Kate and Chris performed in the King’s Orchestra Day on the 30th of September alongside over 70 young musicians from seven schools for a day of music-making with a spooky twist. Pupils aged 9-13 from Ashford, Sevenoaks Prep, Lorenden Prep, Merton Court, Dartford Primary Academy, Gateway Primary School, and Wrotham Road Primary joined forces to learn and perform two iconic pieces: In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg and the ever-popular Ghostbusters theme by Ray Parker Jnr.

The theme for this year’s Orchestra Day was delightfully spooky, perfectly matching the Ghostbusters number and adding a touch of Halloween fun to the day. For many of the pupils, this was their first experience playing in a full-sized orchestra. Under the expert guidance of our King’s music staff, the pupils spent the morning rehearsing their parts before coming together in the afternoon for a full orchestral rehearsal.

The day culminated in an Open Rehearsal, where proud parents and staff were invited to hear the impressive progress the pupils had made in just a few hours. The young musicians showcased not only their hard work but also the joy of collaboration and the power of music to unite.

We are delighted to let you know that Medway Music Association’s Saturday Music Centre is welcoming new members! 

The Music Centre which is held at Rainham Mark Grammar School during term times starts again on Saturday 28^th September and we would really appreciate it if you would share this opportunity with your pupils.  

The sessions run at the Music Centre are for complete beginners (no experience required) to the more advanced musicians, aged between 5 (Year 1) and 18 (Year 13).  

All the information can be found at www.medwaymusicassociation.co.uk/saturdaymusiccentre

We have also attached the Music Centre Timetable and Session Descriptions below.

For any enquiries, please email info@medwaymusicassociation.co.uk 

On Tuesday 25th June, the curtain went up on Mr Mountford’s final concert at King’s, who leaves for pastures new. As such it was a special event, with heavy involvement from Kate, Chris and the brass department pupils.

King’s Brass opened the concert with the Grand Chœur Dialogué arranged for brass ensemble and organ, featuring Jeremy Lloyd who will also be leaving at the end of this term. This was followed by Kate’s arrangements of Concierto de Aranjuez (Rodrigo) and The Mandalorian (Goransson). Next came performances by the Jazz and Wind Bands and Orchestra.

The first half drew to a close with the first of the leaver’s solos, from Hugh on the mighty cathedral organ, playing Saint-Saens’ finale from Symphony No. 3, supported by Kate, Chris and other tutors and returning Old Roffensians (ORs) in the orchestra.

The second half included a performance on trumpet by William and his beautifully executed Spider and the Fly by Britten.

The evening closed with a grand performance from choir, orchestra and audience, of the Medway Hymn, the last movement of Thomas Hewitt Jones’s Regards from Rochester.

Farewell Mr Mountford – Head of Music – from all of us at Sound Roots who have had the pleasure of working with you at King’s; you will be sorely missed!

On Tuesday 2nd July friends, parents, teachers and governors were treated to a selection of performances by King’s Prep School ensembles and dancers at the Prep School Concert of Music and Dance. 

Kate & Chris supported members of the Brass Monkeys ensemble performing a selection of opera classics: March from Aida, Don Giovanni and Carmen. The performance was very well received by all, and the pupils played superbly.

Students from the brass department also performed with the Wind Band and Orchestra, showcasing pieces by living composers, including their very own Mr Vinall conducting his own composition for Wind Band! 

Brass & Percussion players aged 9-18 come join our fun day on Sunday 14th July 10am – 1.30pm at Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Special guests Bach Artist – Mark Kavuma, Kinetika Bloco Brass Bands England as well as Phil Parker Ltdhttps://www.gsmd.ac.uk/…/national-brass-percussion-day…

On Monday this week Kate was delighted to perform alongside pupils from King’s School in Rochester, along with visiting choirs from IAPS schools across the country. The Festival of Singing was the first event of it’s kind run by IAPS and was held at the stunning Rochester Cathedral, with proceeds being donated to the itrust charity.

Pupils sang a variety of songs, including religious choral works and popular / folk numbers. Kate’s involvement was to play with the orchestra for 2 of the massed choir pieces; Vivaldi’s Gloria (on piccolo trumpet) and the Benedictus from Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man – which included a bass drum loud enough to make the audience, choir and orchestra alike jump out of their seats!

Congratulations to everyone involved in this inaugural event; it was a big undertaking and we hope there will be many more to follow.

During the lockdown and ongoing school closures of Spring and Summer 2020 some of my pupils from the Music Clubs we run at Balfour Infant School continued their instrumental learning with Kate online, via Skype.

Usually the children would perform a Summer Concert in the school hall – an event which showcases to their families how much they have learned during the course of the year.

This year, since the school was closed, we put together an online concert; we hope you enjoy it!

On Friday 13th March the Balfour Infants Keyboard Club were due to perform “The Paratrooper” – a piece they had been working hard on all term. This was to be their first performance in a school Celebration Assembly too, so we were all very excited!

Unfortunately due to the ‘social distancing’ required by the COVID-19 pandemic the assembly was cancelled, and the school was closed at the end of that day until further notice.

Fortunately however, we filmed the performance that the Keyboard Club were going to make at our club session the day before – we were a few members down due to the pandemic, but here are Ethan, Amreen, Mariam, Poppy and Leo performing “The Paratrooper”.