Music We started the academic year 2010-11 by welcoming Mrs ...

Music
We started the academic year 2010-11 by welcoming Mrs Deborah Wallace to the department as
Assistant Director of Music. In a very short time Mrs Wallace has demonstrated her wealth of
experience as a former Head of Music in so many areas and is a huge asset to the department.
Our results in August 2010 saw our AS and A2 students gain 100%
A, B grades. For the first time all of our students went on to
university to read music. Our GCSE group gained 83% A* grades.
Associated Board examination entries were up on last year and
there was a 97% pass rate with 10 distinctions at grade 5 and above.
At the end of the summer term we said goodbye to three members
of the instrumental staff; Chris Allison, Robin Payne and Amanda Hill.
We were fortunate to find Nick Jones who has helped out with
percussion lessons since the Easter Term.
Because of a slight reduction in our academic timetable this year we
were keen to set up some new initiatives with our feeder schools.
Our first event was a Music Technology workshop with Warwick
Prep School’s Year 5. Mr Smallwood ran a workshop for the students who were given the
opportunity to use the recording facilities in the department to record their space pieces.
The start of the Autumn term is always marked by
the Annual Year 7 Concert. The buzz of
excitement and flurry of activity around the
department leading up to auditions for the concert
is a very busy time for the two full time members
of staff. The result was a beautifully balanced
programme of music items which showcased the
wealth of talent we have in Year 7.
The biggest event of the term was the joint
musical production of Guys and Dolls which was
held in the Bridge House Theatre. The Music
Director was Matthew Smallwood and the show
was jointly produced by Sarah Barker Doherty
and Mike Perry. Staging a musical of this scale in 6
weeks required a gruelling rehearsal schedule. One of the highlights of the process was a visit by the
actor Norman Bowman. Working on a show of this scale is so rewarding for both students and staff
involved. It is also a pleasure to work closely with students who are not regular visitors to the music
department.
A week after the show finished we made our yearly visit to the regional heats of the National
Concert Band Festival along with boys from Warwick School. This time it was held at Monmouth
School. Again, we were awarded a place in the final held this year at the Welsh College of Music and
Drama and came away with a Gold Award for the Foundation Wind Band.

Christmas time in a music department is always a busy time but this year it reached a new level. For
the first time the Christmas Concert was held over two nights to over 700 people! As usual we
included all of our main instrumental and vocal groups. This year we also joined forces with the
LAMDA department who provided some thought provoking readings.
The end of term culminated with the Carol
Service in St Mary’s Church to a capacity
audience. This is always a moving occasion of
readings and music and leads us towards the
hectic week of Christmas.
The start of the Spring term commenced with a
busy period of Music Scholarship auditions
demonstrating exceptional talent especially for
the Sixth Form entry.
The Year 10 GCSE group went to London for the day
to take part in a Gamelan Workshop at the South
Bank Centre. Students were given the opportunity to
learn how to play all the instruments of the ancient
Gamelan orchestra and even record their
performance!
As we
waited
to find out if we had been successful in our bid for
Olympic tickets we were delighted to hear that Juliet
Wallace had gained a place in the official Olympic
Choir after tough competition from hundreds of
hopefuls at nationwide singing auditions. She will be a
regular performer at both the Olympic Games and
the Paralympic Games in 2012.
Juliet Wallace
Our Jazz musicians gave another unforgettable Jazz Evening featuring the Wind Band under their new
conductor Danielle Mason. Highlights included Respect and a choreographed version of Michael
Jackson’s Thriller!

Once again we welcomed back Paul McGrath from Warwick University to conduct the Foundation
Orchestra in a performance of Dvorak’s New World Symphony as part of the Charity Concert with
Warwick School.
The Summer term started with two days of
normal school, then a four day weekend for the
Royal Wedding and then the Summer Concert!
Rehearsals went into overdrive before the long
weekend as we frantically tried to polish all the
items after a three week holiday!
As always, the Summer Concert is a chance to
thank and say goodbye to our older musicians as
they move on to university. We were treated to
solo performances by many of the Year 13
musicians including Lydia Rothwell and Serena de
Nahlik who performed a haunting piece for piano
and cello by Eiunaudi. The evening concluded
with a dramatic performance of music from the blockbuster film Titanic played by the Orchestra.
The second half of the Summer term always allows Key Stage 3 girls to come into the limelight as
our seniors are busy with examinations. We were treated to a wide variety of solo and ensemble
performances including our Training Orchestra in the Key Stage 3 Concert. It was hard to believe
that the girls performing were all aged between 11 and 13. Highlights included performances by the
Junior Chamber Choir under the direction of Mrs Wallace and an outstanding performance of the
Bach Double Violin Concerto (1 st Movt).
Two days later we launched into our final
collaboration project with our feeder
schools: an Orchestral Day run by Mr
Smallwood. The sheer scale of the project
became clear the day before as we
attempted to set out a 125 piece orchestra
in the school hall!
The day itself was extremely hard work but
very rewarding. Our girls acted as mentors
for some of our visiting musicians. After a
slightly nervous start the musicians settled
into a day of full and sectional rehearsals,
some run by our own visiting music staff. After a well deserved lunch we gave a short performance
of all the pieces that we had learnt, including a new piece written by the husband of Mrs Wallace, to
parents.
We have also had a range of masterclasses
with Warwick School and a programme of
informal concerts this year organised by
Mrs Wallace. This has allowed any student
to come and play music to their friends in a
non-pressurised environment. These have
been very popular with students.

At the end of the year we said goodbye to Chris Allison, our saxophone teacher and Will Allen, a
piano teacher who has retired from teaching.
Head of Department - Mr M Smallwood