The next MusicFest is just under 4 weeks away so you need to get planning, collaborating and practising!
MusicFests are informal concerts where students from any year group can perform pieces of their own choice to a friendly and supportive audience. We always have a huge range of music, from students’ very first public performance to students who are already hugely experienced musicians. We have all styles of music from classical to rock to musical theatre and students’ own compositions. There are solos, duets and groups. One of the loveliest thngs about these events is when students from different year groups work on something together. MusicFests are always a much loved event on the Hayes Music calendar.
Here is the video from last term’s MusicFest so you can get a flavour of what it’s like:
The rehearsal next Wednesday (11th) is for brass and percussion only.
Year 7 Concert
Well done to all the year 7 students who took part in the concert on Wednesday evening. Congratulations to the winning soloists and classes:
Classes: 7UVC and 7WXA
Soloists: Alden and Ben
Huge congratulations to Brooke and Emma for earning their place in the NYO for 2023-2024. We are looking forward to hearing all about your experiences over the next year.
Congratulations to Elinor for being selected to be part of the new girls’ choir of St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey. Well done, Elinor!
Oliver!
Congratulations to everyone who has successfully auditioned for Oliver.
The tour is open to all students in Years 7-13, who are committed members of Choir, Musical Theatre Group, or Concert Band. Regular attendance at rehearsals in the autumn and spring terms is expected from all those going on tour. We will be visiting various attractions in the Costa Brava area including Barcelona and Montserrat, and will also perform in three concerts in different locations in the area.
The parents/carers of students in Choir, Musical Theatre and Concert Band should have already received the tour email with details of how to sign up. Please contact Miss W if you did not receive the email.
To secure a place on the Music tour, the deposit needs to be paid by Monday 2nd October 2023.
Congratulations to our students who have been chosen to perform in this production.
Buy tickets here (but if you are going to see a friend who is performing in it, check which of the performances they are going to be in).
GALSI – Gender and the Large and Shiny Instruments – aims to address gender imbalances for instrumentalists. They advocate instruments that have not traditionally been viewed as ‘feminine’ choices in recent historical times.
This two-day course is open to anyone who plays a brass or percussion instrument, is aged eight to 25 years old, and identifies as female or non-binary.
Participants will be split into junior and senior ensembles for workshops, masterclasses and performances.
For more information, please visit the GALSI website.
The Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at Mahler’s holiday cottage at Maiernigg. Among its most distinctive features are the trumpet solo that opens the work with a rhythmic motif similar to the opening of Ludwig van Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 5, the horn solos in the third movement and the frequently performed Adagietto.
It’s been great to have the music corridor alive with music again this week. Welcome to anyone new who came along to try out our clubs. We hope you enjoyed them.
to next week’s rehearsals!
Coming up this term:
Please make a note of these dates and let your family know to save the date.
Trip Survey
Please complete this very quick survey to help me plan a trip to see a West End musical at some point this academic year. Thank you.
Whole School Musical – Oliver!
Thank you to to those of you who are helping out at BYMT’s Try a Musical Instrument day tomorrow. BYMT are really grateful for your help in inspiring the next generation of BYMT musicians.
BYMT will be opening its doors on Saturday 16 Sept to welcome families with children in school years 1-8. This is your chance to come along, try the instruments, talk to the teachers & make some noise! To register visit https://t.co/qr0J4mLG6npic.twitter.com/9DLsDOylvf
BYMT is inviting you to TASTER SESSIONS. If you already play an instrument or enjoy singing come and try out a BYMT group, ensemble or choir! Take our quiz to find the right group for youhttps://t.co/B4EDhcZDM4 or visit our website to find out everything we offer here at BYMT. pic.twitter.com/65G6rkU5kH
Visit Guildhall School of Music & Drama on Sunday 15 October 2023 for our BIG Double Reed Day.
Our BIG Double Reed Day offers an exciting opportunity for musicians, teachers, and parents to meet and engage with a community of oboists and bassoonists from across the country.
Join double reed players of all ages for a day of masterclasses, small group ensemble coaching, technique classes, performance confidence workshops, pedagogy discussion sessions and a grand finale concert – which will be hosted in our Milton Court Concert Hall.
You will get the chance to learn and play alongside world-leading Guildhall tutors including, Alison Teale, Dan Jemison, Gordon Hunt, Helen Storey, Richard Ion, Steven Hudson, Bob Porter, Fraser MacAulay, Rachel Broadbent, Rosie Cow, Rebecca Wood, Adrian Rowlands and Stuart Russell. Guest tutors include Michal Rogalski and others to be confirmed.
Our event will allow visitors to participate and perform in a newly commissioned work for massed double reeds by award-winning composer, Peter McGarr, as well as the opportunity to browse trade stands hosted by Howarth of London, Crowthers of Canterbury, Double Reed Ltd, OB3, Reed Machines, Wonderful Winds and many more.
