Halloway Grange School Music Book a taster lesson

Music at Halloway Grange

Every child leaves with an instrument in their hands.

Individual lessons on nineteen instruments, eleven ensembles and two concerts every term. Music here is not an activity for the musical few. It is part of the week for every pupil from Year 3.

This year's concerts

I

Lessons

Thirty minutes a week with a specialist teacher, on a rotating timetable so no pupil misses the same class twice. Thirty two lessons a year, from the first week of September to the last week of June.

Hands on the keys of a grand piano, seen from over the shoulder
Piano is the most requested instrument. Beginners start on the practice room uprights.

Nineteen instruments, taught by twenty two visiting teachers

Strings
Violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, classical guitar
Wind
Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, recorder
Brass
Trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba
Keyboard and voice
Piano, organ, singing
Percussion and contemporary
Drum kit, orchestral percussion, electric guitar, bass guitar

Every pupil in Years 3 and 4 learns a string or wind instrument in class, free, for a year. Most carry on.

II

Ensembles

Eleven groups, all free, all open by audition or invitation. Rehearsals sit inside the school day or straight after it, so an ensemble never costs a family an evening.

The orchestra seating plan Five arcs facing the conductor: strings at the front, then wind, brass, percussion and the choir on risers at the back. Choosing a section takes you to its groups in the list. ChoirsPercussionBrassWindStrings Conductor
Sixty players and three choirs, on one plan.
A string section seen from behind in rehearsal, bows raised, music stands in front of them
First Orchestra in rehearsal. Sixty players this year, the largest it has been.
  1. First OrchestraGrade 5 and aboveTuesday 4.00pm
  2. Chamber OrchestraBy invitationThursday 4.00pm
  3. Junior StringsYears 3 to 6Monday 1.15pm
  4. Wind BandGrade 3 and aboveWednesday 4.00pm
  5. Big BandBy auditionFriday 4.00pm
  6. Chapel ChoirYears 7 to 13, by auditionMonday and Thursday 8.00am
  7. Chamber ChoirBy invitationWednesday 1.15pm
  8. Lower School ChoirYears 3 to 6, open to allTuesday 1.15pm
  9. Jazz ComboBy invitationThursday 1.15pm
  10. Percussion EnsembleGrade 2 and aboveFriday 1.15pm
  11. Rock SchoolYears 9 to 13, open to allWednesday 4.00pm

III

Concerts

Two concerts every term, six in the year, in the Hall and the Chapel. All of them are open to parents and none of them needs a ticket.

The concert year as a stave Six concerts placed by date across the school year from September to July, drawn as notes on a stave. Autumn termSpring termSummer term SepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul Autumn Concert12th Nov Carol Service10th Dec Chamber Music Evening4th Feb Spring Concert18th Mar Choral Concert20th May Summer Serenade24th Jun
Six concerts, placed by date. Point at a note for the detail below.
  1. Autumn ConcertThe Hall, 7.00pm. Orchestras, Wind Band and choirs.
  2. Carol ServiceThe Chapel, 6.30pm. Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir with brass.
  3. Chamber Music EveningThe Recital Room, 7.00pm. Small groups and soloists.
  4. Spring ConcertThe Hall, 7.00pm. Every ensemble, the Junior Strings first.
  5. Choral ConcertThe Chapel, 6.30pm. All three choirs, with the Chamber Orchestra.
  6. Summer SerenadeThe Quad, 6.00pm. Big Band, Jazz Combo and Rock School, outdoors.
A full orchestra on a lit stage seen from the back of a dark hall
The Autumn Concert. First Orchestra, Wind Band and both choirs on one stage.
A music stand with an open score lit by a stand lamp, the hall dark behind it
The Recital Room, set for the Chamber Music Evening.

IV

Exams and fees

Exams are optional and never rushed. Fees are shown in full, because a family should be able to plan a year of lessons without asking.

Individual lesson, 30 minutes£26
Individual lesson, 45 minutes, Grade 6 and above£38
Instrument hire, per term£45
EnsemblesFree
Class instrument scheme, Years 3 and 4Free
Exam entryAt cost

Exams

Pupils sit ABRSM or Trinity exams in the school, three times a year, when their teacher says they are ready. Last year 118 exams were taken and 41 of them earned a distinction. Nobody is entered to make up numbers.

Help with fees

Families in receipt of a bursary have lesson fees and instrument hire covered in full. Any family can spread the year's lessons over three termly bills. Ask the Director of Music, in confidence.

Practice

Twenty practice rooms are open from 7.30am to 6.00pm. Pupils without an instrument at home can borrow one from the store, and the school owns three that most families would never buy: a harp, a bassoon and a tuba.

Instrument cases stacked along a school corridor wall in morning light
The corridor outside the practice rooms, ten minutes before the first bell.
A choir on risers seen from behind, singing towards a lit chapel

Next step

Start with a taster lesson.

Any pupil can try any instrument for two free lessons before a family decides. Write to the Director of Music with the instrument, or with no idea at all, and she will find the right teacher and a slot.

Dr Eleanor Haigh
Director of Music, Halloway Grange School

Email the Director of Music