20th March 2024Heather Morgan

Welcome back!

Being proud of our musicians is a daily occurrence at Simon Balle. Every day they never fail to amaze. Surprises, musical achievements, laughs, great music, amazing stories.

This is purely as a result of our ethos and hard work. Hard work from the musicians and you at home. Without your help at home, our musicians would achieve nothing. Without you listening to practice, celebrating, coming to performances and taking an interest, the musicians would be nothing.

Music is a team effort. In every way. When one member lets the team down, the team is affected. It is, above all though, something that requires very hard work. Commitment.

We live in an age where almost everything is instant, achievable, and gratifying, and if it isn't, there's almost always an easy fix. Not so with learning music. It isn't easy, you have to persevere, and you have many ups and downs along the way. But, it's oh so worth it.

Enjoy the music. That your children create. With your support.

Mark Taylor

Director of Music

Music Exam Success

In February, students from Year 4 to Year 12 sat their Trinity Classical exams.

Preparing for and sitting the exam can be a daunting experience, but students rose to the challenge and their results reflect this!

87% achieved Merit or Distinction, which is incredible!

Click the Trinity logo for the results.

 

A Celebration of Brass

On Thursday, Brass players from across both the Primary and Secondary phase came together to showcase what they have been working on!

It was a brilliant evening with opportunity for inspiration! You can watch it here!

 

Last Thursday I performed at the Brass celebration evening in the Brass ensemble. I feel that it came together really well and everyone worked together very hard to produce lots of good music. My highlight of the evening is when I played a solo piece called Lucky to be me. It was such a confidence boosting experience and I am much more comfortable playing on my own in front of an audience.  

Millie, Year 10

Click in the top corner for more videos!

An Evening with the Simon Balle Big Band

Big Band Evening 2024 was absolutely amazing! To have each and every musician perform at the standard they achieved was incredible.

The team work, the musicianship, the sense of community, your enjoyment, people coming from far and wide and so much more. Younger musicians watching the older musicians, new musicians joining the experience. These are amazing students performing at such an incredible standard, working so, so hard. Everyone made a huge step up and grew that little bit more.
It was an utterly brilliant evening, and everyone should be so proud! Please enjoy the videos!

I played saxophone in Big Band 2 and violin in Senior Strings, accompanying the Big Band. This was my first Big Band Night, and the atmosphere was unlike any concert I'd been in before! The strings contributed to the sound and tone of the more jazzier Big Band pieces so much, I think the strings should do more with the Big Band. With barely any rehearsals, BB2 went smoothly, offering younger musicians a chance to perform in the Big Band Nights. I loved being part of some ensembles and listening to all of the Big Band songs - I can't pick a favorite! The night never seemed to end!

Holly, Year 8

Click in the top corner for more videos!

Year 2 Strings Training Celebration

Congratulations to our Year 2 String players who have completed their Strings Training Programme!

On Tuesday evening, our Year 2 String players showcased their achievement to parents, families and their peers with the support from Mrs Johnson and Mrs Nunn.

Strings is the very beginning of the musical journey in the Larch. Students pick to learn the Cello or the Violin, and begin working towards their Strings Training Programme!

All Year 2 players have been awarded their certificates, what an incredible achievement! We are really proud of our students!

You can watch the full celebration evening here:

Click in the top corner for more videos!

A Celebration of Singing & Secondary Strings

A wonderful evening full of music from a variety of ensembles!

Find our videos here:

 

Click in the top corner for more videos!

A Piano Evening

Another brilliant evening of music!

Mr Lovell's students came together for a recital evening in preparation for their upcoming exams.

 

Click in the top corner for more videos!

Our Instagram!

We are continuously posting updates over on our Instagram - from exam success to concert videos, to photos - follow us for all things Simon Balle Music here!

We are on Instagram

It is coming up to diploma season for some of our Year 13 musicians - the culmination of so many years of hard work. Here is Joe, in rehearsal with our live band, preparing for his Jazz clarinet diploma in June. To be working with musicians at this advanced standard is incredible, yet something we do every year. Enjoy listening!

#music #simonballemusic #musicdiplomas #simonballemusiconthemic #simonballeallthroughschool #hertfordshire #education #teammusic

Open
It is coming up to diploma season for some of our Year 13 musicians - the culmination of so many years of hard work. Here is Joe, in rehearsal with our live band, preparing for his Jazz clarinet diploma in June. To be working with musicians at this advanced standard is incredible, yet something we do every year. Enjoy listening! #music #simonballemusic #musicdiplomas #simonballemusiconthemic #simonballeallthroughschool #hertfordshire #education #teammusic

Behind the scenes!

A little sneak peak of the set up needed for the Larch Celebration - there is so much to be done!

Our Music Ambassadors and the Site team work so hard, and we really could not do it without any of them!

#music #simonballemusic #musicambassadors #simonballemusiconthemic #simonballeallthroughschool #hertfordshire #education #teammusic

Open
Behind the scenes! A little sneak peak of the set up needed for the Larch Celebration - there is so much to be done! Our Music Ambassadors and the Site team work so hard, and we really could not do it without any of them! #music #simonballemusic #musicambassadors #simonballemusiconthemic #simonballeallthroughschool #hertfordshire #education #teammusic

What's Coming Up?

We have so many upcoming events, including our spring term Rock Gig and a Celebration of Wind and Brass.

All information can be found on our What's On page!

Save the date! Our end of year celebration at Saffron is Saturday 6th July, keep an eye out for more details on the Saffron page (click the picture).

Many other events can be found on our What's on page: https://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/music/whats-on/