Welcome! Denmark Music Tour. Issue 3. October Contributors. Layout

Transcription

1 October 2013 Issue 3 Performing Arts Newsletter THIRD Newsletter Date Contributors Layout Mrs Petersen Ms Harmer Ms Bloom Mr Hughes Kate Cartwright Clare Pooley Jack Pilcher May Laura Wilson Nia Demming Chris Wells ROBERT SMYTH ACADEMY Burnmill Road Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 7JG T: F: E: office@rsacademy.co.uk W: Welcome! Welcome to the third edition of the Robert Smyth Academy Performing Arts Newsletter. Launched in January 2013, this is a termly publication for students, parents, staff, governors and other interested parties with news of performing arts events and extra-curricular activities. The publication of this newsletter coincides with our recent Ofsted inspection and Artsmark assessment in September. We are delighted that when listing the strengths of the academy Ofsted state that the standards in the performing arts are high and that an extensive range of sporting, musical and cultural activities promotes students personal development well. They mention that a broad range of extra-curricular activities in sport, music, drama and many others are well attended. The school has good sporting and cultural links with the community. We are also very pleased that we recently gained the Artsmark Gold Award. This is a national accolade, awarded by Trinity College, Cambridge, recognising high quality provision in the arts within education. The academy was visited by an Artsmark assessor who was impressed by our passion for the arts, our clearly strong arts provision within the curriculum and the outstanding range of extra-curricular provision. The academy was praised for the way in which students have many opportunities to gain leadership skills within the arts and for the ways in which we work with external partners and artists in order to enrich the student experience and enhance the quality of the work they produce. This term we are launching two new initiatives in the performing arts faculty. The first one is the introduction of the Arts Award which is a national award where students can work towards Bronze, Silver and Gold certification. In years 10 and 11 the Arts Award Bronze and Silver will be offered as an option in Enrichment whilst in years 12 and 13 it will be available as an option through 6+. The teacher in charge of the Arts Award is Marie Harmer, Head of Dance. The second new initiative this term is the staging of a whole school musical. We are putting on the schools version of We Will Rock You in November which will be the first musical staged at Robert Smyth since It will feature students from all year groups as well as a live band. For details of tickets, which are now on sale, please see the back page of this newsletter. We hope you will enjoy reading this newsletter and hope to see you at some of our events this year, details of which can be found elsewhere in this newsletter. Denmark Music Tour Every year since 2005 there has been a music tour abroad for the Robert Smyth Jazz Band and Soul Patrol. Destinations previously visited are: China (2010), Greece (2012), Denmark (2005 & 2009), Czech Republic (2007 & 2011), Barcelona (2008), and Paris (2006). As it was 4 years since we last visited Denmark I decided to return there this year and took the Big Band as well as the Jazz and Soul Bands for the first time. A total of 41 students went on the 8-day tour to Denmark from 24 th June to 1 st July. This time the bands stayed in 3 different places and performed in 4 different cities, including some new venues. We travelled by coach from Market Harborough on Monday 24 th June in the afternoon and arrived in Ribe in Southern Jutland, just 1 hour north of the German border, on Tuesday morning. The same afternoon we gave a 2-hour concert in Ribe, the oldest city and former capital of Denmark. The concert was very well attended and we sold a lot of CDs too. On Wednesday we travelled to Odense, the third largest city in Denmark, to visit the museum of the Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen and the Danish composer Carl Nielsen. We gave an evening

