Musical Bubbles

The beat goes on in the junior school.

by MRS GUTHRIE

usic in Exeter Junior

MSchool has looked, and sounded, very different this year as we have adapted to the restrictions necessitated by the pandemic. Most notably, our usual array of extra-curricular groups has been replaced by music clubs for single year groups. Each year group ‘bubble’ has been assigned a weekly lunch time slot to come across to the music department and to engage in a variety of musical activities. The Form One club, for example, has seen pupils playing ukuleles and keyboards. Upper One pupils have done the same, while also having the opportunity to form small bands. The Lower Two club has included a small choir, a complete orchestra of wind and string players, along with a guitar group; and Upper Two pupils have similarly formed an orchestra as well as an African drumming group. In all of these clubs, pupils have been extending their performing skills and learning new repertoire. There has been a real sense of the year groups enjoying making music together.

In addition to the lunchtime clubs, Mrs Guthrie, with the help of Mr Adcock, has been gathering singers in the covered pool area during morning registrations. On Thursdays, pupils from Upper Two have rehearsed and on Fridays Lower Two singers have been meeting. The two groups have occasionally made video recordings of hymns for use in online assemblies. They also did some carol singing around the school at Christmas and they have worked on the same songs as each other, preparing the way for joining together again to form the full Junior Choir.

At Christmas time some combining of the groups did take place, but through digital means rather than in person. The virtual Christmas Concert involved every pupil singing songs learned in lessons. The songs were performed and recorded, outside, by each year group and then stitched together using music editing software. The end result was a highly enjoyable and varied celebration.

Some other performing opportunities have taken the form of informal concerts, given by each individual year group, from Form One in December to Upper Two in March. These concerts gave pupils the opportunity to share their musical skills with others in their year group and the variety of instruments and styles has been really impressive. The concerts were live streamed and videoed to enable parents to enjoy them as well.

A particular highlight has been the end of year concert presented on 1 July. This was an outdoor event which had been planned as a ‘picnic’ concert to which parents would be invited. Alas, because of ongoing restrictions, we once again live streamed and recorded it. However, we were able for the first time this year to bring together, at suitable distancing, our full Junior Orchestra, involving pupils from Upper One, Lower Two and Upper Two, and our full Junior Choir. The orchestra played the ‘Star Wars’ theme and a Sailor’s Hornpipe and the choir sang two rousing and uplifting songs – ‘You Raise Me Up’ and ‘Shine Your Way’, accompanied by Mr Daldorph. Every pupil in Form One also took part, playing the violin under the direction of Miss Willson, and we enjoyed the debut performance by a band of Upper One pupils called ‘The Hounds’. The weather was kind and the concert took place in glorious sunshine, much to the delight of all who took part.

So, music in the time of bubbles has continued to sparkle in the junior school and we look forward to making the most of opportunities to mix things up a little more in the coming year.