Music

 

 

Music is an integral part of daily life at Wycombe Abbey School, and about 80% of girls have individual weekly lessons on at least one instrument. Our main aim as a department is to make music-making an enjoyable and stimulating experience, regardless of whether the girls are beginners or of diploma standard.

 

 

Many of our pupils reach the very highest standards with several girls currently playing with the National Children’s Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra. Recent successes also include an organ scholarship to Oxford and a place to study at the Royal College of Music.

 

 

 

Whatever standard they reach, we aim to give all girls the chance to play in one of the many ensembles that meet weekly at school. These include orchestras, concert band, jazz band, choirs, rock bands and numerous other small groups.

 

 

The Choral Group combines with Eton College at the end of each Spring Term to sing a major work in the repertoire, such as Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bach’s St John Passion (in Eton College Chapel) and Mozart’s Requiem. All of the girls also take part in the annual House Music Competition, House Chapel Services and Saturday morning hymn practice. We often invite professional musicians to give concerts in school, and recent artists have included Fine Arts Brass, Julian Lloyd Webber and the Gents of St. John’s.

 

There are also many performing opportunities, in major school concerts, weekly informal concerts and chapel. The girls are also encouraged to take part in local music festivals and competitions, and in recent years we have had great success in the National Schools Chamber Music Competition with girls playing in the finals held at St John’s Smith Square in London. There is a biannual tour during the summer, usually by members of the 1^st Orchestra or Chapel Choir, who last year performed concerts in Venice and Florence.

 

With over thirty visiting music staff we are able to offer tuition on all orchestral instruments, and also piano, organ, singing, guitar, recorder and Alexander Technique. Girls are also offered aural training and theory classes as they progress. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music exams are organised every term for girls who wish to do them.

 

 

Curriculum

 

Academic music at Wycombe begins in the Upper Third with class music once a week.  We encourage girls (and staff) to give demonstrations of instruments of the orchestra and follow this up with listening and some elementary theory. In the Lower Fourth these themes are elaborated upon with a brief study of the history of music spanning from the Baroque to Romantic periods, and an introduction to composition on keyboards. In the Upper Fourth we carry this forward with a study of Jazz and World Music, with a popular music project undertaken in the Summer Term.  This gives girls the opportunity to get a feel for GCSE music and this year we have 18 students taking this subject in the lower 5.  The GCSE course (Edexcel) is divided into three areas - Listening, Composing and Performing – and is readily accessible to girls who played their instrument to approximately Grade 3 standard.  Likewise AS music has the same areas of study but the standard for Performing is Grade 5.  This means that academic music is within the reach of most girls at Wycombe Abbey and provides a different approach to other academic subjects on the school curriculum. Most girls go on to take A2 music after AS, as they find the subject really interests them and some of these pupils will apply to read music at University. Music is a very rewarding subject to study as it links in with all the instrumental teaching that takes place and credit can be given for perfomances undertaken in school for the GCSE and A level examinations.

 

Facilities

The music department at Wycombe is housed in a purpose built performing arts centre, overlooking the lake. We have a wonderful performing venue in the Archer Recital Hall which seats 198, large teaching rooms and numerous practice rooms, not only in the music school but also in the boarding houses.

 

Scholarships

There are scholarships and bursaries available each year for talented musicians. Candidates should be of grade 5 standard or equivalent on their principal instrument and should also offer a supporting study. The Director of Music is very happy to meet prospective music scholars in advance of the scholarship exams in January/February each year.