This week we warmly welcomed back Andrea Lee, our Music Curriculum Specialist from Juilliard. Andrea provided a workshop for the music staff, further enhancing The Juilliard Approach within the classroom. During the workshop she revealed exciting new resource materials from the Juilliard Creative Classroom. These new resources are from our very own Nord Anglia Composer in Residence, Sean Shepherd, who is the Core Work Category of The Composer of Today. Students will have the opportunity to study his compositions ‘Metamorphose’ and ‘Tuolumne’.
The Composer of Today category offers the unique opportunity to interact with a Juilliard-affiliated composer throughout the school year. This programme will provide a window into the music, influences, challenges, and motivations of the contemporary composer. Sean is an alumni of the Juilliard School, where he earned his Master’s degree in composition, as well as in bassoon performance. It is with excitement that we bring you news of an expected commissioned work for Nord Anglia Schools from Sean Shepherd in the near future. For more information about Sean visit his website at http://www.seanshepherd.com/
Not only has Andrea facilitated workshops for staff, she has also been in the classroom teaching an energetic demo lesson to our 4A students. Andrea and the students explored the concept on "one versus many"; looking at the interaction between a soloist (one) and an orchestra (many) through the creation of a physical, movement-based composition. The students were extremely engaged and it was great to see how imaginative and how well they interacted.
After school, Andrea led a String Workshop for all string instrument players (minus anyone attending ACAMIS). As a professional cellist, Andrea was able to offer valuable advice on bowing techniques, postures and sound creation quality. There was even time to practice our current orchestra piece ‘I Dreamed A Dream’. Meeting Andrea has been a fantastic opportunity for the students and we look forward to welcoming her back for her second visit in May.
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Into the Woods rehearsals are underway and I am impressed with how supportive the cast members are of one another. Students from across all years have a range of principal roles within the show, and are working closely together to achieve great things. In rehearsals we have started to look at stage blocking and positioning.
Different props for the show have started to arrive and Milky White the Cow made a guest appearance during rehearsals. The performing arts department have big plans for the stage, so keep your eyes open for further developments.