The music department

St. Aidan’s has enjoyed a national reputation for the excellence of its rich musical life for many years.  We estimate that around 500 students are involved in some kind of musical activity.  Our 17 musical ensembles that practise and play together weekly are:

These ensembles perform regularly in school, in the community, around the UK and abroad. A number of the senior ensembles have achieved competition success at local and national level and have travelled abroad quite extensively, the Concert Band visiting Canada in 2005, and Chamber Choir and Orchestra performing in Paris at Notre Dame, La Madeleine, Chantilly and Disneyland in 2007. Students at St. Aidan’s regularly gain places in regional and national ensembles including the National Youth Orchestra, the National Children’s Wind Orchestra and National Youth Brass Band

The school plays host each year to a National Festival of Music for Youth Regional Festival in which our home ensembles perform as well as up to 20 other ensembles from around the region. Recent successes in the NFMY include Swing Band being given the “Outstanding Performance” award at the National Festival of Music for Youth in Birmingham, and subsequently performing at the Schools’ Prom at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2005.  In 2007the Chamber Choir achieved exactly the same. In 2006 the Chamber Choir won the Senior School Choir of the Year competition on BBC1’s Songs of Praise programme, and have since been invited to sing again on Songs of Praise several times, including “The Big Sing” at the Royal Albert Hall. They also regularly broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 on the “Daily Service”. In January 2008 the Choir had the honour of performing for HRH the Prince of Wales at the opening of the newly refurbished Royal Hall in Harrogate. 

In February 2008 the St. Aidan’s Music Department and its wide range of musical activities were given high national profile on a BBC1 Songs of Praise programme from Harrogate. In July 2008 three of our senior ensembles (Chamber Choir, Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Band) were invited to perform at the National Festival of Music for Youth in Birmingham, at which the Symphonic Wind Band was awarded 'Highly Commended' placing them second in the School Wind Band Class. Our international profile was further raised through the Chamber Choir's concert tour to Tuscany in the same month, performing at Florence and Pistoia Cathedrals.

One of the largest scale events ever attempted by St. Aidan's occurred in February 2009 when 300 musicians, including students, staff, parents and friends performed Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man A Mass For Peace in Leeds Town Hall to huge acclaim.

The Symphonic Band and Swing Band will be travelling to Salzburg, Austria for a performance tour in July 2009.

Staff: