Autumn Concert 

With a strong start to the term, the Autumn Concert extravaganza saw a myriad of our Music Department ensembles perform, including Sinfonia, Junior and Senior string quartets, Need for Reed, Jazz Band, and all our wonderful rock bands. There was music ranging from The Lord of the Rings to Mozart and even ELO! It was an amazing showcase of the talent and passion that the girls bring to the Music Department and shows how committed they are to their music. 

Christmas Concert 

With only a four-week gap between concerts, the race was on to prepare for the Christmas Concert at the Old Royal Naval Chapel in Greenwich, and the girls really stepped up. The Christmas Concert is an exciting opportunity for the Year 7s to experience the buzz of a Blackheath High concert, as well as learning performance skills and professionalism from the older students. All the choirs performed to an incredibly high standard, presenting a range of pieces from an acapella liturgical chant to classic Advent music such as ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ and ‘Gabriel’s Message’. The Christmas Concert wouldn’t be complete without the carols which the girls performed alongside professional brass players and organist. This opportunity to perform with music professionals gives them a great insight into where music could take them, and is such an inspiration for the girls. 

Classics for Kids 

All Year 11 students take part in two hours of enrichment bi-weekly where they sign up to departmental projects that aim to benefit the community. In the Music Department, we run Classics For Kids, where students work together to create a musical story to perform to nursery-aged children. This year, the students put together a wonderful production of the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with a number of festive tunes woven in. The girls all performed with such enthusiasm and really engaged the little ones who were singing along to all the tunes. This Enrichment project teaches them many important skills, such as teamwork, creativity, communication and working with young children; all of which are valuable lessons that they will use to further their learning and understanding. 

ABRSM exams 

At the end of the Autumn term, the Music Department will be hosting the termly ABRSM exams in which students who learn an instrument at school will have the chance to do a graded exam. At Blackheath High, students all take up an instrument through the Year 7 taster scheme where they receive five free half-hour lessons, provided by one of our wonderful peripatetic teachers, on an orchestral instrument of their choice. They are then encouraged to carry on with lessons, and progressing to take graded exams to further their studies. So good luck to everyone taking their ABRSM exam!