The Joy of Band
As the summer holidays drew to a close, a group of music students were able to experience three fantastic days of intensive music making at the College. This was Band Camp 2022.
The college Bandcamp once again gave students a challenging, positive, and motivating learning environment based upon the current musical development.
An impressive array of tutors gave master classes, took rehearsals, and gave individual lessons to the college musicians.
It was certainly not all hard work, as intermingled into the timetable were teambuilding activities to allow the young people to hone their team skills which of course is so important in a musical ensemble.
The musicians worked on challenging music and this camp had the focus of a new composition commissioned by the college community to celebrate the tenure of former headteacher Paul Dickinson. The work by the college brass tutor and outstanding composer, Adam Roberts, has as a central theme, the sounding of the college Bell System. This is an impressive work and at its world premiere at awards evening in the new academic year will be a great success and also a tremendous tribute to the legacy of former headteacher Paul Dickinson. Mr Dickinson of course was a tremendous supporter and advocate for music education so this is a fitting way to commemorate his legacy.
At the conclusion of the final concert on the Saturday, parents, audience, and band members were treated to a visit by the local ice cream van. A special thanks to band members for all the hard work, dedication, and commitment they showed throughout the intensive three days.
Mr Chris Tratt, Senior Band Director, said at the conclusion of the Bandcamp, “Students are always a joy to work with, they show commitment, motivation, and loyalty to the music program of the college. We are deeply impressed with their resilience and commitment to achieving high standards in all that they do. Thank you, and yes “only the best will do”.
Did you know?
“Music education greatly enhances students’ understanding and achievement in non-musical subjects. For example, a ten-year study, which tracked over 25,000 middle and high school students, showed that students in music classes receive higher scores on standardized tests than students with little to no musical involvement. The musical students scored, on average, sixty-three points higher on the verbal section and forty-four points higher on the math sections of the SATs than non-music students (Judson). When applying to colleges, these points could be the difference between an acceptance letter and a rejection letter”.