2 Denmark Music Tour (continued) concert at the Odense Jam Days Festival which is an annual Jazz, Blues and Rock Festival with many professional groups too. On Thursday morning we departed Ribe and travelled to Mid-Jutland to the town of Silkeborg where we stayed for one night. We had been invited to perform at the Riverboat Jazz Festival, a well-established jazz festival featuring lots of professional artists. We performed in a very large marquee on a big stage with superb sound and lighting equipment. There was a large audience who loved our music and got up and danced even to the very first swing number that the Jazz Band played! We sold a lot of CDs and Soul Band members were asked to sign CDs at the end. We received a brilliant review in the Danish newspaper from someone in the audience (see below). Page 2 Friday morning we departed Silkeborg and travelled across Funen and the Big Belt Bridge to Copenhagen which was a 3 ½ hour coach journey. We had fantastic weather that afternoon for the concert in the busy Main City Square in Copenhagen for which we had hired a big stage. In the evening we visited the famous Tivoli Gardens theme park. Saturday was our last full day. Following some free time in Copenhagen we drove ½ hour north of Copenhagen to Bakken, the oldest theme park in the world. The bands performed here on the open air stage which had excellent sound and lighting equipment. Despite some heavy rain the Jazz Band still got an audience. The sun came out during the Big Band performance and it stayed clear for the Soul Band too who put on one of their best performances ever. Sunday was our final day. We spent the day sight-seeing in Copenhagen and visited the Royal Palace, the Little Mermaid, and the Round Tower. We also went on a canal boat trip around the old streets of the city before boarding the coach at 6 pm for our home journey. The tour was a great success and the students were a real credit to the academy. Staying in 3 different places and travelling around to many different cities to give concerts made this tour feel like a real tour! We sold 63 copies of the Beiswing CD too which was a real bonus. Video recordings from the tour can be found on the academy website. A review of the Jazz Band, Big Band & Soul Patrol concert at the Riverboat Jazz Festival, Silkeborg, published in Midtjyllands Avis, a daily newspaper for Central Jutland, 28 June Translation: Some People Know How to Inspire! by Oluf Eriksen The Silkeborg Riverboat Jazz Festival committee deliver again. They are inspirational people who work hard to deliver the opportunity to experience the Silkeborg Riverboat Jazz Festival year on year. Last night the Robert Smyth School Jazz and Soul Band, an English school orchestra, performed in the marquee at Bindslev Plads. The Jazz and Soul Band put on an impressive show, firstly with a set of jazz numbers followed by some soul tunes. It was wonderful to hear such beautiful jazz tunes and soul numbers played so purely, completely in-tune and with such rhythmic precision. It is impressive that a school of year olds can achieve at this level. The anchor here is a skilful, engaged and committed leader and conductor, a Danish girl called Helle Munksgaard Petersen. Full praise to the orchestra and to her for putting on an outstanding show with pure, classical jazz and wonderfully lively and equally as m e l o d i o u s s o u l numbers. Georgia [Price] and Liam [Wade] amongst others produced outstanding and inspiring performances. The bands gave us a total of about 90 minutes worth of wonderfully uplifting music that encouraged many audience members to take to the dance floor. I hope we will see them again and that even more of our locals will enjoy the rest of the festival. On another note I would suggest the entrances to the marquees are made slightly smaller to avoid any draught and to create a warmer atmosphere.

3 Summer Course Experiences A2 Music student Clare Pooley reports on a choral summer course attended this summer. Clare was completely self-taught as a singer when she started GCSE Music in year 10 and had learnt classical songs simply through watching Youtube! She took up singing lessons in year 10 and more Page 3 recently started classical singing lessons also. She has made tremendous progress and recently passed her Grade 7 classical singing with a high Merit. She is going to apply to study classical singing at conservatoire from September On recommendation from my classical singing teacher, Caroline Trutz, I applied to go on an Eton Choral Course during the summer holidays for which no audition was required. There were seven to choose from this year, all held in various places around the UK. I went on the course at Wellington College, Crowthorne which lasted nine days. The cost was 690 for this course and this included everything from a trip to King s College London to all of our food. We were singing from 8.40 am to 10 pm every day, so it was a lot of hard work and we were all shattered by the end of the week, but the whole course was also very rewarding. Together we made up a Chapel Choir of about forty and most of the week s rehearsing was in preparation for an informal concert at the end of the week, a recorded recital in Wellington College s Chapel with a visiting Conductor and a visit to King s College London to sing evensong, conducted by David Trendall. Our regular choir conductor and course leader was Ralph Allwood. In between rehearsing for the choir, we had our allotted consort groups to prepare pieces and techniques in. In my consort group we had the task of singing