SING, SING, SING

There is really nothing better - we have heard some great singing in the last few days at CGS:
Y7&8 Christmas House Music Competition [including some really good original compositions]
Whole School Christmas Assembly on Friday - ably led by an augmented orchestra and Senior Choir
Recital by the Chamber Choir at Axmouth Church at lunchtime today.

And there is more to come tomorrow with the two annual Carol Services in St. Andrew's Church, Colyton - 2.30pm for Y7, 8 & 11 and 7.30pm for Parents, Governors, Friends and former students.  With approaching 200 students taking part it should sound wonderful.

Check out this article about the value of singing Chorus of approval

The picture here is of the Senior Choir enjoying some open-air singing at Hadrian's Wall during the 2012 Choir Tour to Carlisle and Durham.

Sir Patrick Moore the famous astronomer has died.
For many years he presented a programme called 'The Sky at Night' on TV.
He was also renowned for his xylophone playing and this YouTube clip is of a recording of his own piece  -  Penguin Parade - a remarkable man.

Dave Brubeck - jazz legend, has died aged 91.

There is a good tribute here 

His own website has a great recording of him playing Jingle Bells 

Time to explore his amazing contribution to Jazz.

Interval Song  - join in, you know it makes sense!

Lead sheet available for you to have fun trying it out yourself too and, with a nod towards the Festive Season, here are the original lyrics:

Octaves roasting on an open fire,
Major sixths nipping at your nose,
Major seconds being sung by a choir,
Chromatic alterations of the scale.

Diatonic scale.
A turkey and some mistletoe
Major sixths make the season bright.
Major seconds with their eyes all aglow
Will drop a perfect fifth tonight.

There's minor sevenths on their way.
They've loaded lots of minor seconds on their sleigh.
And every minor sixth will want to spy
To see the supertonic prolonged over five.

And octave offering this simple phrase
To major sixths one to ninety-two.
Although it's been said many times, many ways,
Meet the Flintstones. To you.

Eighth line the way Tormé sings it:
Will drop diminished fifths. Tonight.

Y13 [and anyone else] please enjoy . . . Jazz Club  

NICE

Great concert on Friday night.
Thank you to all who sang and played with such confidence and musicality.  The audience were impressed and I am very proud of you all.

Now on to preparations for the Festive Evening, Christmas Assembly and Carol Services.

Two weeks without a blog.  Apologies for this, but the Music Department has, however, been as busy as ever.

There have been two evenings of Carol Singing with members of the Chamber Choir at The Royal York and Faulkener Hotel in Sidmouth, as part of their 'Turkey and Tinsel' weekends.

The Chamber Choir also travelled to Winchester Cathedral to sing Choral Evensong on Wed. 14th November.  This was a great occasion with the music consisting of Smith responses, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G by Stanford [with two Y13 soloists] and the anthem "The Lord is my Shepherd" by Rutter.  A large congregation enjoyed the singing and we enjoyed the playing of the organ scholar Jonathan Hope  who, in addition to having relatives in Honiton and Chard, has a cousin who is a Colytonian!  Small world.  The obligatory meal followed this evensong and we were looked after very well by the staff at ASK .

Glyndebourne Touring Opera's performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro was the next event, with a group of nearly 30 students and staff attending the Theatre Royal in Plymouth. [A different production to the one in the earlier link but performed with real joie de vivre]  The chorus included Colytonian Daniel Rudge.  Five proud staff were sitting in the audience watching a former student starting to make his way in the musical world.  Next we will hear him singing the Bass solos in the forthcoming CGS Senior Choir performance of Messiah on Saturday 20th April 2013 in Exeter Cathedral.

Running Late: looks like these musicians realised they were late for the CGS Music Department photo.  For all the rest of you who made it before half term - the photo is now on display in the foyer of the Music Centre.  There are order forms too.

L'Estranges In The Night

Remember Joanna, our wonderful Soprano soloist for Mass in Blue in 2010, and Alexander, composer of and pianist for Zimbe! in 2011?
The husband and wife team are about to release an album.  How do you keep the music playing? is one of the tracks.
LISTEN
ENJOY
BUY THE ALBUM

Hans Werner Henze died on 27th October.  He was 86 and a major musical figure in Germany and the rest of Europe throughout his lifetime.

Wikipedia is a reasonable place to start exploring his life and music.  However, Tom Service's blog in the Guardian provides a really readable, and knowledgeable, account.

Explore, listen and look for musical inspiration.

Musical variety is really important - something we provide at CGS.

Two quotes heard this week sum this up nicely:

"Great music in assembly this week" from a member of staff after hearing a recording of Adele singing Skyfall, part of our 'Genre of the Week' feature of James Bond theme tunes.

