This year in Music...

It has been an epic year of music making at The Vineyard! Here are just a few stats.

In March we celebrated Music Day with workshops for all children by Kidenza, a small orchestra showcasing all the instruments. Music Day culminated in a fantastic evening concert featuring children from YR to Y6 and some amazing performances.

Our choirs sang alongside hundreds of other children at The Rose Theatre for the Singing Festival, and KS2 choir performed at Wembley Arena to an audience of thousands at Young Voices! KS2 choir will be attending Young Voices at the O2 next year: see the Extracurricular sign up sheet if your child wants to join.

Around 100 children performed in nine Rocksteady concerts across the year. There's some availability for September's rock bands: sign up via Rocksteady 

Individual music lessons continue to be very popular with around 60% of Vineyard children accessing them. If you're already having lessons you don't need to re-enrol for September, but if you are interested in taking up lessons for the first time, email music@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk for details of what's on offer. 

Some of the income from Music Hub rentals paid for a music therapy pilot, run by Richmond Music Trust in conjunction with the SENDCOs. We hope to continue music therapy  sessions in autumn, based on demand; please contact sen@vineyard.richmond.sch.uk if you may be interested in this. 

Finally, music is in no way just about grades in exams, but we should celebrate the achievements of those who took ABRSM exams in the Music Hub. We hosted four exam days this year, and had a fantastic run of results including five distinctions and nine merits. Well done to everyone!

A huge well done to all of our young musicians for their enthusiasm, dedication and outstanding performances throughout the year. We look forward to another exciting year of music ahead!

This week in Music...

Year 4 delighted family and friends with a confident and joyful ukulele concert, showcasing the progress they have made as young musicians. Year 5 brought incredible energy to their djembe performance, not only demonstrating impressive ensemble drumming skills but also performing their own original compositions. It was inspiring to see the children’s creativity and musicianship shine through in their performances.

Our Year 6 pupils rounded off the year with a fantastic whole-class band performance of Everyday People by Sly & The Family Stone. Their commitment, teamwork and musical confidence were evident throughout, making it a memorable celebration of everything they have achieved this year.

Year 6 also took part in the English National Opera’s Finish This… project, (link here) collaborating to complete and compose original pieces of music. As a result, every child in the year group is now a published composer—an incredible achievement. We are especially proud that one group’s composition was selected to be transformed into a visual artwork, which is now available to watch on YouTube, providing a lasting showcase of their creativity and imagination.