Primary phase newsletter 31.03.23
Secondary phase newsletter 31.03.23
Musical News – 31st March
Well done to all
A Celebration of Singing & Strings!
In the Strings and Singing concert, I was performing in Chamber Choir, Musical Theatre ensemble and a Musical Theatre trio. My favourite piece I performed was At The Ballet from Chorus Line as it's the best I think I have ever sung in front of an audience and I was able to incorporate my passion for acting as well. I also think that everyone performed incredibly well, it was great to see how many people are involved in the ensembles, especially the string group, and it was a brilliant event to showcase how talented everyone is. I didn’t have one specific highlight but it was so great to see how confident everyone was and to experience such a range of music. Every piece sounded so incredible! It was obvious how hard everyone worked to create such an amazing concert and it was really inspiring for everyone to look up to what they could achieve in the future.
Rosie, Year 11
I was participating in the Strings and Singing event. It was amazing! The atmosphere was joyful, and every song sounded great. My favourite part about it was taking part in the Senior Strings and playing Fawkes the Phoenix.
Summer, Year 7
Videos from the Evening- click the top right hand corner to see the whole playlist




Herts & Ware Music Festival - "Esther"
Earlier this month we took the Larch Senior Choir to perform at the Herts and Ware Music Festival in the Ware Drill Hall. The children took part in a production called Esther which was composed by the local composer Paul Burrell and they performed in a chorus of over 150 children from different primary schools in the area. The production was a roaring success and the children made us hugely proud of them from start to finish with their fantastic singing and professionalism. There were also outstanding individual performances from Zach and Archie who had major roles in the production.
In my performance of Paul Burrell’s Cantata ‘Esther’, I played the role of Mordecai with a dozen other actors around my age. We had all learnt our lines, our solo songs and our roles in the play. In my opinion, Esther was an absolutely amazing masterpiece and I am looking forward to what Mr Burrell will do next!
Archie, Year 5
The character I played is an arrogant King called Xerxes. I find that playing him was quite fun because I loved being quite royal and how much expression I had to show. I really enjoyed every single part of being Xerxes.
I think the cast were really good performers at there roles as they showed so much expression during the 2 nights. I think that they were really nice and welcoming when Archie and I came as we didn’t know anyone. They were really good actors and I think they should perform again.
Zach, Year 6
Trinity Rock & Pop Exams
Earlier this month, some of our students sat their Trinity Rock & Pop Exams. What an achievement - they should be so proud.
Click the image to see the results.
Music Medals
In the primary phase, our younger musicians have been taking their music medals!
-
Hattie, Annie, Xander and Summer passed their silver violin medals.
-
Sofia, Olivia, Rosie, Marlee, Seb, Max, William and Chloe passed their copper medals.
-
Rosa, Beau, Isabella, Ava, Isla and Eloise passed their bronze medals.
-
Evie, Marnie, Renae and Freya passed their copper medals.
-
Loris passed his copper medal on bassoon and his bronze medal on flute.
Congratulations to you all!
A Celebration of Larch Music
Well done to everyone for the amazing primary music celebration earlier this month. It was a triumph, with over 100 musicians involved. The quality of music performed and celebration from the audience was amazing. Music is most certainly alive in the Larch!
Videos from the Evening- click the top right hand corner to see the whole playlist
Rock Gig
Rock School is a fabulous part of our work and rehearses on a Tuesday. 55 musicians work in bands bringing together music they have selected and students learn how to work in teams - the bands, support each other and grow in confidence. It was a superb community at the gig this week where the standard of performance was an inspiration. Congratulations to everyone who performed, and thank you to everyone who came as audience. Without an audience, the gigs and concerts are nothing!!
Videos from the Evening- click the top right hand corner to see the whole playlist
Coming Up:
Primary phase newsletter 17.03.23
Secondary phase newsletter 17.03.23
Musical News – March 2023
What a musical time.....
Mark Taylor, Director of Music
Meet the Music Ambassador!
We re getting to know our Music Ambassadors in Y6 and Y13 this year, please see our most recent posts!
Lawrence, Y12, joined the ambassador team in September. He heavily involved in music ensembles across the All-Through, and provides excellent support for our larch musicians. He is a valued member of the team!

A Celebration of Brass
"I really enjoyed performing in the Celebration of Brass concert as we got to showcase everything we had been working on and everyone was very supportive. It was great how it involved students from the larch all the way up to year 13 as it meant younger students could be inspired by the older ones and it shows that music is for anyone of any age. We played a variety of different genres of music including choral music, classical, and a hip hop mash up, showing the audience that brass instruments are very versatile. The concert also showed all the brass instruments that are played at Simon Balle like the trumpet, trombone, tuba and the more unusual ones like the flugelhorn and the piccolo trumpet. I thought it was a very successful concert as everyone had worked hard in rehearsals and it definitely paid off and I heard many audience members say how much they enjoyed it. The highlight of the concert for me was performing a solo to the song tango final by Astor Piazzolla with the rest of the ensemble playing the backing. It was such an amazing experience as I had never done anything like that before and it was a lot of fun. I thought I would be nervous but I was totally absorbed in the music. It was great!"
May, Year 10

An Evening with the Simon Balle Big Band
The Simon Balle Big Band continue to excel, work so hard and achieve amazing musical things. They are at the top of our musical pyramid and performed with such professionalism. I am so proud of them as a group of musicians, reaching a standard rarely seen in schools. Do read these two reviews. I am especially taken by Millie's - her favourite piece was YMCA. If I had a pound for every time I have performed that....... it is now part of our musical folklore.
Mark Taylor
"Big Band is a yearly event that goes on in the main school hall that is a long, upbeat performance of popular songs, like I will survive and Blame it on the Boogie.
The evening was an absolute blast. All the songs sounded amazing and nothing seemed to go wrong! From the first song I was enjoying myself and that did not change for the rest of the night. Some of my favourite songs were Smooth, Absoludicrous and I’ve got you under my skin. Although I have to say, even though it wasn't my moment, my favourite moment of the evening was Luke’s solo in Tank! It sounded incredible and it will stay in my head for a long time."
Jacob, Year 13
Recently I played with the Simon Balle Big Band at the Big Band Evening and it was such an amazing experience. I have gained so much confidence playing in front of lots of people and had a great time too. My favourite part was when we played YMCA at the end of the show and absolutely everyone got up to dance. I'm so glad I got to be a part of it.
Millie, Year 9




Mr Stevenson's Drumming Evening
It was wonderful to celebrate our drummers! Usually they are hidden away at the back of ensembles (out of sight, but not sound!), so it is important to celebrate them individually. What musicality and skill on display!
Year 2 Strings Celebration Concert
The foundations of so much of our music now starts in the Larch. Our Year 2 Strings Training Programme. 41 musicians (from Year 2) performed with such confidence, musicality and skill. They have been learning less than two terms. With funding from the Hertfordshire Music Service, this is a unique musical programme.
I cannot express enough how proud I am of the young musicians, starting out on their musical journey - for many, their first public concert. We are truly an all through musical school.
Guitar Platform Evening
A beautiful Guitar Platform was held this week showcasing our amazing acoustic guitar players. The technical skills on display were wonderful and it was a joy to listen to what had been rehearsed and learnt.
Well done to everyone who took part.

Save the Dates 2023!
Please save our What's On page - everything you could possibly need to know is below:
See some of our upcoming concerts >