A limited number of sponsored places and bursaries are available to assist those on low incomes, towards the cost of attending. Contact BigDoubleReedDay@gsmd.ac.uk for more information on funded places. Places for those aged 10 and under are free.
Thank you to those of you who applied to be a 2023-2024 Music Leader. We will be in touch to let you know if you have been selected.
Try playing your part along with these videos:
The best bits of the 2023 Proms
This year saw the Proms spread its geographical wings further than before, with concerts in Londonderry, Great Yarmouth, Perth, Truro, Aberystwyth and a weekend-long residency at the Sage Gateshead.
Overall, there were 84 concerts, performed by 37 orchestras, featuring more than 3,000 musicians.
Ticket sales rose above pre-Covid levels, with 350,000 people attending a show.
Highlights of the season included:
Mariza sings Fado: A passionate and fiery evening of Fado music, otherwise known as the”Portuguese blues”. The concert was fronted by Fado legend Mariza, whose agile vocals and sparkling charisma lit up the Royal Albert Hall.
Chineke blow the roof off: The Chineke! orchestra’s youthful energy brings a whole new energy to well-loved classics. This year, the ensemble played Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony and Haydn’s exuberant Trumpet Concerto. Keep an eye out for soloist Aaron Azunda Akugbo, who tackles the piece with unmissable flair.
A night of Northern Soul: “Orchestral versions of pop music can feel a little bit contrived,” admitted BBC 6 Music’s Stuart Maconie, who co-curated this second concert of the Proms. “Northern Soul, absolutely not, because so many of the original records feature orchestration, so its in the vocabulary already.”
Vula Malinga leads an epic orchestral arrangement of Northern Soul anthem Tainted Love
Four Seasons in One Day: Well, one night to be strictly accurate, but Finnish conductor and violinist Pekka Kuusisto’s unconventional approach shone new light on Vivaldi’s masterpiece. Wearing leather trousers and radiating with enthusiasm, he gave cittern player Ale Carr freedom to improvise over familiar passages, then joined him in those improvisations – at one point riffing on Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.
Self Esteem at the Sage Gateshead: Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka pop provocateur Self Esteem, admitted to being “quite nervous” as she began her first concert with a live orchestra, but she needn’t have worried. Her confrontational, feminist pop was somehow even more emotionally devastating with the addition of the Northern Sinfonia’s orchestral [expletive deleted] Wizardry.
Simon Rattle’s farewell: One of the year’s most emotional Proms, as Sir Simon Rattle bowed out as Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra. He chose to depart with Mahler’s valedictory Symphony No 9. When it ended, the hall sat in silence for 30 seconds. The end of an era.
The final moments of Mahler’s Ninth, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.
The existing Music Ambassador role has been replaced with this.
Would you like to be a Music Leader this year? Music Leaders need to be committed to supporting the department and spreading the music love. Your jobs will involve helping recruit year 7s to our clubs, helping at school events (e.g. open days), assisting with music trips and so on.
If you would like to be considered for the role of a Music Leader you will need to complete this quick form. To be eligible, you will need to be a member of at least two music clubs. We are looking for people who are committed and tuned in. By that, we mean people who come to rehearsals really regularly, check the blog, answer their emails and generally know what’s going on. All year groups welcome. Existing Music Ambassadors will need to complete the form too.
Deadline for submission is 8am on Friday 15th September.
Any questions, please contact Mrs Foster
BYMT news
BYMT is inviting you to TASTER SESSIONS. If you already play an instrument or enjoy singing come and try out a BYMT group, ensemble or choir! Take our quiz to find the right group for youhttps://t.co/B4EDhcZDM4 or visit our website to find out everything we offer here at BYMT. pic.twitter.com/65G6rkU5kH
BYMT will be opening its doors on Saturday 16 Sept to welcome families with children in school years 1-8. This is your chance to come along, try the instruments, talk to the teachers & make some noise! To register visit https://t.co/qr0J4mLG6npic.twitter.com/9DLsDOylvf
Rehearsals will start in the week beginning 11th September
Important dates:
Please make a note of all these dates, and make sure they are added to your family calendar too.
Would you like to be a Music Leader in 2023-2024?
The existing Music Ambassador role has been replaced with this.
Would you like to be a Music Leader this year? Music Leaders need to be committed to supporting the department and spreading the music love. Your jobs will involve helping recruit year 7s to our clubs, helping at school events (e.g. open days), assisting with music trips and so on.
If you would like to be considered for the role of a Music Leader you will need to complete this quick form. To be eligible, you will need to be a member of at least two music clubs. We are looking for people who are committed and tuned in. By that, we mean people who come to rehearsals really regularly, check the blog, answer their emails and generally know what’s going on. All year groups welcome. Existing Music Ambassadors will need to complete the form too.
Deadline for submission is Friday 15th September.
Any questions, please contact Mrs F
Congratulations to our GCSE and A Level classes for your music/music tech exam results.