Grace at the first lunchtime. Also, during the week, we had the following activities; Consort Group and Solo Masterclasses led by visiting professionals like soprano Sarah Fox and ensemble singer Richard Wilberforce. Question and answer sessions led by the staff to answer any questions we had about music careers, pathways and education. Alexandra Technique Masterclasses with AT expert Sarah Bonner-Morgan. Two one-to-one singing lessons with an allotted visiting teacher. I had international award-winning baritone, Samuel Evans. So as far as opera was concerned, I think I had the best teacher. I had the best time on this course because I met extraordinary people who, although were complete strangers, were all interested in the same things, were influential and have now become very good friends that I m sure to meet in the years to come through the love of music and singing. I recommend the Eton Choral Courses to anyone who is interested in a singing/ musical career, whether it is in jazz, rock, pop or classical, these courses are still the best experiences you can have. - Clare Pooley A2 Music student and French Horn player Jack Pilcher May writes about his trip to the San Diego MusiCamp in the US, sponsored by Rotary, which took place during the summer holidays. Jack has made outstanding progress over the last few years and passed Grade 8 with Distinction in year 12. He is also applying to study French Horn at conservatoire Sept In the Rotary International Youth Exchange programme, young adults from all over the world participate in residential camps, from music to kayaking and climbing Mt. Fuji, or organise an exchange with someone from another country. I applied for the San Diego MusiCamp. There were only two places for my instrument worldwide so I never thought I would be accepted, but thought it was worth it, if only for the feedback and experience. I recorded a last minute audition tape on Christmas Eve in a church in Harborough, sent it off to the States on Boxing Day, and found out in mid-january that I had been accepted! Naturally, it didn't feel real until I had left my parents at the departure gate at Heathrow Terminal 5 on Saturday 13 th July, ready to board the 11 ½ hour flight to the other side of the world, alone. I was to spend 3 weeks living with a local family in San Diego, rehearsing most days with fellow international musicians and local San Diego Youth Symphony students, and also seeing the sights and enjoying beautiful sunny California! I met my new family at the airport at 4 am UK time, and tried desperately to make good conversation despite my body clock feeling like it had just fallen off a cliff. The next day was just a chilled day to acclimatise and get to know my family - I had three brothers for the week: Josh, 13; Zach, 16, a trumpet player taking part in the same International Youth Symphony Programme as I, and Jordan, 19, who was back home from college for the summer. On Monday the two weeks of intense rehearsals started. Full orchestral rehearsals ran from 8 am until 1 pm, with chamber music for international students from 1.30 pm 3 pm. Luckily I seem to have evaded jet-lag, but after that many hours of rehearsal my brain and face were so tired, most evenings were made up of just chilling at home. Despite this, over the 3 weeks I managed to fit in a good few surfing and body boarding trips to the beautiful beaches that San Diego boasts, the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, Sea World and even Universal Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The music culminated in two chamber music recitals, at local art galleries, and three orchestral concerts. The first was at the Organ Pavilion of our rehearsal venue, Balboa Park, which attracted a crowd of about 2,000, a concert at a local university Concert Hall, and a performance that opened the La Holla Music Societies Summer Programme, by the beach in one of the most popular and expensive areas of California. This included accompanying 3 internationally renowned soloists, which was an incredible experience, and had a crowd of around 4,000. It is the people I met and friendships that I made over the three weeks that will stick with me the most; when you are chucked in to spend all day every day with complete strangers, you grow close so quickly it's scary, and aside from invites to visit various music colleges worldwide, we plan to meet up again soon! All details can be found by searching 'Rotary Youth Exchange' programme - I couldn't recommend applying enough. I really did have a sensational and ever-memorable three weeks! - Jack Pilcher May

4 Page 4 Summer Course Experiences (continued) A2 Drama student Laura Wilson writes about her trip to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art during the summer holidays. During the last two weeks of the summer holiday, I was fortunate enough to participate in an Introduction to Screen Acting course at LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art). Along with meeting and working with people from countries such as the USA, New Zealand and Germany, I also got to work with a casting director and film and television director, along with other experienced actors. Some of the main aspects of the course were learning the difference between acting on stage and on camera. We also looked at the impact of reactions being true and realistic; an exercise we did to experiment with this was having Good and Bad written on a piece of paper inside a box, and when we opened the box we would react to whatever it said; however we didn t know what it was going to say, before we opened it. This is just an example of some of the amazing exercises I was able to take part of during the course. I am so lucky to have been fortunate enough to get a place and take part on this brilliant course, it was such a life-changing experience and I am so grateful for everyone who helped me turn this dream into reality. - Laura Wilson MFY National Festival & Schools Proms On Friday 5 th July Soul Patrol were invited to perform at Birmingham Town Hall as part of the Music for Youth National Festival. This is the sixth year in succession that Soul Patrol has been selected for the National Festival, which is a fantastic achievement. Three of the singers in the band had written three new songs for the event which the band had arranged themselves: Dance with me by Elliot Buchanan, Whatever it takes by Sherry Trusler, and Show me some rhythm by Sherry Trusler & Georgia Price. The band put on brilliant performance and received some superb feedback from the adjudicators: The video recording from the event and the complete feedback sheets can be viewed on the academy website. Despite the excellent feedback Soul Patrol did not get selected for the Schools Proms in November this year. This is something that is incredibly difficult to achieve as only 30 out of the 300+ groups from the National Festival are chosen for the Schools Proms and out of the 30 groups only 2 or 3 are rock/pop/soul bands; the rest are orchestras, choirs, jazz bands, etc from primary, secondary and county level. However, Robert Smyth will still be represented at the Schools Proms in November as Youth Brass 2000, which features a number of RSA musicians, has been selected. The RSA players in Youth Brass 2000 are: Bryony Wong (cornet), Molly Sykes (cornet), Sereti Ogwang (euphonium), George Brabbs (trombone), Kevin Ogwang (trombone), Nick Roberts (bass trombone), Greg Burns (percussion) and Sophie Burleigh (percussion). Well done to them and good luck with the event at the Albert Hall on Tuesday 12 th November.

5 U6 University Destinations Page 5 There were some fantastic individual achievements amongst the Upper Sixth students finishing their A levels in Music, Music Technology, Dance and Drama this year. We would like to pick out the following who are all going on to study a performing arts subject in higher education: Dance Emma Scholey is now studying BA Hons Dance at Suffolk University Kelly Scholey is now studying BA Hons Dance at Lincoln University Alex Foulds is now studying at Laine Theatre Arts Music Technology Jonny Milsom is now studying Music Technology at Hudderfield University Music Natasha Davies is now studying the flute at Birmingham Conservatoire Dan Iliffe is now studying jazz saxophone at Leeds College of Music Jonathan Roberts is now studying music at Bangor University Tom Barwick is now studying music at Anglia Ruskin University Amy Skinner is now study primary music teaching at Liverpool Hope University Dan Mailer is going to study music at Bristol University in 2014 Matt Goodman is applying to study bass guitar at a conservatoire from 2014 VAT-Off Instruments Students who wish to purchase a new musical instrument for use with their musical studies in the academy can take advantage of the scheme offered where the cost of purchasing the instrument will not include VAT. Students have to purchase the instrument through the academy and a form must be completed and signed by authorised academy staff before purchasing the instrument. No VAT refunds can be given retrospectively. Further details and an application form can be downloaded from the academy website or contact Mrs Petersen for more details. Instrumental & Theory Grade Exams Congratulations to the following students below who have passed their grade exams last term. This information has been provided by peripatetic teachers, parents and students. Details of exam passes can be ed to French Horn Jack Pilcher May Grade 8 Distinction Trombone Joe Horspool Alice Burleigh Ellen Pollard Hannah Appleton Emily Newlyn Liam Hughes Emma Dove Kathryn Holyland Clarinet Theory Piano Grade 7 Merit Grade 8 Merit Grade 5 Merit Grade 3 Merit Grade 5 Distinction Grade 7 Merit Grade 6 Pass Grade 6 Pass hpetersen@rsacademy.co.uk for inclusion in future newsletters. Daniel Mailer Natasha Keary Jonny Nicholson Kiara Tooms Merryn Hobbs Rebecca Hix Clare Pooley Emily Newlyn Lucy Astbury Abigail Carter Drum Kit Flute Voice Grade 8 Distinction Grade 8 Distinction Grade 6 Pass Grade 6 Merit Grade 5 Merit Grade 5 Pass Grade 7 Merit Grade 5 Merit Grade 4 Merit Grade 3 Pass

