Music Activities Music at Stowe - Summer Calendar 2008 > (pdf) Musical activities play an important part in the life of the School. There are a considerable number of musical activities in Stowe and the aim is that pupils have the widest range of options available to them. Most of these take place at either lunch time or late in the afternoon and thus there is rarely a clash with sports or academic work. The Orchestra meets once per week and performs large scale works. In the last few years these have included Holst’s “Planets’ Suite”, Glinka’s “Russian and Ludmilla” Overture, Khacaturian’s “Masquerade Suite”, Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” and Saint-Saëns’ second piano concerto. The String Orchestra meets every Monday and also rehearses challenging repertoire. The minimum standard for both these ensembles is Grade 5 but the majority of the students are Grade 7/8 and above. There are many Instrumental Ensembles, most meet weekly but some will meet on an ad-hoc basis as required. The regular groups include String Quartets, Piano Trio, Wind Quintet, Flute Quartet, Oboe Trio, Clarinet Quartets, Saxophone Quartets, Wind Quintet, Wind Octet, Trumpet Groups, Brass Ensembles and the Wind and Pipe Band. The Wind Band is for wind and brass players from Grade 4 upwards and provides an opportunity for the pupils to play music of a lighter nature, often taken from films and musicals. For those who are interested in jazz the Swing Band and Jazz Combo give plenty of musical scope. The Jazz Combo is run by Paul Westwood from the Royal Academy of Music and is for a small advanced group of players who enjoy improvising. The Swing Band is a much larger group and players tend to be at least Grade 5 in standard. For those who enjoy singing there are two main Choirs, the Chapel and the Chamber Choir. The Chapel Choir numbers nearly one hundred and sings an anthem or setting every week in the Sunday Chapel Services as well as special services such as the Carol Service, Confirmation or a Cathedral Evensong. Members of the Choir are chosen after audition at the beginning of the academic year. The Chamber Choir, as its name suggests, is a smaller group of mainly Sixth Form pupils who are usually invited to join. The repertoire tends to be different from that of the Chapel Choir inclining more to the secular and lighter side.
Rock Music There are many Rock Bands in the School. Stowe is the first to employ the services of a ‘resident rock musician’. Mike Hurst, ex Springfields and producer of Cat Stevens, Marc Bolan and many more, coaches the School’s rock bands every Wednesday afternoon. He helps to improve their song-writing and performance techniques. The results are there to see: The group Strayday, who left Stowe in 2005, have appeared with Eric Clapton and Brian Ferry during their first national tour in 2006 and their first single will be released in January 2007. Mike also runs a residential rock school at Stowe during the summer holidays, which attracts young boys and girls from all over the UK. For more information on Mike, see www.rockmasters.co.uk
Please refer to the School Calendar for a comprehensive list of all the musical activities at Stowe.