Summer news
We would love to hear about the musical things you did over the summer break. Please send me a quick email to tell me all about it so I can include it on the next blog.
Thank you. From Mrs F
Congratulations to Brooke for being part of the NYO’s fantastic performance at this year’s BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in August. What an incredible experience!
‘The strings swayed, the double basses twirled, the woodwind and brass soloists dazzled, the audience clapped and, yes, some of them even danced.’
‘Throughout the entire concert the whole ensemble played with swagger and confidence but I have to say the rhythm section stole the show with great work by the timpanists and those double basses.’
‘It’s always a pleasure to hear this orchestra, packed with the leading players of the future, and there was plenty of talent on display throughout the concert.’
BYMT will be opening its doors on Saturday 16 Sept to welcome families with children in school years 1-8. This is your chance to come along, try the instruments, talk to the teachers & make some noise! To register visit https://t.co/qr0J4mLG6npic.twitter.com/9DLsDOylvf
Tickets are now on sale for the BYMT Musical Theatre Production of LES MISÉRABLES on Fri 3 & Sun 5 Nov. Featuring full company of talented young performers & orchestra – these shows will be a sell-out, book early to avoid disappointment! https://t.co/aGV9m8ng2g#DreamedADreampic.twitter.com/LdyAPIrbd8
Have a fabulous summer holiday! Maybe do some really lovely musical things – try a new instrument, learn a new piece, or listen to something different. Go to a Prom! Proms are brilliant – the atmosphere is like nothing else – and the programme of events is huge and varied. U18s go half price on all seated tickets – however, I would absolutely encourage you to actuallyprom – which means queuing for a ticket on the day, and standing up (there are two queues – one for the Arena, and one for the Gallery – I would strongly recommend the gallery, because the acoustics are better, and if there is room, you can lie on the floor and listen to the music!). See the Proms website for full details.
MiniJazz Band
Thank you to jazz band for playing at Bromley Y’s summer party on Wednesday evening.
Music programmes to watch over the summer
BBC iPlayer:
Disney +:
Google’s new game turns you into a cello-playing AI bird
Viola the Bird is a game in which you bow a virtual cello, with your own tempo, expression and artistry. To make things really fun, the performance is acted out by a charmingly theatrical, winged virtuoso.
With Viola, you can play a number of classical favourites, and even improvise your own tunes accompanied by an AI orchestra.
Seckou Keita (born 1978) is a kora player and drummer from Senegal. He is one of the few champions of the lesser-known kora repertoire from Casamance in southern Senegal. The kora is a stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa. A kora typically has 21 strings, which are played by plucking with the fingers. It combines features of the lute and harp. Read more Seckou and the kora here.
Have you ever heard water percussion? 💧 Earlier this year, our percussion section made a splash in Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion. The composer is known for using water as an instrument, and these excerpts show how magical it can sound ✨ pic.twitter.com/6yLZ8ntgqW
— London Philharmonic Orchestra (@LPOrchestra) May 31, 2023
Congratulations to all those who performed at last night's brilliant Summer Concert, which brought a wonderful year of music to a close. #proud Can't wait to see what you all do next year. Thank you to @music_hayes@hayes_createspic.twitter.com/7GPrO6m2No
The trip is finally here! For those of you going, you have been provided with all the trip info via Satchel One (task titled “Matilda trip – IMPORTANT INFO”).
It is vital that you read through ALL the information on the powerpoint slides. It tells you where and when you need to meet, what to bring and lots more.
You will need to have an early dinner at home on that day.
If you have any further questions, please email me.
Make sure you know how to do the Matilda pose for our group photo!
Tickets are now on sale for the BYMT Musical Theatre Production of LES MISÉRABLES on Fri 3 & Sun 5 Nov. Featuring full company of talented young performers & orchestra – these shows will be a sell-out, book early to avoid disappointment! https://t.co/aGV9m8ng2g#DreamedADreampic.twitter.com/LdyAPIrbd8
Below is the rehearsal schedule for the day of the concert (Wed 5th July ). This is the strike day.
If your year group is at home on that day, please come into school for your rehearsal slots. You DO NOT need to wear school uniform, but you DO need to sign in and out at student reception.
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.
Tickets are £5 via link above.
The music classrooms will be available for coats, instrument cases etc. Please arrive in enough time to warm up and get organised.
When the concert is in progress, you must not hang out in the classrooms or corridors. You need to be in the Hall being a supportive, considerate, appreciative member of the audience who shows awareness of performance etiquette which includes not moving around or making a noise during the music.
Musical Theatre Club trip to see Matilda – Wednesday 12th July. Information for those going on this trip will be shared via Satchel One so please keep an eye out for it.
Join us on Sunday 9th July (4-5.30pm) for a fantastic FREE online masterclass with the amazing Henry Baldwin, section principal percussionist of the Royal Opera House! If you are aged 18 or under, follow the link to RSVP: https://t.co/hBZCRabtqz
Hayes Music blog 