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Music Maestros!
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BY LORRAINE BARRY - HEAD OF MUSIC
D
espite the challenges of the global pandemic, music has consistently filled the top corridors of the Prep School throughout the Michaelmas term as the children continued to enjoy their music lessons and group rehearsals, albeit socially distanced. I owe a debt of gratitude to all my visiting instrumental and singing teachers, who did an outstanding job embracing new technologies and delivering remote music lessons to many of the children during lockdown. I was treated to many a remote performance and was excited to hear about all the wonderful progress the children were making on their instruments. I was thrilled and relieved to welcome them all back to the department in September (along with masks, sanitiser, visors, sneeze screens, hand washing routines and rooms filled with multiple pianos and drum kits). We continued to build music into the wider life of the school and several students prepared performances for our virtual assemblies. Well done to Year 3 and 4, who became a signing choir for our Harvest Assembly, Ellie B (violin), Edward F (violin), Melanie C (violin), Varnika P (flute) and Eva G (flute) who played solos during our recent Music Assembly presented by Mrs Ratcliffe and the Bubble Choirs, as well as Penny C who sang in the Remembrance Assembly.
The annual Carol Service also served to be another of many ‘firsts’ this year with the Senior and Prep School coming together in the Prep School Chapel to perform a wonderful ‘all school’ virtual service. Much fun was had on filming day and the children behaved with real professionalism. Thank you to the children and staff for all their hard work in making contributed to make this event such a success. As the lights went out on the Carol Service, we started to look ahead to the Hastings Music Festival 2021. Although this will be another virtual event, the children have become pretty adept at performing in front of a camera and were clearly excited as they began preparations ahead of recording day in January. Finally, congratulations to all the children up and down the school who passed their ABRSM Music examinations in November. Not an easy task given that much of the preparation was done remotely.