows awareness of performance etiquette which includes not moving around or talking.
All music clubs will start up again after the Easter.
Good luck to everyone involved in the Mary Poppins Jnr production
Darkest nursery rhymes: the eerie truths hidden in our favourite childhood songs
From Jack and Jill to Three Blind Mice, many of our best-loved nursery rhymes have some sinister meanings behind their cheerful lyrics.
Nursery rhymes have shaped our childhoods for generations. They introduce us to language, nurture early reading skills, and often offer a child’s first brush with music.
But that’s only part of the story. Beneath their cheerful rhythms and playful rhymes lie grim tales of death, disease, violence, and religious strife. Wrapped in innocence, they carry echoes of a far darker past.
Please learn your part(s) so that each performance is the best it can be!
The rehearsal schedule for the day of the concert (Wednesday 25th March) is below. Please make a note of when you are needed and make sure you have your instrument/music in school with you on that day.
Your teachers will know why you are absent from lessons that day, but it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and catch up.
Hayes Music blog 