W e l c o m e. Community Concerts. January 2013 First Edition MHAP. Inside this issue:

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1 January 2013 First Edition Inside this issue: Creative Arts Week Clubs 4 Events News 6-8 Contributors Mrs Petersen Mr Hughes Ms Harmer Ms Bloom Miss Mould Rebekah Azeez Anna Wyburn Performing Arts Newsletter FIRST Newsletter Date W e l c o m e Welcome to the very first edition of the Robert Smyth Academy Performing Arts Newsletter. This will be a termly publication for students, parents, staff, governors and other interested parties with news of performing arts events and extra-curricular activities. It is intended to be informative with details of both past and future events, as well as a celebration of the achievements of RSA students within the performing arts. The launch of this newsletter coincides with some staffing changes within the performing arts faculty. In July our Head of Performing Arts, Nick Stephens-Dunn, moved onto another job at a school in Peterborough. Helle Petersen, Head of Music, moved into the role of Head of Performing Arts and Sue Rosenbloom (Bloom!) was appointed Head of Drama. Music teacher Nick Hughes was made Key Stage 4 Music co-ordinator and we appointed a new performing arts technician, David Hadland. Head of Dance Marie Harmer returned from maternity leave and drama teacher Rachel Mould continued in her role. Both students and staff have contributed to this first edition of the newsletter which we hope you will find informative and enjoy reading. If you have any comments or suggestions, or any items you would like to be considered for inclusion, we would like to hear from you; please hpetersen@rsacademy.co.uk. Community Concerts with the Jazz & Soul Bands ROBERT SMYTH ACADEMY Burnmill Road Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 7JG T: F: E: office@rsacademy.co.uk W: MHAP Market Harborough Academies Partnership In the autumn term the Jazz & Soul Bands put on two sell-out Community Concerts in the main hall in return for a grant from the Market Harborough and Bowdens Charity towards their Greece tour last summer. Each band performed for 45 minutes in a more informal setting with seating around tables, a licensed bar, food platters and a dance floor. The profit from the events went towards the future refurbishment of the hall. Both evenings proved so popular that another Community Concert will be staged on Friday 22 nd February at 7 pm. This time the event is a joint fund-raiser with the Lions Club who has sponsored the banners for the music stands. The evening will have the same format as in the autumn with the only exception that the Big Band will also be performing in addition to the Jazz and Soul Bands. Tickets are now on sale from RSA Payzone, Albery Tyson in Church Square, and Harrison Murray in the High Street, and are priced at 8 adults and 5 under 19s (including a food platter). The RSA share of the profits will go towards the fundraising for the hall refurbishment.

2 Page 2 Arts Week 2012 Immediately after October half term we held our Arts Week with many different events taking place in performing arts. We had visiting artists in drama and music running workshops for RSA students and invited high school and primary school students, as well as in-house staff putting on workshops. RSA dance and drama students put on performances for their peers at RSA and at the feeder high schools. Here are some reports from the various events: The session was very educational whilst still being enjoyable Music Technology Workshop I had the opportunity to experience Music Technology for the first time in a fun, interactive workshop in a group, in order to get a real idea of the process of recording. Mr Hughes brought us all into the recording studio, introduced us to the equipment and showed us how to set up microphones ready for recording a drum kit. This developed into being involved in a complete recording of an entire song with the help of older music students who were used as performers. The session was very educational whilst still being enjoyable and provided us with a good idea of what goes on in the recording process. - Rebekah Azeez P4 Masterclass with Jason Piper As part of RSA Arts Week the Drama department had the honour of a masterclass taken by Jason Piper. Jason has enjoyed a distinguished career in theatre, including drama, dance, music and film. He played the lead role in Matthew Bourne s Swan Lake & Dorian Gray on the West End. He has also appeared with Kylie Minogue and Christina Aguilera. His most famous appearance on film was his performance as Bane the Centaur in the film Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix. Jason was trained by Ms Bloom as part of her Youth Theatre Company. Jason took students from all years through a masterclass passing on his expertise and knowledge. Afterwards he took a question & answer session with students where he gave hints and tips about auditioning and succeeding in the Performing Arts industry. He also told us what it was like working with Daniel Radcliffe and the cast of Harry Potter. Jason commented on how talented our RSA students are and promised to come back and work with us again! AS Drama Performances As part of Arts Week our AS Drama students gave a lunchtime performance in the Hammond Studio. Here they showcased pieces they had been working on in class ranging from Physical Theatre to monologues by Joe Orton, Tennessee Williams & Agnes of God by John Pielmeier. Some powerful and thought-provoking performances!

