"Music .... sets the soul in operation." (John Cage, composer)
The Music Department is one of the largest departments in the school with over 20 staff, including the instrumental specialists and teaching/rehearsal facilities on four storeys. In addition, the Main Hall and Lytton House Hall are used for concerts and rehearsals.
Extension Activities include choirs, both large/unauditioned and smaller/more select, orchestras and chamber ensembles (vocal and instrumental). In addition to its many concerts the Department also instigates foreign tours, performances of musicals, the Inter-House Music Festival (over 300 entries), a Carol Service and an annual Opera, sung and organised by Year 9, all of whom take part.
All classroom music lessons combine performing, listening to and composing music. At Key Stage 3 there is some emphasis on encouraging all girls to develop their music notation skills using these three activities in a complementary way.
Music is a strongly established subject at GCSE, AS and A2 levels, with girls regularly winning places to study further at leading universities. The courses followed are those of the Edexcel board, and offer a stimulating experience, as popular with ‘specialists’ as with girls who value music as a complementary study to their main areas of academic interest.
GCSE Edexcel website
AS/A2 Edexcel website
"The truest expression of a people is in its dances and in its music." (Agnes de Mille, choreographer)