vivovivoSpring/Summer Issue 2017 Saddleworth Schooll Music Magazine

SaddleworthMusic Department

Summer ConcertThis year’s annual summer concert was excellently organised by the Year 10 BTEC Music class (see centre spread)

Allen Vizzutti (Trumpet Virtuoso)

Mr Vizzutti was in Europe at this time performing various concert performances as a soloist and carrying out a number of brass teaching workshops in his role as one of the world’s leading authorities on brass playing as a Yamaha Musical instrument clinician. A role Mr Vizzutti is rightly proud of and a part of his job that he thoroughly enjoys – working with talented musicians all over the world.

The workshop drew a large crowd to witness the great man perform and offer advice freely to the crowd and a number of students who performed at the session – from the very first notes of the dazzling ‘Carnival of Venus’ it was clear that we were in for a real treat! Mr Vizzutti discussed his thoughts on brass performance technique with his audience offering clear advice on technical aspects of brass playing – the tone was absolutely perfect for the session, Mr Vizzutti did not try to baffle with science but gave enough information to really capture the imagine and encourage our young brass players to really think about their individual playing, not settling for second best and the ability to create routines that will make our young musicians better players for many years to come.

Although Mr Vizzutti is an outstanding world renowned trumpet soloist his advice was equally relevant to all brass players, sometimes the finer details of how to excel in this art form are often neglected and the Saddleworth Students that gathered all took away thought provoking information in relation to their own performing. The playing demonstrations given by Mr Vizzutti were simply phenomenal.

In the latter half of the session Mr Vizzutti worked with three students from the Oldham area including Saddleworth School’s very own Bridget Atkin. All of the three students were complimented on their performances and offered constructive feedback – A special mention to year 10 student Bridget Atkin who performed terrifically in the workshop – well done Bridget, you should be VERY proud of

yourself. Mr Vizzutti’s warm and constructive approach to tuition was a joy to witness and each of the three performers came away with some very useful tips to help improve their own playing – what a fabulous opportunity to play for and learn directly from one of the greats of the brass playing world.

Special thanks must go to Yamaha Music Instruments, Alan Gregory Musical Instruments, the GM Music Hub and Gerard Booth at Oldham Music Service for making this very special performance happen. It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Allen Vizzutti to the Saddleworth and I hope we are able to offer more opportunities like this for our young musicians in the future.

Tuesday 4th July 2017 will go down as a momentous day for the music department at Saddleworth School – in collaboration with Oldham Music Service and the GM Music Hub the music department were offered the opportunity to host a brass playing clinic / recital and workshop with one of the finest trumpet players in the world, Mr Allen Vizzutti.

Adam Rappa and the Guards Brass EnsembleThe Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London

A 7:30am start was the order of the day as the Brass Xplosion group and a small number of our talented brass musicians travelled to the capital to witness a special trumpet playing workshop and concert performance by the thrilling American trumpet soloist Adam Rappa.

Our visit was part of the inaugural Household Division Music Festival – a weeklong festival of music featuring the vast and varied musical ensembles the Household Music Division offers in London drawing performance from many different genres featuring musicians from: the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Irish Guards, the Welsh Guards and the Irish Guards. Simply put – we were in for a treat!

The musicians who attended the trip were not disappointed as Mr Rappa offered advice on brass playing that gave everyone in attendance food for thought with regards to their own brass playing. Many different concepts were discussed and the detail was very technical – even though this information was challenging and often very technical our young musicians took on board the different aspects of brass playing covered by Mr Rappa and continued to discuss over tea following the afternoon workshop.

The young musicians managed a quick stroll around Westminster taking in the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Cathedral, before walking back to the Guards Chapel via St James Park (Pelicans et al) and Buckingham Palace… the Queen was in on this particular day and Ben Hill-Wilson swears he saw her wave from a window!

On to the evening concert. The evening concert featured our friends the Guards Brass Ensemble directed by Andrew Porter, Surrey Brass and featured trumpet soloist Mr Adam Rappa. What an incredible feast of music we witnessed.

The playing was inspirational from the Guards Brass and Mr Rappa. The group opened the first half with a buoyant version of the ‘Wiener Philharmonic Fanfare’ by Richard Strauss. The crisp clear arppegiated lines really shone through with the guards trademark core of sound – traditionally performed at the Vienna Philharmonic Annual Ball this was a fantastic opening to the concert that grabbed everyone’s attention. Featured trumpet soloist Adam Rappa joined the Guards Brass next in his own arrangement of ‘Quiet Place’, beautiful flowing high register lines soared above the group with ease demonstrating real control over the instrument. This was followed by a stunning virtuosic performance of the Astor Piazolla melody ‘Contrabajissimo’ and finally Mr Rappa’s version of ‘My One, Two Love’ – Mr Rappa performed with aplomb all evening many of our young musicians are still talking about the concert and his workshop. Inspiring stuff indeed!

The Guards Brass continued with another Adam Rappa arrangement this time allowing the low brass of the ensemble an opportunity

to demonstrate their wonderful dark tomes in an arrangement of ‘Dance of the Knights’ from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. The acoustics of the Guards Chapel suited this music to a tee and a special mention must go to bass trombonist Steve Clarke and tuba player Ian Shepherd for applying a perfect amount of polished edge – BRAVO! Two original works for symphonic brass ensemble brought the first half to a close; firstly, ‘La Perla Negra’ by Colin Skinner where the ensemble skilfully shaped the music that tells the tale of loneliness that whirls its way into Latin exuberance featuring the different sections of the ensemble before returning to the opening material to bring the piece to a close. The final offering of the first half was Ian Shepherds ‘Purcell Fantastia’ – this piece is a wonderful addition to the brass ensemble repertoire crafting its way through various themes written by arguably England’s greatest composer Henry Purcell; Funeral Music for Queen Mary, Dido’s Lament and the majestic Rondo from Purcelol’s opera ‘Abdelazer’. The music is often dark but always brooding with magnificent flourishes bringing the word to a rousing conclusion.

The second half opened with four items from 10 piece brass ensemble Surrey Brass – the group are celebrating their 15th birthday this year and celebrating in grand style at the Brass Explosion Concert. ‘The Faery Rounde’ opened proceedings based on Elizabethan dance music written by Antony Holborneand arranged by Edward Chance – this music demonstrated the ensembles balanced sound and finesse. This was followed by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble classic. A Londoner in New York. It is always a pleasure to hear this music given an outing. Echoes of Harlem’ captured the spirit of the jazzmen of the time including Duke Ellington and Fats Waller et al, ‘the Chrystler Building’ suited the grand acoustic of Guards Chapel and the classic ‘Radio City’ brought the popular suite to a close.

Next in the programme some traditional folk music by Percy Grainger – ‘Shepherds Hey’ really captures the spirit of quintessentially English folk music. The performance had a steady feel to it which gave the music space to accelerate towards the close, some great sounds and technical playing here. The Surrey Brass set was brought to a close with a great performance of ‘Midnight in Moscow’ by Kenny Ball before joining forces with the Guards Brass to perform the joint finale.

Special mention to both the conductors on the evening Andrew Porter (Bandmaster of the Irish Guards) and Johnathan Spencer (Bandmaster of the Royal Logistic Corps). Both conductors offered informative information about the repertoire and allowed both ensembles space to perform.

The grand finale of the concert comprised three pieces of music: Grand Fanfare – Giancarlo, an exciting and virtuosic showpiece composed for the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble which stems from the famous Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. ‘Song of Hope’, Song of Hope is dedicated to Ryan Anthony (principal trumpet with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra) and his charity, Cancer Blows – a foundation set up to raise awareness and money

to further the research that has helped give their family a hope for a future following Ryan’s diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma. The performance given at tonight’s concert was performed as a trumpet trio featuring Adam Rappa, Michael Chapple (Surrey Brass) and Colour Sergeant Ray Plant from the Guards Brass – this was a real highlight in the programme. Many of our students were blown away by the fantastic high trumpet playing of such a wonderful emotive piece of music. The final programmed item of the concert was a massed performance of ‘Elsa’s Procession to the Minster’ by Wagner – this piece of music stirs the emotions from a delicate hymn like opening organically growing into a huge sounding finale featuring fanfares and sonorous melody lines bringing the entire concert to a climactic conclusion.

Following the audience applause and a few thanks from Guards Brass conductor Andrew Porter we were treated to one final piece of music… ‘The Children of Sanchez’ by Chuck Mangione. This piece of film music brought the house down with its driving Latin style and virtuosic trumpet playing from Adam Rappa and the massed ensemble!

All in all this was an incredible opportunity to hear superb brass playing by phenomenal musicians – we will definitely be back next year! Thank you to Guards Brass musicians Gavin Hall and Mike Altree for the invitation to attend this wonderful showcase.

Katy Jones (Principal Trombone of the Hallé Orchestra)

Tuesday 11th July saw one of Europe’s finest trombone players visit Saddleworth School. Katy Jones is currently the principal trombone player with Manchester’s famous Hallé Orchestra, having previously held positions in the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mrs Jones also performs with the fantastic Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In her capacity as an orchestral trombonist Mrs Jones can be heard on many recordings and film soundtracks including Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and Harry Potter, Order of the Phoenix.

Massively dedicated to brass instrument education Mrs Jones is also the head of the trombone department at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chethams School of Music in Manchester and as a chamber musician she also performs with one of the UK’s finest brass chamber ensembles the Fine Arts Brass Quintet.

The aim of the visit to Saddleworth was to hold workshops with some of ourt talented young brass musicians and also perform and try out some recital pieces in preparation for Mrs Jones appearance at the Artic Trombone Festival – the festival invites the best in the business each year to perform workshops and recitals to the trombone playing community with guests and visitors from all over the world.

Mrs Jones demonstrated wonderful technique in her recital items – the warmth and clarity of sound Mrs Jones produces is jaw dropping, many students commented on this following the workshop. It was also encouraging to hear the advice passed on during ensemble rehearsals every week reiterated in the workshop and see how students took this information on board. Special thanks must go to our accompanist on the day Mr Daniel McLoughlin who provided supportive and encouraging performing for Mrs Jones and Saddleworth students on the day.

George Sleight was the first of the three Saddleworth School year 10 musicians that performed on the day and George decided to perform ‘Caber Dance’ a piece full of character that Mrs Jones enticed even more energy and life out of the different types of melody line contained within the piece. The focus here was to think about the character in the music and how to portray different types of emotion when performing music – not just settling for what is written on the page. To emphasise the point Mrs Jones worked on lyrical playing using ‘He Ain’t Heavy he’s my Brother’ as an example piece – a piece of music George has been working on with the Diggle Band where

he plays regularly outside of school. George performed admirably and sounded even better than usual by the end of his time in the workshop.

Next up was year 10 trombonist Connie Guttridge who performed ‘The Acrobat’, people of a certain generation will remember this theme as the music that accompanied the children’s TV programme Johnny Briggs! Mrs Jones encouragement of the trombone was evident from the start making Connie feel comfortable and giving suggestions to, again, bring the piece of music to life by thinking about the character as well as technical tips on the trombone. There are two contrasting sections, or styles if you prefer, in this piece of music; a lyrical lament at the start leading to a jovial and slightly comedic upbeat section that features the trombones distinctive performing technique the glissando – where the pitch slides. Connie performed very well in this workshop and it was clear she gained confidence as her performance progressed. Hopefully Connie will be performing this again soon with the Dobcross Youth Band.

The final year 10 student to perform was Dobcross Youth Band’s solo horn player Ben Hill-Wilson – Ben performed the demanding Arioso and Caprice by Ronald Hanmer. Mrs Jones was keen to explore the musical side of Ben’s playing and focused on phrasing and expression. This side of Ben’s playing flourished in the workshop demonstrating exactly how much potential has to offer as a horn player – this was absolutely fantastic to see.

All three performers in the workshop demonstrated their ability and future potential as brass instrumentalists. A big thank you to Katie Jones for taking the time out of her busy schedule to hold this workshop and inspire our young musicians – thank you to Mr Jonathan Leedale for all his hard work with our brass students on a week by week basis, the future is looking good! Finally a massive thank you to Katie Jones for taking the time out of her very busy schedule to pass on her brass playing expertise to our young musicians.

Wind Orchestra Extravaganza Saddleworth School – 31st March 2017

Saddleworth School Concert Band, Salford University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

As part of the music departments continuing desire to allow our young musicians to work with other professional organisations we were able to ignite our relationship with the University of Salford with a truly magnificent evening of musical performances by three different tiers of Wind Orchestra.

During the day a selection of music students from the University of Salford held workshop performances based on repertoire to be performed in the evening concert and general advice and tips on brass and wind instrument playing – the students from Salford carried out these sessions with real skill encouraging and inspiring our young musicians for the entire afternoon. Following the afternoon performance workshops the great stage set up was carried out by all three bands before heading for a wonderful feast in the canteen provided by Margaret Speakes and her fantastic catering team, a BIG thank you to everyone in catering who made this happen… all the performers left the dining room with smiles on their faces, recharged and ready for the evening performance!

The show was opened by the Saddleworth School Concert Band under the direction of year 10 musician Sam Smithies with the rousing ‘Marches of the Armed Forces’ this was expertly conducted by one of year 10’s leading musicians who continues to show terrific commitment to musical activities at Saddleworth School – Bravo Sam! The maestro’s baton was passed to the wonderful Mrs Pickett who directed the Concert Band in two further pieces ‘Accidentally in Love’ and the finale for this short segment ‘Music’ by John Miles. The large audience showed their appreciation for our young performers – each and every week these students gather to rehearse before school to develop and finely tune their ensemble performing skills – long may this wonderful tuition continue.

Following a quick turn around on the stage The University of Salford Symphonic Wind Ensemble took to the stage under the direction of Head of Performance studies Dr Brett Baker. The ensemble opened their section of the first half with a piece called ‘Rattle the Cage’ – a real thumper of a concert opener! The next item s in the programme was conducted and arranged by Salford Music student Ryan Broad, Ryan currently plays with the Leyland Band and his arrangement of ‘Finding Nemo’ was really well received by the audience and students alike. Two further items brought the University Ensemble’s programme to a dramatic close ‘Crescent Moon Dance’ by Namie Horikawa arranged by Ben Warrington and ‘Olympica’ by Dutch composer Jan van der Roost – it was truly wonderful to hear the quality of these University musicians LIVE in the Saddleworth area, they are truly great ambassadors for the University of Salford and the music department at Saddleworth School look forward to welcoming these fine musicians back to the school for future projects. The ensemble brought a varied and challenging programme to the appreciative Saddleworth audience with an entertaining programme that demonstrated the ensembles wonderful sound and technical ability.

When discussing various possibilities for this event Mr Beckwith and Dr Baker had numerous conversations about the format of the event and the potential to bring a third professional visiting band to Saddleworth for the concert – we were absolutely thrilled to welcome The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland directed by the charismatic Major David Barringer. The Edinburgh based military band held workshop and performance session at Salford University during the day and joined us later for the evening performance.

The performance given by the band was absolutely phenomenal – our young musicians were totally engaged from the first notes of Satashi Yagisawa’s ‘Young Pheasants in the Sky’, closely followed by Leonard Bernstein’s exciting Overture to ‘Candide’. The next item in the programme was the First Movement of Martin Ellerby’s ‘Clarinet Concerto’ performed by Colour Sergeant John Govan. Alongside all the ensemble performances given by the band throughout the evening this particular item truly demonstrated the high standards of musicianship that are evident in musical ensembles within the British military, versatility is also another important facet of musical life in the army and the next performance was no exception to this rule as the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland has its own self-contained Ceilidh Band! A traditional version of the beautiful Scottish melody Loch Lomond soon turned into a fun packed whirling performance given by this group of traditional instrumentalists – FANTASTIC!

Further versatility in the form of music from the swing era followed in Glen Miller’s ‘In the Mood’ – the band were expertly directed and shaped by Major Barringer throughout the entire programme. The next item was a sensitive and though provoking piece of music by Philip Sparke ‘Letter from Home’, the music was played with real style and musicality. The final item of the programme was billed as a real military band classic ‘Viva Musica’ by Alfred Reed was a fitting finale to a wonderful evening of music making given by music students from Saddleworth School , trainee professional musicians from the University of Salford and the superb professional military musicians of the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The two final items to bring the 2017 Wind Orchestra Extravaganza to a close were the bands Regimental Marches: The Corps of Army Music and Scotland the Brave. Simply put this was a wonderful evening – I do hope you are able to join us for similar future performances.

A great deal of of hard work and planning has gone into making tonight performance possible and sincerest thanks must go to Dr Brett Baker and his team at Salford University for having the foresight and passion to make this fantastic opportunity happen – we are very much looking forward to strengthening our musical links with the University in the future.

String Ensemble Knowsley Primary SchoolBy Imogen Cox (Yr 7)

This was to help encourage more interest in music in Saddleworth. Some of the children had been playing for a year, and others had never played before!

First of all we divided ourselves into groups to teach the children. There were around two students and five children in each group. Some of the children were very enthusiastic and told us all about their violin lessons. We taught them how to play an accompaniment part to ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, a song by Journey which the children knew and had been singing in music, and helped them improve their techniques. They were all very well behaved and asked lots of questions!

After we had been teaching them for around an hour, we all played a concert together for the rest of the Knowsley pupils. The Saddleworth students played their more advanced parts while the younger ones played their accompaniment parts.

The Knowsley musicians then sat down and the String Ensemble played to them a number of their own pieces, such as the ‘Theme to Match of the Day’ and ‘Run’ by Leona Lewis. All the Knowsley students were very appreciative and clapped along to some of the music.

Overall, it was a very good day and everyone enjoyed themselves. The String Ensemble was very pleased with how it went and are glad they could help them improve their playing.

Thank you to Dave Gillon for his photos and videos.

On the 22nd of June, the String Ensemble went to Knowsley Primary School to help some younger students develop their musical skills in playing the violin or cello.

On the 15th June, the Saddleworth School Brass Ensemble, accompanied by Mrs Pickett, took a trip to Dobcross Primary School with the aim of providing some master classes and a concert to the children.

The brass musicians’ instruments were a cornet, horn, euphonium, trombone and tuba, and they had been selected as having the most promise with their craft. The afternoon began by getting to know the fantastic young players with some clapping games to break the ice, such as rhythms made by a leader that the group joined in with. After this, each brass ensemble member took one or two of the Primary school children to a different area to give each one a more in depth

master class on their specific instrument. During this time we each took the players through the piece they would take part in during the concert. Once the piece had been practised, we continued by passing on knowledge that we were taught, such as breathing and technique exercises. Finally, to wrap up the day, the Brass Ensemble gave the rest of the Primary school children, teachers and parents a short concert containing a varied repertoire. Before the last piece was played, the Primary brass players joined us on stage for the piece they had learnt that day. In the end, the day was an interesting and successful day for all involved resulting in the Primary children being even more enthused about learning their instruments!

Dobcross Primary Transition ConcertBy Sam Smithies (Yr 10)

Tubalaté – 12th July 2017By Spike Knight (Yr 10)

Exciting and unexpected good music was brought to me, and many other friends at St Chads Church of Saddleworth on the 12th July. All the music was amazing and extremely fun to listen to, the people in the ensemble were incredibly nice and hilarious and it was definitely a concert that I will personally never forget.

When going into the church I suddenly saw four stands already set up and ready. I was eager to sit down and listen to some mind-blowing music that I had never even heard before.

Mr Booth, Head of the Oldham Music Service gave a short little introduction to give an idea of what this brilliant brass ensemble had to offer. Then they began. The fascinating first theme was the Peter Gunn theme from ‘The Blues Brothers’ movie, and it was played excellently. One tuba stood up, walked straight down the middle of the church playing perfectly to the other players, then later on in the piece of music they were all standing up, bobbing up and down to the beat of the music and hilariously using the big bell of each of the instruments to scare the children. I couldn’t stop laughing. This first and unforgettable piece was one to remember.

Later, after they had all played some absolutely amazing pieces of music, there was a quite unique piece of Scottish music that they

played. The reason for this piece being uniquely unforgettable was not because of some admirable music, but because of some honourable singing to the soft Scottish music. First it was one singing, then as he came off there was a small pause and they all came in, different harmonies, different styles but still memorable music.

As well as playing some simply breath-taking music they also told us a few things too. One tuba player talked about the ability of being able to play and speak at the same time (multi-phonics). Obviously, it sounded different to normal playing but it definitely made me giggle on the fact that somebody could actually do that on a musical instrument. Loved it.

Overall this was one of the best concerts I’ve been to, set up by my amazing music teacher, Mr Beckwith. I was able to experience an ensemble that I will never forget. Each one of the players in the ensemble was enthusiastic in their own funny and memorable way, all the magnificent music was played with such detail and in such good ways. Even though I am a cornet and trumpet player myself I thought that this tuba ensemble was a truly mind-blowing concert that I will never ever forget.

We were part of the first group to take this award with the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band (and Black Dyke Band). The ceremony took place during the Black Dyke concert and we went on stage one by one. The people who were from Saddleworth school who completed it were Bridget Atkins, Connie Guttridge, Ben Hill-Wilson, George Sleight, Sam Smithies and myself.

It was very nerve-racking going on a stage in front of a huge hall full of people, however I was pleased that after all the hard work we’d done, it was finally over and we were being rewarded.

The Arts Award is a nationally recognised qualification by the Trinity College London. It gives you the chance to develop your arts skills, which for me is playing my instrument, but it could be dancing, art or drama. You had to plan how you were going to do it and then record what you did and what you learned in an Arts Award booklet. In the evidence, you could include videos, pictures, or audio clips and there was an online space where you could record it all, called the ‘arts box’. The Bronze award has four parts. Each part looked at the arts skills from a different angle. In Part A, you learn or improve a skill. Part B looked at music from a spectator point of view; you had to describe being part of the audience at a concert and share the review publicly. Then for part C you had to research somebody who was an inspiration to you. The final part D you had to pass on your skills and teach somebody or a group.

The Bronze arts award took 6 months to complete and it was a lot of hard work, especially part A as we had to record a lot of evidence in videos and pictures so t took the longest amount of time and the most effort had to be put in. However, there were easy parts. For example, I found part C easy as all we had to do was research someone and get others views on that person.

Doing an arts award, no-matter whether it is gold, silver or bronze, is definitely worth the hard work. It gives you UKIP points which are points that go towards University and they give you a higher chance of getting in.

At the time of writing, some of us have already started on the next level, the Silver Arts award. This is supposed to be more detail and will probably take most of the year to complete.

By Chiara Eckersley (Yr 8)

Yorkshire Brass Band Arts Award

Together with five other Brass players from Saddleworth School I was invited to the Awards Ceremony at Huddersfield Town Hall, where we were presented with our certificates for the Bronze Arts Award.

It was very nerve-racking going on a stage in front of a huge hall full of people, however I was pleased that after all the hard work we’d done, it was finally over and we were being rewarded.

Students perform at weddingPerforming the music for a loving couple’s wedding day is a privilege and an honour. It’s also takes an enormous amount of practice and commitment to ensure a smooth and beautiful sounding ceremony results. But that is just what two students of Saddleworth School did in their summer.Head girl Libby Collard (violinist) and Delphine Alsop (cellist) have given up a great deal of time over the past few months along with the string ensemble they are members of in preparation for the wedding of Des and Laura Oakley. The Ceremony at Manchester Civic Hall was a great success and the talented musicians played beautiful.

Laura said “ I just wanted to say a huge thank you for putting so much time and effort into providing music to our day, everyone commented on how lovely it was to have strings playing”.

They were so good that word has got around and they have been asked to play again for another happy couple on the 9th September.

On Friday 16th June, the School’s Brass Ensemble visited Avalon Park Care Home to play at their Open Day. The afternoon consisted of various groups from around the area performing for the residents, who enjoyed arrangements of ‘The Three Sea Shanties’, ‘McArthur Park’, and ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ to name just a few, which we played for them. Several residents even got involved by singing along to some of the pieces played, and we could all agree it was an enjoyable afternoon.

Avalon Park Care HomeBy Bridget Atkin (Yr 10)

This year’s annual summer concert was excellently organised by the Year 10 BTEC Music class, whose planning and preparation towards the event will be part of their course work and contribute towards their final grade. A special mention goes to Eve Matley, Hollie Appleby, Brandon Taylor, Morgan McDonald, Jack Newell, Archie Burke, Christian Bell and Keegan McGuinness for leading the event. (see centre spread)

Summer Music ConcertBy Bridget Atkin (Yr10)

The evening featured a range of musical ensembles, instruments and styles. This included, the Brass and Concert Bands, the Woodwind, Percussion, Strings and Guitar ensembles, Brass Quintet, Solos, Duets, Pop bands, the Pop Choir and Brass Xplosion. Music ranged from traditional Scottish compositions, pop and rock songs, Brass Band arrangements, medleys, and even a new piece of music composed by our very own Saddleworth School student, Delphine Alsop-Parsons.

The Concert was opened by the Brass Band playing ‘Adiemus’ by Karl Jenkins, and an arrangement titled ‘The Best of ABBA’ by Baernarts proved a popular start to the second half later in the evening. Concert Band played an arrangement of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, originally composed by Freddie Mercury and performed by Queen. The band was taken through this wonderful piece by Sam Smithies; a year 10 student and talented conductor and featured Year 8 Oliver Bates on the tenor horn playing the opening melody. The second piece played by this group was very originally called ‘Music’ composed by John Miles and arranged by Urs Stajli. It featured year 10 GCSE musician Ben Hill-Willson also on solo horn and showcased the immense sound of the many instrumentalists in the band.

Prize Winners

Left to right: Sam Smithies for Outstanding Contribution Award 2017, Bridget Atkin for The Donald Clarke Most improved Instrumentalist Award, Megan Bruton Award for Most Progress and Effort during Instrumental Music Lessons 2017 (sat at piano) Immogen Adams-Gibb Award for 100% Attendance to Instrumental Music Lessons 2017.

Summer Concert AwardsEach year it gives the music department great pleasure to award students who have gone above and beyond in terms of their musical contribution and development of musical skills. This year we have been delighted to give the following awards:Bridget AtkinTHE DONALD CLARKE AWARD FOR MOST IMPROVCED INSTRUMENTALIST 2017Awarded for outstanding levels of music performance on piano and cornet in GCSE music studies, excellent performance and commitment in school ensembles and real dedication to GCSE music studies at Saddleworth School.

Sam SmithiesOUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD 2017Awarded for outstanding commitment to musical activities at Saddleworth School including performance in ensembles and voluntary direction of the Concert Band.

Megan BrutonPROGRESS AND EFFORT AWARDAwarded for outstanding commitment to GCSE music studies, excellent progress as a vocalist and a real hard working attitude to ensure success in the music department this year.

Immogen Adams-Gibb100% ATTENDANCE TO INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS 2017Awarded for excellent commitment to instrumental music lessons, outstanding effort and contribution to musical ensembles and excellent effort in classroom music at Saddleworth School.

A huge well done to all this year’s prize winners – also a great big thank you and well done to each and every one of our talented young musicians for their hard work, dedication and fantastic commitment to music department activities throughout this year… let’s all look forward to an outstanding 2017/2018 academic year.

The mass Guitar Ensemble played ‘Only You’ from the hit T.V programme ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ and ‘Enola Gay’, demonstrating the unique sound achieved by many guitarists performing together. The Woodwind Ensemble presented two amazing pieces entitled ‘Pink Panther I’ll Be There For You’ and ‘You Raise Me Up/Crazy in Love’, whilst the String Ensemble entertained with their versions of ‘Run’ by ‘Snow Patrol’ and the magnificent song ‘One Day Like This’ by ‘Elbow’ which featured every instrument in the group playing the tune. The Percussion Ensemble played a very traditional Scottish piece called ‘Highland Cathedral’, which has been played by countless different musical groups over the years and in many different arrangements. Brass Quintet performed ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ by Francesco Sartori, and ‘Macarthur Park’, originally composed by Jim Webb and arranged by Alan Fernie. Thank you to Chiara Eckersley for stepping in to play with this group. Brass Xplosion, the School’s ten-piece Brass Ensemble,

played an arrangement of a very famous brass band piece called ’76 Trombones’. A special mention must go to Dan Smithies, who agreed to perform with the band at the last minute to assist in this piece. The Pop choir amazed yet again with their rendition of ‘SING’ by Pentatonix.

The Year 10 BTEC class had held auditions over a number of weeks and the first of the chosen soloists to perform this year was Chloe Whatmough, performing a brilliant version of ‘Supermarket Flowers’ by Ed Sheeran. ‘Deal With It’, a talented Year 8 Rock Band with members Oliver Vance, Oliver Bates, Tom Mitchell and Ryan Connor, played ‘5 Colours in Her Hair’ by McFly, and the wonderful Eve Matley and Rowan Heywood amazed yet again with their performance of ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ by Etta James. A fabulous duet by Megan Bruton and Delphine Alsop-Parson astonished all as they performed Delphine’s own composition called ‘Memories’ and the two star GCSE musicians performed this piano and vocal ballad brilliantly. Our final solo of the evening was by Maddison Potter-Farrants, who once again blew everyone away with her powerful rendition of ‘Feeling Good’ by ‘Muse’.

The final performance of the evening was a memorable version of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ by Oasis, involving the year 10 BTEC Music class, the pop choir and, of course, audience participation.

Finally our annual awards were presented.

This was a brilliant concert that showcased the wide range of musical talent here at Saddleworth School. Well done everyone!

We had brass, woodwind and string players all coming together to create our version of an ending to the ‘Unfinished Symphony’. On the trip, we had a chance to enhance our performing skills whilst working as an to compose different types of moods throughout the piece, we even had improvisational solos from: Delphine Alsop-Parsons playing the cello, Ben Hill-Wilson playing tenor horn, Adam Cartwright playing flute and Connie Guttridge playing the trombone. We also had a really good opportunity to work on our playing and listening skills which will help us in future ensemble pieces, in and out of school. All the instrumentalists who came on the trip learnt a lot and worked hard, but we also had a lot of fun. We are grateful to the Music Department and Jonathan James who hosted the workshop for allowing and running such an outstanding trip.

After the workshop, we had the chance to see The Vienna Tonkunstler orchestra perform Schubert’s unfinished symphony live in concert, along with other pieces: Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and Brahm’s Symphony No.2. Libby Collard, 10E said: “It was amazing how all the violinists moved in perfect time with each other.” The concert was a great chance for us to see a wide range of instruments played professionally and experience the atmosphere of a professional orchestral concert - it was enjoyed by everybody!

On the 24th of February, the Music Department hosted a trip to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Pupils from all years had the opportunity to go to an amazing composition workshop to finish Schubert’s ‘Unfinished Symphony’.

Vienna Tonkunstler OrchestraBy Kirsten Fletcher and Lewis Fowden (Yr 10)

Spring Term Progress & Effort AwardsCongratulations to the following students for being nominated in their instrumental lessons in the 2017 Spring Term.

ProgressNatalie WoolhouseMegan DaviesSally GibsonJack SykesHope MoynihanDelphine Alsop-ParsonsLewis FowdenImogen Cox

EffortLucy ViellaErin McCorquodaleLucy Haddock WilliamsJack CollingeJames DivettLucy Beaumont

Spring Awards

Congratulations to the following students for 100% attendance at Instrumental lesson list for the Spring term 2017.

PercussionBridget BelcherJames DivettHollie ApplebyMolly SmithHope MoynihanHarry Rushworth

Lower StringsDelphine Alsop–ParsonsLewis Fowden

Upper StringsLucy BeaumontImogen CoxVarich Oakes-Garnett

VoiceDaisy DewsnapLucy ViellaPoppy StaffordMelissa DemsteaderMegan BrutonPhoebe FletcherIris Potter-WilliamsGrace WoodcockTilly Butterworth

WoodwindMaisie ReeceLeah TissingtonJessica LeighLucy ChapmanIsabella CookHoney MarlandBridget Seton-Jones

BrassImmogen Adams-GibbChiarra EckersleyWilliam YarwoodBen Hadfield

KeyboardPoppy StaffordOlivia CornesLusindy Liang

GuitarJack CollingeIsabelle LenehanEvie ClarkeJack SykesGrace ChallisJoe AtkinEve MoynihanBrandon TaylorSophie SouthernConnor Perry

100%Attendance

CongratulationsHannah-Louise Siddiqui has gained a place at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester to study violin and composition. The Junior RNCM provides expert tuition and specialist training for students with exceptional musical ability. Hannah will receive highly specialised musical training every Saturday. We are extremely proud of her and hope she enjoys and is successful with her musical studies.

Year 11 leaversThank you to Hannah-Louise Siddiqui and Abigail Williams for performing in their last Music concert last Thursday. Hannah-Louise led and performed with the String Ensemble that she was responsible for setting up with Mr Wadsworth some years ago and she has encouraged it to grow in numbers after initially starting with the two of them. Abigail has strongly led the clarinet section of the Concert Band for years. Both students displayed excellent musical skills.

Thank you to them both and we wish them every success with their future studies.

Summer Awards

Congratulations to the following students for 100% attendance at Instrumental lesson list for the Summer term 2017.

PercussionBridget BelcherJames DivettHollie ApplebyMolly SmithHope MoynihanAaron WilleyCameron HaighZack EckersleyBradley JohnOliver VanceIsabelle KowalcyzckOliver BatesNiamh Simpson

Lower StringsDelphine Alsop–ParsonsLewis Fowden

Upper StringsImogen Cox

VoiceDaisy DewsnapElliot WardNeve SlingoLucy ViellaNatalie WoolhouseMelissa DemsteaderPhoebe FletcherMadison HoltGrace ThackerayIris Potter-WilliamsErin McCorquodaleMadison Potter-FarrantsGrace WoodcockTilly Butterworth

WoodwindMaisie ReeceLeah TissingtonLola GladwinIsabelle KowalcyczkErin PerieraEleanor WhiteheadKatie LeeHoney MarlandBridget Seton-Jones

BrassImmogen Adams-GibbWilliam YarwoodBen HadfieldSam SmithiesGeorge SleightBen Hill-WilsonAledx DickinsonLouis BarrassRachel WilliamsOliver BatesMarley Reece-BoydDaniel SmithiesOliver SleightZoe CumminsEllie JonesAmelia Reford

GuitarJack CollingeEvie ClarkeJoe AtkinJack AttwaterNeve SlingoJack VarleyBen HarrottHannah Smith

KeyboardPoppy StaffordOlivia Cornes

100%Attendance

Katie Lee Saxophone Step 2 Commended

Honey Marland Saxophone Step 2 Highly Commended

Louis Barrass Tuba Grade 4 - Merit

Oliver Bates Tenor Horn Grade 4 - Merit

Alex Dickinson Tuba Grade 4 - Pass

Elliot Jones Cornet Grade 4 - Pass

Lucy Beaumont Violin Grade 4 - Pass

Imogen CoxViolin Grade 4 - Merit

Bridget AtkinPiano Grade 6 - Merit

Penny AllsoppPiano Grade 3 - Merit

Erin Pereira Flute Grade 4 - Merit

Isabelle Kowalczyk Flute Grade 4 - Distinction

Lola Gladwin Flute Grade 4 - Merit

Tabitha Davies Flute Grade 4 - Distinction

Eleanor Whitehead Flute Grade 3 - Merit

Lila Robinson Flute Grade 3 - Pass

Adam Cartwright Flute Grade 4 - Merit

Maisie Reece Flute Grade 4 - Merit

Leah Tissington Flute Grade 4 - Pass

Lucy Chapman Clarinet Grade 4 - Pass

Isabella Cook Clarinet Grade 4 - Pass

Millie Hampson Oboe Grade 3 - Distinction

Charlie Cook Oboe Grade 3 - Merit

Isobel Fletcher Oboe Grade 3 - Merit

InstrumentalExam Successes

Progress & Effort AwardsCongratulations to the following students for being nominated in their instrumental lessons in the 2017 Summer Term.

ProgressNeve SlingoOlivia CornesKirsten FletcherSam SmithiesJack SykesHope MoynihanDelphine Alsop-ParsonsImogen Cox

EffortMegan BrutonElliot WardBridget Seton-JonesJack KenyonNeve Slingo Aaron WilleyLewis FowdenLucy Beaumont

The classic American comedic teen production was opened by Mr. Milburn’s enthusiastic speech, leading on to an exciting chant of “We want Grease!” from the audience. The music then began. A brilliant orchestra of incredibly talented students, led by the wonderful, Mr. Beckwith. In the opening scene, we met most of the characters. This included the T-Birds and Pink Ladies, performing the song “Summer Nights” with great spirit and brilliant accents. Each actor portrayed their role wonderfully and the accents were good enough to be real Americans!

As the play advanced, the audience watched in awe at the romantic scenes from Danny (Sebastian Lowe) and Sandy (Melissa Demsteader). The traditional “Grease Lightning” song was performed with extreme enthusiasm from lead singer Kenickie (Megan Bruton) along with the other T-Birds; Joseph Taylor (Doody), Kian Hurst-Conroy (Roger), Eden Potter Williams (Sonny), Sebastian Lowe (Danny), Benjamin Wylie (Johnny Casino) and Thomas Hewitt (Eugene). The energy was really high and the actors and audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the whole song.

A favourite song for both me and Tilly was “Sandra Dee” with the brilliant singer Maddison Potter-Farrants (Rizzo) portraying her character excellently. The Pink Ladies made a real impression in the sleepover scene, with each character’s personality clearly being displayed. The sweet hearted, beauty obsessed Frenchy (Bridget Belcher), bossy but hilarious Rizzo (Madison Potter-Farrants), caring but sometimes rule-breaking Jan (Eve Matley), fancy Marty (Lucy Beaumont) and of course the good girl Sandy (Melissa Demsteader). During the scene Marty went on to sing her beautiful solo “Freddie my Love” with sweet backings from the girls.

