Music

At St. Edmund's, we are proud of our music heritage, and we probably have one of the largest music departments in the South East of England. We are, home to the choristers of Canterbury Cathedral, but there is far more to our musical offering than that: we typically will present over 25 concerts a year, from small, lunchtime recitals to large gala concerts and an annual Jazz Bonanza as part of the Canterbury Festival.

Music is a core subject for the Lower Fifth, and at this stage we look at a broad range of musical cultures and traditions, focusing our learning on Performing, Listening and Appraising, and Composing. Topics covered include Jazz and Blues, Music for TV and Film, Reggae, and world music from India and Indonesia. As well as being an enjoyable course of study, this offers a solid foundation for those planning to take the GCSE.

Pupils proceeding to GCSE should be prepared to study an instrument and also sing, and we would normally expect them be able to play their chosen instrument at Grade 4 level or equivalent. The GCSE course will cover listening, focusing on four areas of study which cover music from the Baroque era through to current pop music. It also teaches composing, looking at relevant techniques and utilising modern music software such as Sibelius 3 and Cubase SL; most of the work for this topic consists of composition assignments. The third main area is performing, in both solo and ensemble performances in class, and also at public concerts.

In the Sixth Form, at A Level, pupils can study either Music, Music Technology, or both. The Music A Level offers a wide range of choice, to suit the strengths and interests of individual pupils, and allows one of their specialist areas of study to be taken to great depth at A2 Level. The Music Technology course centres on three components: Sequencing or Recording; Arranging and Improvising using Technology; and Listening and Analysis.

Our teaching takes place at our purpose-built Music School on the St. Edmund's campus, opened in 2004 by the renowned concert pianist Freddy Kempf - who won the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 1992 whilst still a pupil at St. Edmund's! As well as the concerts we put on each year, we also organise many tours, taking our ensembles to Europe and beyond, and performing in such venues as Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and St. Mark's, Venice. Our Music Scholars participate in an Outreach programme, working to take music to local primaries and special needs schools. Scholarships are available at ages 11, 13, and on entry to the Sixth Form at 16, and many of our Music Scholars have gone on to win places at junior London conservatoires such as Trinity and the Guildhall.