3 P erformin g Arts Newsl etter FIR S T EDITION P age 3 RSA Dance Company Performance During Arts Week the RSA Dance Company performed their latest dance piece to Kibworth High School and Welland Park students. The company members are from all year groups and have been members of the company since September. They are: Alex Foulds M9, Leanne Edwards B6, Elinor Johnson P2, Joanne Butlin P8, Naomi Spencer W10, Grace Bonner W3, Alicia O Neill W15, Emma Scholey B7 and Kelly Scholey B12. The dancers worked with the high school students, assisting in workshops, discussing and answering questions about their experience of dance at RSA. Overall it was a very positive experience so thank you to all of the dancers involved for their commitment and hard work. Also welcome to our new member Iquan Silcott W4! African Drumming Workshop Julie Wright spent two full days at RSA giving 11 sessions in West African drumming. She brought in a variety of drums for the students to play including djembes, dununs, and talking drums. On the first day our 100 GCSE and 40 A level music and music technology students took part in these worshops as African drumming is one of the set topics on the GCSE specification. In the morning of the second day groups of Year 5 and 6 students from Hallaton Primary School and Market Harborough C of E Primary School plus Year 9 students from Welland Park Community College came to Robert Smyth to attend workshops. In the afternoon RSA students not taking music as an option had the opportunity to try African drumming. All the students enjoyed these practical sessions very much. Indian Music Workshop On the final day of Arts Week we were very lucky to have the company of two professional Indian musicians from Leicester: Sitar player Roopa Panesar and Tabla player Rishii Chowdhry. Roopa Panesar is famous on the Indian music scene and has performed in many prestigious venues around the world this year. She also gives many concerts locally as well as sitar lessons. More information can be found on her website Roopa and Rishii gave two 1½ -hour workshops for the GCSE and A level music students as Indian music features heavily on the world music part of the specifications. Students watched Roopa and Rishii perform and they learnt about the complicated intricacies of this completely different style of music. At the end the students had the opportunity to try playing the sitar, tabla and tambura. The workshops were very informative and enjoyable and helped the students gain a much better understanding of Indian music.

4 Page 4 Extra-curricular Clubs Performing Arts Clubs - Spring Term 2013 Monday STRING ENSEMBLE Mike Shaw BRASS ENSEMBLE Mr Hughes AS/A2 MUSIC DROP-IN Mrs Petersen Tuesday SAX ENSEMBLE Francine Warner RSA DANCE COMPANY Ms Harmer ADVANCED BRASS John Gornall FOLK GROUP th form student led LIGHT CLUB Dave Hadland YOUTH THEATRE Ms Bloom Wednesday PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE Darron McHarg FLUTE GROUP (yrs 12 &13) Kate Cartwright COMEDY CLUB Chris Wells VERSATILE VOICES (choir) Debbie Smith Thursday FLUTE GROUP (yrs 10 & 11) Kate Cartwright YEAR 11 DANCE REVISION Ms Harmer GCSE MUSIC DROP-IN Mr Hughes BIG BAND Mrs Petersen JAZZ BAND Mrs Petersen Friday RSA DANCE COMPANY Ms Harmer ORCHESTRA Mrs Petersen SOUL PATROL Mrs Petersen Audition/selection is only for Soul Patrol, Big Band, Advanced Brass, and The Dance Company. To join any of the other groups simply turn up at the next rehearsal. Audition for Youth Music Theatre UK Aged 11-21? Kick-start your career in performing arts and audition to star in a musical or film in summer Auditions in Jan/Feb for Youth Music Theatre UK (YMT), the national music theatre company for young people. Book your audition at or call

5 Let Us Entertain You We are launching our new faculty with an evening of performing arts on Thursday 31 st January at 7 pm in the Max where students from both the drama, dance and music departments will be showcasing their work. The evening will feature the award-winning Soul Patrol, the RSA Dance Company, the RSA Youth Theatre, the RSA Big Band, as well as individual RSA dance and drama students and a dance group from Kibworth High School. Tickets are 4 adults and 3 under 19s and are now available from Payzone and from the Parade Pharmacy in Fleckney. Trip to see Leicester Symphony Orchestra Every term the music department offers students the opportunity to see Leicester Symphony Orchestra in concert at De Montfort Hall for a very low ticket price. In November over 50 students went to see the world-famous percussionist Evelyn Glennie performing with the LSO in their 90 th anniversary concert. The next trip to see the LSO is on Saturday 9 th February and this concert will feature Grieg s famous Piano Concerto. Tickets for students and their parents are only 3. See Mrs Petersen for a trip letter. Free Jazz Improvisation Workshop On Monday 25 th February Lluis Mather, a professional jazz musician, is giving a free jazz improvisation workshop open to all Year students at RSA. The workshop will take place in the music block from pm. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to improvise and both students with no or little improvisation experience as well as those with more experience will benefit from this workshop. The music department is very grateful to GBRT (Great Bowden Recital Trust) for sponsoring this workshop. There is also a free workshop for Year 7-9 students from Welland Park and Kibworth High School on Monday, 28 th January and Monday 11 th March at Robert Smyth. Students wishing to take part need to complete a form available from or from Mrs Petersen. Spring Concert Please note that the original date of the Spring Concert was Thursday 14 th March. This has had to be changed to Tuesday 12 th March at 7 pm due to a clash with a Gala Concert at De Montfort Hall by Leicestershire Schools Music Service. DMH Gala Concert The RSA music department has been invited to organise the massed school performance in the Leicestershire Schools Music Service Gala Concert at De Montfort Hall on Thursday 14 th March at 7 pm. The Jazz Band and Soul Patrol will both perform, joined by students from our feeder primary and high schools. The concert will also feature the LSMS Steel Pans, Wind Band, Choir and Training Orchestra. Tickets are now on sale from the DMH Box Office. Musical - November 2013 In the past the performing arts faculty at Robert Smyth put on a musical production biennially. The most recent one was in With the launch of the new faculty we are going to re-introduce the Musical as a feature on the performing arts calendar. The next RSA Musical will take place from 21 st -23 rd November 2013 with auditions and rehearsals starting after the Easter holidays. Details of the actual show and auditions will be announced in future newsletters. Page 5 Performing Arts Events Calendar 2013 Thursday, 31 st January 7.00 pm Let Us Entertain You (an evening of RSA Performing Arts) The Max Friday, 8 th February pm Cairs Concert Main Hall Saturday, 9 th February 7.30 pm Trip to see Leicester Symphony Orchestra Venue: De Montfort Hall, Leicester Friday, 22 nd February 7.00 pm Jazz & Big Band & Soul Patrol Community Concert with Lions Club Main Hall Saturday, 23 rd February RSA Dance Company performing at the Mass Movement 2013 Venue: Peepul Centre, Leicester Saturday, 23 rd February Rotary Young Musician Semi-final for Jazz Band, Choir and soloists. Venue: tbc (probably Melton) Monday, 25 th February Jazz Improvisation Workshop for all Year students at RSA from 4.00pm 5.30 pm Sunday, 10 th March Rotary Young Musician Final (if anyone makes it through!) Venue: tbc (probably Melton Theatre) Tuesday, 12 th March pm RSA Spring Concert Main Hall Thursday, 14 th March pm Jazz Band & Soul Patrol in LSMS Gala Concert Venue: De Montfort Hall, Leicester Sunday, 17 th March Music for Youth for Choir, Jazz Band, Big Band & Soul Patrol Venue: Fairfield Preparatory School, Loughborough Tuesday, 19 th March Robert Smyth Dance Show, featuring A level dance students and the Robert Smyth Dance Company The Max Saturday, 13 th April Big Band in National Concert Band Festival Venue: Birmingham Conservatoire Wednesday, 24 th April pm GCSE Concert - The Max Saturday, 11 th May 7.30 pm Trip to see Leicester Symphony Orchestra Venue: De Montfort Hall, Leicester Wednesday, 22 nd May 7.00 pm Upper Sixth Leavers Concert The Max Sunday, 16 th June afternoon Soul Patrol gig at Dingley Music in the Park event Venue: Dingley

6 Platinum for Big Band Splendid Productions Page 6 On Sunday 18 th November the RSA Big Band took part in the Midlands Regional Round of the National Concert Band Festival, held at Northampton School for Boys. The band achieved a Platinum award, the top award, which means they automatically go through to the National Festival to be held at Birmingham Conservatoire on Saturday 13 th April The adjudicators report with audio and video recordings from the event can now be viewed on the academy s website. Very well done to all the band members. GCSE Music Concert Wednesday 14 th November saw RSA host its very first GCSE music concert. The concert was a platform for students studying GCSE music to have their own event to perform at. There are so many talented and hardworking musicians in our faculty that we felt having just 6 performance slots for soloists in our Christmas and Spring concerts wasn t doing them justice. The Conc ert was a fairly informal affair and was held in the intimate atmosphere of the Max. There were a total of 17 different acts including solos, ensemble pieces and one composition. But what was really pleasing was the willingness of three year 10 students to get up on the stage on their own and perform in front of a crowd of ninety people, after being at the academy for only two months! The concert was a great success and we will be holding another GCSE music concert on Wednesday 24 th April. BPM Trip On October 8 th fourteen Music Technology and GCSE Music students went to Birmingham to the BPM event held annually at the NEC. It was predominantly a DJ exhibition, but there were stalls associated with other aspects of Music Technology such as sequencing. There were various DJs performing in the performance arena and at stands around the main hall. Watching the professional DJs perform and then dissect their performances in front of an audience was fascinating. There were various seminars and talks held throughout the day in numerous bubble tents, with discussions ranging from how to get a job in the industry to using FX in DJ performances. It was a different, yet successful day for the students who all enjoyed it. Drama Exam Performances Congratulations to the Year 13 Drama students on their performances of their devised work. All performances were sold out and were performed with charisma, commitment and energy. It was a long hard slog well done to everyone! Well done also to the Year 11 Drama candidates for the examined performances of Willy Russell s Blood Brothers. Some stunning performances, showing both the tragic and comic elements of the play. Some stunning interpretations performed with depth and sensitivity and a real understanding of play! Special mention to Thomas the Tank Engine, who mysteriously came to life! Splendid Productions came to RSA to present their new adaptation of the medieval morality play Everyman. A company that specialise in touring schools and working with young adults, they produced a piece of thought-provoking theatre that questioned the audience to look at themselves. Performed in The Max theatre with a cast of three actors it was fast paced and fun, with many a moment where the actors came out of role and brought the students directly into the piece. A theatre company that make drama accessible, fresh and relevant to a modern 21 st century student audience. The sixth form students then had the opportunity to partake in a workshop led by Artist Director of Splendid Productions Kerry Frampton. The students practically explored the theories of theatre practitioner Artaud, being challenged and stretched in their understanding of drama and theatre. It produced some focused and thought-provoking drama exploration which many of the students have drawn on in their own practical work.

7 Page 7 Taking Music Theory exams at Robert Smyth As part of the Enrichment programme in Years 10 and 11, the music department is now offering two separate theory classes: Grade 1 and Grade 5. Whether students are taking part in these classes or not it is now possible for all students at RSA to b e entered for the ABRSM theory exams from Grade 1 to 8. There are three theory exam dates each year; the 2013 exam dates are: Wednesday 26 th February at 5 pm, Saturday 15 th June at 10 am, and Wednesday 6 th November at 5 pm. Students can sit the exam at RSA on 26 th February or 6 th November; if they wish to take the exam on Saturday 15 th June they will have to take it at a local centre such as Leicester or Kettering. The cost of entering varies depending on the grade but the current cost is 23 for Grade 1 and 31 for Grade 5. Students wishing to enter for an exam should collect an entry form from Mrs Petersen at least 8 weeks before the exam date. More information about the theory exams can be found at Theatre Trips Static by Thickskin at The Corby Cube: a new and dynamic piece of drama written in collaboration with Davey Anderson and the theatre company and originally premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to critical acclaim. A coming-of-age love story about what happens when our darkest dreams come true, it tells the story of a bright but volatile 15-year-old called Sparky. A theatre production featuring a striking mix of multi-media, movement and text, visually arresting and fast-paced, and exploring the ugly flipside to positive thinking. The students also got the opportunity to speak to the Artistic Director and the cast after the performance with a post-show discussion, gaining insight into the devising and creative processes. A truly inspiring piece of theatre. We travelled to Warwick Arts Centre, a venue that is creative and inspiring in itself, to see the critically acclaimed Frantic Assembly perform their recent production of Beautiful Burnout. A heart-wrenching and deeply human story of five young fighters as they aim for the bright lights, far from Glasgow s mean, grey streets, written in collaboration with Bryony Lavery. Frantic Assembly never fail to deliver a dynamic, energetic and full-on performance with a pumping soundtrack written especially for the piece by Underworld. A stunning piece of theatre that was an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride right up until the moving and poignant ending literally and metaphorically. A truly inspiring piece of theatre. Cornish based touring company Kneehigh never fail to create new and innovative drama and theatre that utilises every aspect of theatre and production. This was true for their latest piece called Steptoe and Son, based on the legendary scripts of Galton and Simpson, charting the period in time that the iconic TV series was originally shown. The production threaded popular music of its time from Cliff Richard to The Rolling Stones and there was a constant nod to the original TV series with the well-known phrase you dirty old man appearing at specific moments. The comedy and humour juxtaposed against the poignant and desperate ending created a production that was lively, real and incredibly human. Instrumental & theory grade exams Every term many students enter for instrumental or theory grade exams. A lot of hard work has to go into passing these exams and we wish to celebrate these achievements in the newsletter. Congratulations to the following students below who passed their grade exams last term. Details of exam passes by students having lessons outside the academy can be ed to hpetersen@rsacademy.co.uk for inclusion in future newsletters. Sherry Trusler Georgia Price Niamh West Voice Rock School Grade 7 Merit Rock School Grade 7 Merit Clarinet ABRSM Grade 6 Merit Euphonium Chris Packwood Trinity Grade 7 Distinction Theory Sophie Gray ABRSM Grade 5 Distinction Jonathan Roberts ABRSM Grade 5 Merit Violin Kathryn Holyland Trinity Grade 7 Merit Robert Williams Trinity Grade 7 Pass Sebastian Coupe Trinity Grade 5 Merit Lucy Collier Trinity Grade 5 Pass Saxophone Daniel Iliffe Trinity Jazz Grade 8 Distinction Ellie Randon ABRSM Grade 6 Merit Emily Frost ABRSM Grade 5 Distinction Chloe Williams ABRSM Grade 2 Distinction

8 ROBERT SMYTH ACADEMY Burnmill Road Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 7JG T: F: E: W: Performing Arts Newsletter FIRST EDITION 2013 This year two A level music students have applied to music conservatoires to continue their musical studies from September The application process is very tough and applicants have to attend an audition competing against hundreds of other applicants from the rest of the UK and Europe before being considered for an offer. Both RSA applicants were successful in their auditions and have been offered places. Many congratulations to Natasha Davies, who has an offer from Birmingham Conservatoire to study the flute, and to Daniel Iliffe who has an offer from Leeds College of Music to study jazz saxophone. The RSA Music Department maintains its 100% record in achieving offers from conservatoires. Previous successful applicants who have taken up conservatoire offers are: Lucas Wong (euphonium, Birmingham Conservatoire, 2011); Ryan West (jazz saxophone, Leeds College of Music, 2010); Jemma Freestone (flute, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, 2009); Beth Tempest (flute, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, 2009); and Christine Cornwell (violin, Birmingham Conservatoire, 2009). Page 8 Success for music conservatoire applicants Mass Movement 2013 The application process is very tough and applicants have to attend an audition competing against hundreds of other applicants from the rest of the UK The RSA Dance Company has been selected to perform at a Leicestershire and Rutland dance platform Mass Movement 2013 on Saturday 23 rd February at the Peepul Centre Leicester. Tickets will be available to buy directly from the Peepul Centre. Congratulations to all students involved! Performing really helps with building confidence as a person. Hi, my name is Anna Wyburn and I am a Year 10 student at Robert Smyth Academy! I really love drama, because no matter what you re going through you can always put it aside and play a character that you can step into and play from your heart. Every Tuesday afternoon I attend RSA Youth Theatre; this is fun and I look forward to it every week. At the moment we are preparing for our Performing Arts Showcase on 31 st January. We have based our theme around James Bond (with it being the 50 th anniversary for it). It is a sort of dance as well but we are all acting as our own character. It is really fun and exciting learning the new moves and parts to the piece. In our GCSE drama class we have just finished a topic about the Holocaust, which was a very touching subject where we learnt about what happened at the death camps and how the Jews were treated. After doing research about the Holocaust we then had to split into groups and devise a piece based on our research, using the drama conventions we had learned such as freeze frame, split stage etc. We watched a short clip of Schindler s List, and looked at what devices the director had used to show the horror. My group s piece was about a family in the Holocaust who had lost their daughter and really wanted to try their best to find her, but couldn t. We have been exploring forms of theatre and devised a piece of political theatre. Just before Christmas we studied pantomimes as a form and created a short pantomime with a twist. I love pantomimes because you can really go OTT! I think doing drama is really helpful even if you don t want to do it as a career. Performing really helps with building confidence as a person. - Anna Wyburn W11 Visit us online: