MUSIC
Why get involved?
Participation in instrumental and choral forces is fun, if hard work! Ensembles inspire teamwork, confidence, and offers insight into excellence. Above all, they yield the greatest chance for rapid progress as you develop your skillset alongside other skilled musicians and friends. Many ensembles cut across year group, house and gender, thus they also offer camaraderie across the entire school.
What opportunities are there?
You can learn any instrument you wish (including the lesser known such as bagpipes, harpsichord, accordion and music production). We will find appropriate ensembles for you (we run over 42) – from Marching Band to Rock Bands, via Quartets to Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Bands to Music Theatre Choirs, traditional to modern – you name it, we do it!
Music at Oundle
Music at Oundle operates on three levels: individual music lessons; ensembles; academic. ‘Music for all’ is a fundamental principle and we presently deliver around 950 music lessons every week. We aim to cater for any possible instrument you might wish to learn, every ability and all tastes in music, be it jazz, rock, music theatre or Baroque. The Gascoigne is stacked with resources, and houses over 30 teaching and practice rooms, as well as a separate recital room, technology studio, radio station and library. Every Boarding House has 2 pianos and a music room for you to use. With 8 full-time teachers (all acting as Tutors in the Houses) and around 42 Visiting Music Teachers, we have the resources to inspire you.
DID YOU KNOW?
AROUND 10 PUPILS ATTAIN MUSIC DIPLOMAS EACH YEAR
PUPILS ANNUALLY GAIN PLACES IN NATIONAL ENSEMBLES
PREVIOUSLY PUPILS HAVE BEEN SIGNED BY A RECORD LABEL
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS OF ME?
The best music-making comes from a partnership: always tell us what you would like to learn and participate in and we will try to make this possible. Above all, improvement offers fulfilment (perhaps the greatest source of fun)! So, commit to a realistic amount of time each week to practise, and commit to the ensemble you are given to work with.