Staff
Mr C N J Hyde GRNCM (Director of Music)
Mr D S Benger MA
Outline of work
Music is taught to all boys in the First and Second Year for two 35 minute lessons per week. Each class is split into two groups, thus allowing greater emphasis on small group and individual work. In the Third Form they have one lesson per week of 70 minutes, once again in half class size groups, but Music is taught for only half the year.
Music is a popular subject at GCSE, where the AQA specifications are followed and at A level where we use the OCR syllabus.
- Composing work combines practical and intellectual activity and skills to use sound creatively and to produce individual or collective responses to set stimuli.
- Performing work gives pupils the chance to improve technical ability and to produce performances of which they can be proud.
- Theoretical work gives pupils the basic knowledge to attempt other tasks and aids them in composing, performing, refining and understanding their work.
- Listening work gives pupils the chance to discover the music of other cultures, times and expertise thus providing them with stimuli as well as historical background knowledge.
Resources
Music is located in two rooms on the ground floor. The larger room is equipped with individual desks which are stackable, a piano and a clavinova, classroom guitars, a music centre and portable digital recording equipment. The smaller room is equipped as a keyboard room with computers using CUBASE software. It also has a piano and can be used for smaller group rehearsals. There are four practice rooms (one of which is a designated drum room) and three small storage areas. Four practice rooms are also available for use in the boys' junior school.
Extra-curricular activities
At least three major musical events take place each academic year, many in conjunction with the girls' school. These have included Mozart's Requiem, Jenkins' Armed Man and Britten's St Nicolas. There is at least one dramatic production each year with musical content. In recent years there have been well received performances including "Les Miserables", "Grease" and "Too Many Goodbyes".
Fourteen visiting peripatetic teachers teach over 180 boys and also assist in the running of extra-curricular activities which include choir, orchestra, concert band, dance orchestra and several chamber groups.
Visiting Music teachers:
- Miss C Babington - cello and double bass.
- Major A Barber - violin.
- Mr V Bessas - guitar and bass guitar.
- Ms F Berry - saxophone.
- Mrs C R Brownlow - flute.
- Mr I Dawkins - clarinet.
- Mr P J Fowles - guitar.
- Mrs H Grundy - brass, Brass Ensembles, Brass Quartets, Junior Orchestra and Junior Choir.
- Mr B C Hudson - bassoon and oboe.
- Mr G King - piano.
- Mrs S Norman - viola and violin, Junior Orchestra, Senior Strings.
- Mr J Price - percussion and kit.
- Mr D E Southcott - brass, BGS Dance Orchestra.
- Mr P C Tristram - piano.