6 Page 6 Stanislavski Workshop Any drama student at the Robert Smyth Academy could tell you that the MXT is a place where a group of students jumping around and chanting FA FAESTA CWAMA LA CWAMA LA CWAMA LA FAESTA was hardly out of the norm. But if you were wondering what the racket was all about on Thursday 12 th July, the upper and lower sixth drama groups were warming up our vocal cords for a Stanislavski inspired workshop by former RSA student Saul Lucyszyn. Saul is a 3 rd year student at The University of Kent, Canterbury, studying Drama & English/American Literature; Saul is also a member of T24 Theatre Company. Stanislavski, being one of the most influential theatre practitioners of all time, introduced the idea that an automatic response, the human s natural reaction to an event or another person, was an idea that every actor needed to explore. This automatic response would portray the truth and believability that, according to Stanislavski, was vital to the success of any piece of theatre. We explored this idea through a series of exercises. Having effectively warmed up our vocal cords and our bodies, we were told to get into a pair with someone out of the group that we didn t know particularly well. We were then told to stare into our partner s eyes, making sure we didn t break eye contact at any time, and go from drama neutral into an improvised 5 second expression of an emotion. For example, we had 5 seconds to express to our partner that we loved them with words, gestures or sounds. This limitation of time pushed us, as actors, to portray an emotional expression so intense that everyone else could tell exactly what we were trying to say. The next exercise was another improvisation-based workshop. We were told that we had to extract the sentence of I m so sorry out of someone, without using our voices, only facial expressions and body language. The last exercise we were told to do was a well-known naturalism exercise called 10 Steps. This consisted of the group being parted into two rows, facing each other, ten strides apart. You had to face your partner (who was in the row opposite) and not break eye contact. You were then told to portray an emotion, for example anger, with your body language and facial expressions. This emotion was to be heightened to a more extreme level at every step. Throughout the exercise it was vital to never break eye contact with your partner. This allowed the pairs to feed off of each other s body language and facilitate the expression of emotion. By the tenth step you would be face to face with your partner, with hardly any room between you, and at the height of emotion. When the tension was as close to breaking point as possible, you were told to let your emotion boil over and express it in one last sudden burst of sound or movement. The room was filled with yelling and strong body language. It was amazing to see the build-up of emotion in your partner and to see how they would react, when provoked into such an intense emotion. As well as creating atmosphere, this exercise was perfect for practising automatic response. Stanislavski used this exercise so that when the actors were on stage they knew how to be able to extract any emotion, at any level, automatically and without having to think about it. As a whole the workshop was an incredible insight on how practitioners such as Stanislavski created such a realistic image on stage. The exercises push the actors into expressing their true feelings and made them explore what exactly THEIR automatic response in improvised situations would be. As well as this it showed us that any naturalistic piece can be performed exquisitely by any actor who knows their emotions, has pushed them to extremes, as is not afraid to intensify them or tone them down to suit the piece they are doing. After all, if the actor believes it, the audience will too. Feedback included: Awesome, Intense & mesmerising. Saul was really impressed with the standard of work & commitment shown by the students! - Nia Demming U6 Leavers Concert On Wednesday 22 nd May the annual Upper Sixth Leavers Concert was held. This featured many very talented Upper Sixth musicians, both those studying music at A2 and some not. One of the highlights of the concert was Natasha Davies performing the first movement of Mozart s Flute Concert in G major accompanied by an orchestra consisting of RSA students, parents and a few players