It has been a long time since we were able to make music together. Here are a few things about our music as we start to come back to school.
This week (from 8th March), your lessons will be in school if you are in school. Otherwise, they will be online as they have been via Google Meet. Year 13 – you are able to come into school if you want to during your exam weeks – just contact your teacher and arrange it with them. If you have to stay at home when your year group is in school, please email music@simonballe.herts.sch.uk before 8.30am on the day of your lesson and you will have it via Google Meet. Your lesson does not need to be missed just because you are at home. Some lesson times will have changed, so keep checking the timetables via this link.
https://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/music/timetables/
We are working to get our ensembles back rehearsing as soon as we are allowed to. At the moment we cannot rehearse in doors at the moment where we have students from more than one year group, so we are planning for hopefully after Easter. The 4 stages out of restrictions hopefully mean we can have plenty of concerts later next term and we are planning hard for this – I know everyone wants to get back playing together!
Some bands in Rock School have been able to rehearse and record during lockdown online and we are working to get more students involved next term. Do contact Mrs Pearson if you want to be part of this. Big Band 2 will also restart as soon as we can, and if you are interested in taking part, please let us know next week – this involves musicians from Year 9 onwards. If you do not play an instrument that is usually part of a Big Band, still let us know and we can help you quickly learn on (a Big Band line up is piano, bass, drums, electric guitar, saxophones, brass, singers). You have to be able to read music to take part as there is a lot of sight reading involved!
Your instrumental teachers are also busy working with you to prepare you for music exams. I know most have not been able to take them, so you will soon be ready. Some will be in April, others in June / July. Do keep practising and talking to your teachers about your progress. Practice is also very important. Keep going as now we are coming back to school, you will be back working with your teachers face to face.
If you have any ideas of things you want to do in music, let us know. If you have completed a great recording, do share it with us. We are going to get everyone performing as soon as we can and there will be lots of solo and ensemble concerts next term. Keep working hard and keep talking to us about your music. We need your ideas to be able to support you as much as we can.
Mr Taylor