"I think I'm addicted to Vaughan-Williams" from a Y10 GCSE Music student who was doing some independent listening during a lesson.  I didn't enquire but I hope she might have been referring to the Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis, or perhaps The Lark Ascending - so beautifully played by former student Clare Mostyn a couple of years ago.

Half-term is fast approaching.
Thank you to all the staff and students in the CGS Music Department for an exciting 'music-filled' start to the 2012-13 academic year.  Much more music to come . . .

A few reminders before the holiday:
1 Please take instruments home
2 Senior Choir tour deposits due on ParentPay by Wed. 31st October
3 St. Cecilia's Day Concert coming up on Friday 23rd November

The theme is title songs ... Bond title songs.


In a change from the regular 'Composer of the Week' feature we are focussing on a genre.
All this week playing in the foyer to the Music Centre, the main themes from all the James Bond films.  In anticipation of the release of SKYFALL on Friday 26th October.

Prepare to be shaken and stirred!  

If you missed the VI form production of 'Oh, What a lovely War' shame on you!
Congratulations to the cast and crew - from my seat in the band it was a terrific show.  Hope from your seats the band were terrific too.

Y13 - thank you for your initiative, enthusiasm and energy over the last couple of years.
Y12 & Y11 - I really hope you will take this idea on next year.

If you are feeling a little deflated in the next few days - don't worry, the Music Department has plenty more going on for you to be involved in.

Final performance on Friday 19th.  This is a great production - get along and see it.

Clearly the preferred mode of transport for our Composer of the Week, and a hint at a future one.

More music this week from CGS musicians:

Wed. 17th - Fri. 19th VI form production of 'Oh, What a Lovely War'
7pm each evening in the Cottrill Hall

Thurs. 18th Lunchtime Concert given by String students of Mrs. Chapman
Axminster 12.30pm  Open to all.

TW3
. . . that was the week, that was.

Some great music-making by CGS musicians this week.  Students from throughout the school were involved in taking their music into the community.
String players gave an entertainment to residents at Elmwood in Colyford.  A VI form Jazz Quintet played for the Colyton Link group and the Junior Choir gave an enthusiastic lunchtime concert in Axminster as part of their series of concerts.

Well done to all the students involved, and thank you to them for their hard work.

Messiah - Handel
to be performed by CGS Senior Choir in Exeter Cathedral at 7.30pm on Saturday 20th April 2013
Put this date in your diaries now!

Looking forward to a week of Musical Outreach
CGS musicians will be performing in the local community on three occasions this coming week.

1. Monday 8th October - Mrs. Lester will be taking some string players to provide some entertainment at the Elmwood Residential Home in Colyford
2. Wednesday 10th October - a group of Y13 Jazz musicians will be playing for the Colyton Link group meeting
3. Thursday 11th October - the Junior Choir will be giving a lunchtime concert in the Minster church of St. Mary's in Axminster at 12:30pm.  This is open to all and it would be great to see parents and friends if you are able to come.

These are the first of many events planned for this year when performers from the school will be bringing music to the wider community.

VI form production - please come and support.

Go on . . . you all know it makes sense.

Music, the mind, and medicine: A Q&A with Robert Gupta

Music, the mind, and medicine: A Q&A with Robert Gupta
Musical? Applying for Medicine?
Interested in how we understand and respond to music? Follow link and read.

Welcome to the brand new blog of the CGS Music Department.  It's one of the many exciting new initiatives we are planning to introduce in the 2012-13 academic year to make the Music experience at CGS even better.

What's in a name?
With the huge variety of interweaving strands of music-making at CGS [curriculum classes at KS3, 4 &5 / individual lessons from the Visiting Music Teachers / daily extra-curricular opportunities / practice rooms available for booking / Composer of the week / concerts / Outreach projects / etc. etc.] it seemed high time that a regular and easily accessible 'newsletter' was put in place to highlight everything.  So, to define:
POLYPHONY "a rich musical texture with independent melodic lines combining to produce an effective whole" - that sums up what we do very nicely.

Polyphony is also the name of a stunning chamber choir conducted by Stephen Layton .  Do watch out for, and follow up, links like this as time goes by.

What will be included here?
You can expect regular posts with details of almost everything that goes on in the Music Department, some reflection on previous music-making [reports on the Chamber Choir visit to Salisbury Cathedral and Y9 GCSE group's performance of Miles Davis coming soon], and reminders of forthcoming events [rehearsals, concerts and the like].

Website viewing is still recommended, letters and details of events will appear there.  And, of course, those important timetables for individual lessons will still be sent out on ParentMail.

Looking forward very much to your company here over the coming weeks and months.