from the local Leicester Symphony Orchestra. Natasha Davies has secured a place to study the flute at Birmingham Conservatoire from this September and has also been chosen as the Robert Smyth Young Musician of the Year Pride of Harborough Award for Mrs Petersen At the end of April the Harborough Mail gave out 10 awards to people in the local community in recognition of special services and achievements. Mrs Petersen, Head of Performing Arts, was the winner in the Excellence in Education category. Success for RSA flautist The Leamington Spa Competitive Music Festival took place on 29 th June Anna Goodman, now in year 12, was the only Robert Smyth Academy student to take part and was awarded joint first place for the grade 5-6 solo class and came third in the year old solo class. Despite competing against older and more advanced flautists than herself, Anna played both confidently and flawlessly on the day and by the end of the competition the adjudicator chose her to receive the cup for being the most promising flautist of the competition. - Kate Cartwright (peripatetic flute teacher)

7 Performing Arts Clubs - Autumn Term 2013 Monday STRING ENSEMBLE Music Block Mike Shaw Page 7 Hammond COMEDY CLUB Chris Wells Studio Tuesday SAX ENSEMBLE Music Block Francine Warner ADVANCED BRASS Music Block John Gornall FOLK GROUP Music Block 6 th form student led MUSICAL WWRY DANCING The Max 6 th form student led MUSICAL WWRY ACTING The Max Miss Bloom Wednesday PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE Music Block Darron McHarg ADVANCED FLUTES Music Block Kate Cartwright VERSATILE VOICES (choir) Music Block Debbie Smith MUSICAL WWRY BAND Music Block Mrs Petersen Thursday FLUTE CHOIR (years 10 & 11) Music Block Kate Cartwright RSA DANCE COMPANY The Max Miss Harmer GCSE MUSIC DROP-IN Music Block Mr Hughes BIG BAND Music Block Mrs Petersen JAZZ BAND Music Block Mrs Petersen MUSICAL WWRY DANCING The Max Miss Harmer Friday WWRY CAST SINGING Music Block Mrs Petersen SOUL PATROL Music Block Mrs Petersen COMEDY CLUB Hammond Studio Chris Wells 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. Versatile Voices Tour 2014 Following on from their hugely successful tour to Paris in 2012, the academy choir, Versatile Voices, are to embark on their second tour in April This time they re off to visit three countries in 3 days! This tour will involve being based in Valkenburg in the Netherlands and travelling to Germany and Belgium to visit attractions and/or perform. Valkenburg is situated very close to the borders of the three countries so it is an ideal location to stay in. We will be visiting the Three Countries maze as well as visiting the Municipal Caves in Valkenberg and hopefully also a large theme park in Germany called Phantasieland. The group will be departing on Thursday 3 rd April and will return on Sunday 6 th April The estimated cost of this residential is 350 based on a bed and breakfast basis. If you are interested in joining the choir, then just turn up to the next rehearsal on Wednesday lunchtime in the band room in the music department, and be sure to ask about taking a letter about the tour if you are interested in coming with us on our exciting adventure!

8 Performing Arts Events Calendar AUTUMN TERM Thursday 31 st October 7.00 pm GCSE Music Concert The Max Saturday 9 th November 7.30 pm Trip to see Leicester Symphony Orchestra Venue: De Montfort Hall, Leicester Thursday 21 st, Friday 22 nd & Saturday 23 rd November 7.30 pm We Will Rock You Musical Production Main Hall Sunday 1 st December Big Band in NCBF Regional Round Venue: Richard Taunton VI Form College, Southampton Thursday 5 th December 7.00 pm Christmas Concert Main Hall SPRING TERM Wednesday 5 th February 7.00 pm GCSE Music Concert The Max ROBERT SMYTH ACADEMY Burnmill Road Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 7JG T: F: E: office@rsacademy.co.uk W: Saturday 8 th February afternoon Rotary Young Musician Semi-final Venue: tbc (probably in Melton Mowbray) Saturday 8 th February 7.30 pm Trip to see Leicester Symphony Orchestra Venue: De Montfort Hall, Leicester Friday 14 th February 7.00 pm CAIRS Concert Main Hall Thursday 27 th February 7.00 pm (tbc) Flute Concert Main Hall Thursday 20 th March 7.00 pm Spring Concert Main Hall Thursday 27 th March 7.00 pm Dance Show The Max We are excited to announce our upcoming musical WE WILL ROCK YOU to be performed by a cast of talented students from across the academy. The musical features a mixture of songs by Queen and tells the story of the Bohemians and the Yuppies and the battle to save MUSIC! Meet extraordinary and colourful characters in this amazing show! Show Dates Thursday 21 st November 7.30pm Friday 22 nd November 7.30pm Saturday 23 rd November 7.30pm Tickets cost 5 and 4 concessions and are available from Student Support Services (former Payzone) Visit us online: