Music

Music at Heathlands

Heathlands has a thriving music department. We have 4 peripatetic teachers so our dedicated music room is in constant use.  Pupils can learn clarinet, flute, guitar, oboe, piano, singing, and violin. Many of our pupils do the ABRSM music exams and some go on to take secondary school places on a music scholarship. If your child wishes to have lessons, full details, and the waiting list, are in the school office, or contact our music co-ordinator, Mrs White, at sarahwhite@heathlands.essex.sch.uk

We are a singing school and have been awarded the Sing-up bronze award. All children are taught the mechanics of singing, both in the classroom and during hymn practice. In the last few years we have participated in the Roman Rivers Finale. This involves a specialist teacher coming in and helping the children compose their own song as well as learning an existing work. Both songs are sung as part of a Music Festival and give the children experience of performing with a live orchestra.

Our Choir

There is a school choir which is open to all. The choir leads the village carols at Christmas and in recent years has done concerts with outside groups such as Colchester Choral Society in the Moot Hall, The Rotary Club at St Botolph’s and Colchester World Music Quire at St Mary’s, West Bergholt.  We also sing at the Colchester Schools’ Music Festival held at the Charter Hall and take part in the Rotary Choir Competition each year.

The orchestra

Our school orchestra encourages great team work and the player of the week has the chance to conduct a piece of their choosing. The orchestra has performed at the Rotary Concert at St. Botolph’s and accompanies the school Christmas Assembly every year. The music is arranged specifically for a whole range of abilities (from beginner up to grade 5) so every child can participate no matter where they are on their musical journey. The West Bergholt Concert Band rehearses at the school one evening a week and we encourage our more able players to join their training band where appropriate.

All children are taught to play a musical instrument in Y4 by a teacher from Essex Music services. Lessons encourage performance, experimentation and composition as well as basic music reading.

We love to celebrate our musicians so twice a year we have musical assemblies where our children have the chance to perform a piece of their choosing. Children often perform music as part of their class assemblies too, ensuring every child has the chance to perform.

School productions

These are a rite of passage for our pupils. Every year Y6 do a big production in the Summer Term and in which Y5 do a sterling job acting as the choir, EYFS have a nativity at Christmas in addition to an alternating infants/lower junior Christmas production.

Visiting Musicians

It has been the music department’s policy to have at least one live performance by visiting musicians every year and to have a music workshop for as many children as possible. Past visitors have been Quire in Education, Rock Steady, Samba Drumming, and The Abbeygate Concert Band as well as small groups from Essex Music Services.

Music across the Curriculum

Music is used in all sorts of imaginative ways by our staff, be it background music for writing or art, comparing past music with more modern music, singing times tables, exploring sound waves, dancing in different styles, learning about music from a particular time to go with theme work, composing, learning subject related songs, or simply for fun.

In short, Music and the Arts are alive and well at Heathlands.