Here’s the rehearsal schedule for the day of the concert (Wednesday 18th December). 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 Christmas holiday.
The Winter Concert is now under two weeks away. All music clubs are performing at this event so please make sure you are practising your part(s) at home.
Ever watched a film and spotted something you thought you recognised from a different movie?
Chances are, you just found an Easter egg.
While most of us know an Easter egg as a springtime chocolate treat, it’s also a term used for hidden secret references placed in films, games or books for die-hard fans to spot.
The Mamas & the Papas was an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York City, the group consisted of Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot, Michelle Phillips, and Canadian Denny Doherty. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips – the songwriter and leader of the group – who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s. Click here to find out more.
Thank you to HUB who are performed this afternoon for the residents of Pittsmead Grange Care Home. The residents really enjoy your performance and are looking forward to your next visit 🙂
Music Department trip to Back to the Future: The Musical
Thank you to those of you who came on this trip. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did 🙂
Music trip to the Royal Albert Hall – March 2025
The parents/guardians of all regular members of our music clubs should have received an email about our planned trip to the Royal Albert Hall in March 2025. The trip involves a guided tour of the hall and a film music concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. We did the same trip a couple of years ago and it was such a success that we have decided to go again.
Deadline to sign up and pay = Friday 6th December
Something to watch
Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley – Netflix – age rating 15 years
This event involves JamSesh and HUB. Please check your Satchel One for all the details.
Back To The Future trip – Monday 25th November
If you are coming on this trip you will have been set a Satchel One task that has the trip meeting powerpoint attached, as well as everything you need to know about where to meet, when, what to where, what to bring etc.
Music trip to the Royal Albert Hall – March 2025
The parents/guardians of all regular members of our music clubs should have received an email about our planned trip to the Royal Albert Hall in March 2025. The trip involves a guided tour of the hall and a film music concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. We did the same trip a couple of years ago and it was such a success that we have decided to go again.
Deadline to sign up and pay = Monday 2nd December
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Music by John Williams
His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams’ own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.
There will be a joint JamSesh and HUB rehearsal after school on Monday 18th November until 4pm to practice for the Hayes Christmas lights event. Please check your Satchel One for more details.
HUB reminder:
Don’t forget that we have a rehearsal this Thursday lunchtime (21st) to practice for the Care Home gig. Please check your Satchel One for more details.
Back to the Future trip meeting
Thursday 21st November, straight after pm reg in CGG. This meeting is for everyone who is going on the trip.
Click here to find out which instruments made the list.
And finally …
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America and are one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 100 million sold in the US alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone‘s 2004 list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. Read more here.
Congratulations to everyone who performed last night and thank you to those of you who helped set up and tidy away.
Quincy Jones, giant of US music, dies aged 91
NYO London concert
Free tickets for teens! Click here to find out more.
Well done to Molly in year 7 who successfully auditioned to earn a place in one of the NCO’s Project Orchestras. We look forward to hearing all about her experiences with the NCO.
Hayes Christmas Lights (The New Inn, Hayes) 3pm ish (tbc)
Friday 29th November – lunch/period 5/after school (tbc):
Informal performance for the residents of Pittsmead Grange Care Home on West Common Road
Please keep an eye on Satchel One for the music for both these events.
The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from clay or ceramic, but other materials are also used, such as plastic, wood, glass, metal, or bone.
Well done to everyone who took part in Monday’s Year 7 Concert. Congratulations to the class winners and soloists.
Tallulah F – Son of a Preacher Man
Maya RS – Mamma Mia
7UVC – Spice Up Your Life
7WXC – Proud Mary
HUB
The badges have arrived 🙂
Please collect from my room from Wednesday 16th October.
MusicFest
The next MusicFest is in the first week back after half term 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 a previous MusicFest so you can get a flavour of what it’s like:
This is a lovely event that JamSesh and HUB perform at every year. We will meet at 3.30pm in the New Inn car park and perform from 3.50-4.10pm. HUB check Satchel One for more details and JamSesh see your WhatsApp group.
John Williams documentary – coming soon on Disney+
“Music by John Williams” is a refrain that strikes joy into the hearts of all movie lovers. It also forms the title of a new documentary film about the 92-year-old composer.
The documentary features interviews with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, with John Williams himself in front of the camera. A trailer released on Monday features some of the composer’s most iconic scores, from Jaws to Indiana Jones. Watch it above.
Disney+ say the documentary will explore the composer’s life, from his early days as a jazz pianist to his 54 Oscar nominations and five wins, looking at his contribution to the concert stage and impact on popular culture, as well as his deep influence on the big screen.
The Disney+ release is directed by filmmaker and author Laurent Bouzereau, with Williams’ longtime artistic partner Steven Spielberg as part of the production team.
Don’t get it? Listen to the rhythm played by the timpani and strings in the opening of this piece:
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its supposed astrological character.
Gustav Theodore Holst(born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success.
Hayes Music blog 