Music
Staff
Mr M Pallant – Director of Music/Community Cohesion
Mrs J Leonard – Assistant Director of Music
Mrs V Elliott – Vocal & Instrumental Studies Manager
Mrs L Collett – Teacher of Music
Mr M Gardner – Music Technician
Music In The Curriculum
St. Aidan’s has enjoyed a national reputation for the excellence of its rich musical life for many years. We estimate that over 400 students are involved in some kind of musical activity within school. KS3 students are taught to listen critically to a variety of music and composers. Practical music-making – using students’ vocal talents and a wide range of instruments – is an essential part of the curriculum. Seventeen peripatetic staff teach voice, keyboard, woodwind, string, brass and percussion instruments. GCSE and A level Music and Music Technology cover a variety of musical styles and develop students’ skills in composition, performance and listening. The department is well equipped with four teaching rooms, two of them fully equipped with digital audio workstations, and a suite of practice rooms. Throughout their learning, students are given the opportunity to make the most of the excellent facilities available in the department. A visiting team of nineteen peripatetic music teachers allow students to learn a wide range of instruments, as well as voice.
Ensemble Highlights
A number of our senior ensembles achieve great success at local and national level. Our students regularly feature in the finals of the National Festival of Music for Youth in Birmingham and in recent years the school’s Swing Band, Chamber Choir, Symphonic Wind Band and Symphony Orchestra have been highly acclaimed at this prestigious festival. In July 2011 the Chamber Choir attained a ‘Special Award’ at the National Festival and was subsequently invited to appear at the Schools’ Prom in the Royal Albert Hall, London last November. The same year they sang in Westminster Abbey at a service celebrating the bicentenary of the founding of Church Schools.
The Chamber Choir won the ‘Senior School Choir of the Year’ competition on BBC1’s Songs of Praise programme in 2006 and has appeared in the finals most years. When the Royal Hall reopened in Harrogate after extensive refurbishment, the Chamber Choir had the honour of performing for HRH the Prince of Wales. In 2010 the Swing Band was the winning band in the inaugural ‘V Factor’ competition for jazz bands organised by the Variety Club of Great Britain and in 2012 the Swing Band was the winning band of the school section of the Great North Big Band Festival at Sunderland, a number of soloists gaining individual recognition. In July 2013 the Chamber Choir and Symphony Orchestra gained Special Awards at the National Festival of Music for Youth. The Symphonic Wind Band has been invited to perform at the Music for Youth Primary Schools’ Prom at St George’s Hall, Bradford, in October 2013.
St. Aidan’s Music At Home
All of our ensembles can be heard on a regular basis in school and outside its walls in the local community, examples being:
Chamber Choir at All Saints Church, Ripley Symphonic Wind Band and Concert Band at Harrogate Flower Show, Brass Band and World Music Group at St. Aidan’s FOSA Summer Fair, Junior Band and String Orchestra at annual Junior Music Residential in York, Symphony Orchestra at Ripon Cathedral for the Harrogate International Youth Music Festival, Girls’ Choir at Holy Trinity Church, Ripon and St. Michael’s Hospice ‘Star Walk’ and Junior Choir singing carols at Granby Court Residential Home.
St. Aidan’s Music Away
Our senior ensembles travel extensively to perform. In recent years this has included:
Chamber Choir and Symphony Orchestra tour to Paris, Chamber Choir tours to Tuscany, performing in Florence, Montecatini and San Gimignano, Symphonic Wind Band and Swing Band tour to Salzburg, in 2011 sixty-five students travelled to China on a music tour, including a performance at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing, in July 2013 the Swing Band was invited to play at the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and in the summer of 2014 the Chamber Choir undertook a performance tour to Italy.
Students and parents please note that although we encourage you to bring your own instruments into school for lessons and ensembles they will not be covered by school insurance whilst on the premises. The instrument store is protected by a key code and a security camera, but in the unlikely event of damage please ensure you have adequate insurance in place.
If you have any questions, speak to your music teacher or email music@staidans.co.uk. Follow us on Twitter: @StAidansMusic
Start The Music Programme
We are delighted to be offering more students the opportunity to play an Instrument in 2019. Please see the below links to find out more.