One memorable character though was the adoring teen angel, Vince, played by Saddleworth’s very own, Joseph Wheeler. With

regular spotlight and laughs from the audience, he was just about my favourite character. The song “Beauty School Dropout” was sung amazingly, with lovely backing singers. As well as the main characters, I would like to give a special mention to some of the chorus singers involved in songs and scenes. There was the highly energetic Joshua Bruton and the angelic dancers Lily Wyatt, Maddison Holt, Chloe Rowbottom, Charlotte Whittaker, Zoe Hall, Ellie O’Reilly and Daisy Dewsnapp. Vince was also a main role in the dance competition, in which Olivia Blundell took to the stage with her sassy role of Cha-Cha. There was also the geeky girl Patty played by Eleanor Byrom who was desperate to dance with Danny! We can’t forget Miss Lynch though! Played brilliantly by Sarah Jane McDonald.

A truly brilliant performance in my opinion but what did the audience think?

We asked Kimberley Dewsnap her thoughts. “I think it’s brilliant,” she went to say “Brilliant actors and singing, there is no best bit for me because I loved it all. The solos were also great.”

Another audience member, Duncan McCorquodale, told us his thoughts. “It’s excellent and I think Rizzo is played very well and amazing at singing.” Rizzo was played by Maddison Potter-Farrants, one of my favourite actors too. “My favourite song was Summer Nights.”

After those interviews, Tilly and I went to ask the actors their thoughts on the performance. There was a popular comment on teamwork with most actors stating they worked very well as a team.

Bridget was particularly happy and said, “I would do it again and again and again!” along with Melissa who said she was, “Buzzing!” to do the show. We also managed to get a great quote from Megan, “I am the girl playing the boy and I loved it!”

GreaseBy Erin McCorquodale and Tilly Butterworth (Yr 7)

As I’m new to Saddleworth, I hadn’t yet witnessed the true talents of some of the pupils here and the drama side of our school. What I saw on that night was a pleasure with wonderful singing and acting shared! My friend, Tilly Butterworth, also did the journalism with me, and so I have written her notes in here too!

Cast list Sarah Jane McDonald, Eleanor Byrom, Thomas Hewitt, Eve Matley, Lucy Beaumont, Maddison Potter-Farrants, Joseph Taylor, Kian Hurst-Conroy, Megan Bruton, Eden Potter Williams, Bridget Belcher, Melissa Demsteader, Sebastian Lowe, Benjamin Wylie, Joseph Wheeler, Olivia Blundell, Maddison Holt, Lily Wyatt, Ellie O’Reilly, Daisy Dewsnapp, Chloe Rowbottom, Joshua Bruton, Zoe Hall, Charlotte Whittaker

MusiciansDelphine Alsop-Parsons, Brandon Taylor, Morgan McDonald, Rowan Heywood, Oliver Bates, Masie Reece, Leah Tissington, Ted Hailwood, Spike Knight, Jeremy Knight, George Sleight, Ben Hill-Wilson, Connie Guttridge and Sam Smithies

Teachers (plus sound and lighting)

Glenn Knight, Aaron Smith, Miss Vandenburg, Ms Green, Mr Beckwith, Mrs Pickett

What a fantastic show, from beginning to end the enthusiasm of the cast was infectious. Principles were outstanding, and the chorus gave it their all.

The musical numbers had the audience tapping their feet, and “Grease Lightning” was a show stopper.

Musicians can make or break a show, and these young people contributed to its success, never too loud in fact just perfect.

Music Extra Curricular Activities

Ensemble audition noticesAuditions / applications for membership to the following ensembles will shortly be taking place:• National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain • National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great Britain • National Children’s Wind Band of Great Britain • National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain• Yorkshire Youth Brass Band• Hallé Youth Choir• Hallé Youth Orchestra

If you would like more information and application packs please see Mr Beckwith in the Music Office.

SaddleworthSchool

High Street, Uppermill, Oldham OL3 6BUT: 01457 872072 E: music@saddleworthschool.org W: saddleworth.oldham.sch.uk

Thanks go to Dave Gillon for taking photos.

A huge thank you to the Instrumental staff this year for their teaching and

continued support of the students and the department. Hope you all have an

excellent holiday and good rest.

Andy Housley, Adrian Smith, Angie Radcliffe, Tory Clarke,

Tracey Hartnell-Booth, Jon Leedale, Helena Drumm.

Day Ensemble Time Staff Room

Monday KS4 Support Session 3.30pm - 4.30pm Mrs Pickett A6

TuesdayYear 7 Brass GroupPercussion EnsembleBrass Xplosion

1.00pm - 1.40pm12.45pm - 1.40pm3.30pm - 4.30pm

Mr BeckwithMr SmithMr Beckwith

A5Instrumental RoomHall

Wednesday Pop Choir 1.15pm - 2.15pm Mrs Radcliffe A6

ThursdayConcert BandWoodwind EnsembleY11 GCSE Music Listening

8.00am - 8.40am12.45pm - 1.20pm1.00pm - 1.40pm

Mrs PickettMrs PickettMr Beckwith

HallA6A5

Friday

Brass Band String GroupBrass EnsembleGCSE Brass GroupShow Orchestra

8.00am - 8.40am8.00am - 8.40am12.45pm - 1.20pm1.00pm - 1.40pm3.30pm - 4.30

Mr BeckwithMrs PickettMrs PickettMr BeckwithMr Beckwith

HallA6A6A5A5

PLEASE CHECK INSTRUMENTAL LESSON TIMES ON THE NOTICEBOARD AND THE WEBSITE