We hope you all enjoyed the individual and group performances from our young pianists, trumpeteers and violinists. We were so impressed by their levels of commitment and musicality. Thank you to our instrument teachers for their ongoing teaching and to parents for supporting children’s practice.
Year 6 Show – Daffodil Scissors
Year 6 excelled in their performance of Daffodil Scissors. Not only did they sing, dance and act but they also wrote many of the songs with our musician in residence, Pete Letanka. The children worked brilliantly as a team, supporting each other very well and allowing personalities to shine through.
A special well done to Michael, Theo, Jonatan and Ramez for their management of the stage and the lighting.
Thank you to all the parents who came along to support their child – here are the photos as promised – lots of group shots towards the end ( over 100 photos)
Suzuki Violin Performance 19th June
On Friday, 19th June, Charles Dickens Primary School’s Suzuki Method violinists performed their repertoire near the Barbican at St Giles-without-Cripplegate church. Along with students from other schools who are taught in this method, they played in two rehearsals culminating in their wonderful hour-long performance. Mrs Manning, Mr Cole and some parents of our violin students were very impressed by the children’s playing ability, sensible behaviour and the camaraderie between our students from Years 2 to 6. They were superb representatives of our school throughout the day.
Spring Term Music Concert – A celebration of beginners.
Well done to all our young musicians this week who performed in the Spring Term Music Concert. Many performers have only been learning since September 2014 so it is wonderful to see their progress. It was also a joy to hear the Silver Strings Group perform Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’. All the practising and dedication is paying off!
Year Five Jazz Concert
Last night, the Year Five pupils amazed their parents with a fantastic Jazz concert – the culmination of their work with our resident musician, Pete Letanka. The children improvised, played, sang and danced their way through a number of Jazz standards and original compositions. We were very impressed by the pupils’ commitment and bravery when they volunteered to sing and dance “freestyle” – just another example of our pupils’ amazing talents! Thanks to Pete and his band for working with us – we can’t wait for next time!
Concert for Winter Performance!
Today, we were treated to an amazing performance by the Year 3 and 4 choir and ukulele clubs. Last term, Mr Oxenham and Ms Gemmell worked very hard with the children in order to compose and perform a fantastic original composition. The children were inspired by Charles Dickens and the resulting song “Hard Times” focuses on Dickens’ life as a child, when he lived on Lant Street. The talented team performed their piece on stage at Shakespeare’s Globe before Christmas and everyone was delighted to finally be given the chance to share their work. We can’t wait for their next creation!
Recorder Concert
Last Tuesday, Years 2, 3 and 4 performed their learning from this term’s recorder lessons. Each year group performed a selection of songs learnt by heart. Learning this term also includes musical notation, rhythm and pitch. The children in year 4 have transferred their knowledge of the descant recorder to the treble. Here is a short video of one of the Year 4 songs. Thank you to Southwark Music hub for providing the weekly lessons
Two Choirs, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare and a whole lot of Ukuleles
You are probably wondering what they all have in common?
The answer is the children of Charles Dickens Primary School this week….
It starts with the Year 5 and 6 choir who have been performing carols in and around SE1 this week. So far, the choir have raised nearly £100 for Marie Curie Cancer Care following singing at London Bridge Station. On Wednesday, this group of marvellous singers performed at the Dog and The Pot near Southwark Tube station and raised much needed funds for our Musical Tuition Bursary Fund which supports talented keen pupils in learning an instrument.
Thank you to the choir for giving up their lunchtimes to rehearse and perform and also to Ms Rhys Evans for leading them. Next week, the choir is performing at Connect, the charity supporting people who suffer from Aphasia following a stroke.
Staying with the Charles Dickens theme, the Year 3 and 4 choir , alongside the Ukulele club,wrote a song all about Charles Dickens’ early childhood living on Lant Street and visiting his father in Marshalsea Prison. They also performed this rather wonderful song in Shakeapeare’s Globe ( here’s the Shakespeare link) as part of ‘Concert for Winter’, accompanied by the year 3/4 Ukuleles. Special thanks to Mr Oxenham and Ms Gemmell for leading such a rewarding project.
Music ‘Improvers’ Concert
Well done to all the musicians who performed in the improvers concert on Tuesday. We very much enjoyed solos and group performances from trumpeter players, violinists and pianists! Thank you to all the parents who have supported their child’s progress in music this term – their practising has made all the difference
Recorder Concert
Thank you to Tim – our brilliant recorder teacher – who has worked with all the children in Years 2, 3 and 4. These lessons culminated in a recorder concert where all 130 musicians came together for the first time! The concert gave us an insight in to the learning of rhythm and breathing and showed the sequence that children progress along from learning individual notes to more complex tunes and reaching the pinnacle of using the treble recorder.