Category: Music
What a truly special evening at St Mary’s Church for our Festival of Voices! The concert showcased the incredible talent and dedication of all our young singers. Our Director of Music, Mr Woodley, reports on the evening.
Mr Woodley, Director of Music
“We were treated to a beautiful and gentle rendition of Whitacre’s Sing Gently and a charming Fly Me to the Moon from the Chamber Choir, followed by the delightful Panis Angelicus and the spirited Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel from the wonderful Woodbridge School Prep Chamber Choir.
Their performance was truly captivating! The Bari Tones brought a different energy with their takes on Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Human, while the combined voices of the Bari Tones and Chamber Choir soared in a powerful Nessun Dorma. Chorum’s thoughtful And So It Goes offered a moment of reflection, and The West Tones impressed with their evocative Evensong and the beautiful Autumn Leaves.
The concert built to a joyous crescendo with the Year 13 Leavers’ poignant The Road Home, followed by a moving performance of What Was I Made For? by The West Tones and Chamber Choir. The Chamber Choir’s playful Sing a Song of Sixpence added a touch of light heartedness before the entire company of performers filled the church with the infectious energy of Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat for a truly unforgettable finale!”
This week, sold out audiences at our Seckford Theatre were treated to a fantastic adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Offering a unique insight into the life of Christopher Boone (Year 11’s Sam L), a 15-year old boy who is on the autistic spectrum, the play charts Christopher’s journey as he tries to uncover the mystery of the death of his neighbour’s dog, Wellington.
After diligent investigation, which has been strictly forbidden by his father for reasons unknown to Christopher, he successfully discovers the identity of the killer but unwittingly uncovers some well-kept and very confusing family secrets; and all while gaining an A* in A level Maths.
Told directly through the eyes of Christopher, we begin to understand how his logical and detail-orientated mind processes the world around him, and how his straightforward approach elicits different responses from the characters he encounters. From the ever-patient teacher Siobhan (Year 11’s Eloise), the kindly Mrs Alexander (Year 10’s Annie), his conflicted mother Judy (Year 11’s Lexi), his loving but flawed father Ed (Year 11’s Edward) and the other people that cross his path, the play deftly covers themes of neurodiversity, mental health, trust and the complexity of family relationships.
Performed with intelligent choreography and a striking set and production, it is ultimately Christopher’s personal growth in confidence that wins the day – he is indeed capable of anything!
Many congratulations to the cast and crew, a superb performance and production, well done to everyone involved on and off the stage. Audience members were abuzz after the performance commenting:
“Totally stunning performances all round. You know these things are good when you forget it’s a school production and are just fully invested into the story. Well done!”
“An absolutely superb performance of an important issue in society. The students were magnificent in their portrayals of the characters and it was a real highlight of the year.”
“The passion, enthusiasm and dedication shown by the Year 10 and 11 cast last night was amazing. At times it was hard to believe that they were just students. Everyone did an incredible job, and the main characters were just awesome! Christopher certainly took us on a journey of highs and lows. Well done and thank you!”
“Wow! The show was nothing short of exemplary – such a mature and convincing cast. Sam executed the role with sensitivity and delivered confidently the finer details required of such a complex character. What a treat to watch.”
“Another outstanding performance from all involved.”
Photo credit: Mike Kwasniak
Every year, Woodbridge School holds various Christmas events, concerts and services – in School and in the local community; including our traditional and wonderful Christmas Carol Service at St Mary’s Church in Woodbridge.
Meeting recently with Claire Weston, Head of Singing, she shared some special news about this year’s service,
“I’m delighted and excited to share, that John Hutchings, who is well known to the School having played for our Carol Services and Festival of Voices for the past few years, has gifted me a set of original compositions for the Chamber Choir as part of a ‘Suffolk Ceremony of Carols’.”
She continued,
“His compositions have been performed at Windsor Castle, the Vatican, and across the world, so this is an incredibly kind, generous and exciting gift to the choirs of Woodbridge School.”
Talking about the donation she added,
“I’m planning to use these compositions as part of this year’s Carol Service; it’s such an honour and a privilege to be able to share this gift with the students which has been written especially for their voices, and I’m incredibly excited about this year’s Carol Service, which will take place at St Mary’s Church on Thursday 12 December.”
A truly delightful and amazing opportunity for our students, we will share more news of rehearsals and the service itself throughout this half of the Michaelmas term.
Our Field Day last Friday saw students from Year 7 to 13 take part in a host of different Seckford Scheme activities, as has become tradition in School twice each year.
Year 7 students took part in calligraphy lessons, participating in the exercise of Ba Duan Jin and made music in drumming lessons. Year 8 students took part in self-defence and first aid, while Year 9 Army and RAF cadets visited Duxford, where they had the chance to board Concorde and other aircraft, as well as seeing planes on the runway.
Our Climbing Group visited Highball Climbing Centre in Norwich and tried out new and different climbs, and our older cadets headed off on exciting overnights. Our respective Heads of Sections report below.
Year 13’s Ollie, Head of Army, Colour Sergeant
At 0900 hours the advanced party of NCOs left for RAF Barnham, this early start allowed them to set up for the different stands and recce the ground. Later the rest of the cadets arrived.
Having been split into platoons under both mine and Year 13’s Oscar’s command they set up in the harbour areas – before we lost the light. Following the ambush recce earlier in the day, we briefed our platoons and rehearsed the ambush. Under the cover of darkness, the two platoons left for their separate ambush locations. Shivering in the cold we didn’t have to wait too long for the enemy to appear and we sprung our ambushes. With mission complete we patrolled back to the harbour areas and settled in for a extremely cold night under the stars.
The following morning the cadets rotated through five different stands: CQB (close quarter battles), stalk, observation, navigation, and defensive position. Each of these stands presented a unique challenge allowing the section commanders to show their resilience and adaptability with each task and demonstrating their leadership skills alongside their 2IC. The most challenging stand, the defensive position, required organisation while under pressure with the section 2IC ensuring that things ran smoothly, keeping a track of ammunition while defending their position from the enemy.
Overall, the two days were a success providing everyone with valuable experience in leadership, and the cadets in teamwork and tactical operations allowing them to get a taste of high stakes exercises that challenge you both mentally and physically. Most importantly a special mention to the staff and NCOs who allow this can go ahead and run smoothly.
Alongside the Army overnight, Navy cadets sailed out from the historic Gosport Marina, Year 13’s Ewan reports:
Year 13’s Ewan, Head of Navy
Navy cadets sailed – and motorboated – out from the historic Gosport Marina, manoeuvring past impressive vessels such as the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and Admiral Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory. Leaving Gosport, the cadets navigated their way across The Solent, showing initiative by helping to plan their route to account for the distinct tides surrounding the Isle of White, and using their knotting skills to tie up the fenders and stow the sheets.
After spending the night sheltered in Cowes, the cadets woke up early to sally out into the strait and perform some boating exercises. By midday, the cadets enjoyed a picnic on the water and made their way back to Gosport in the afternoon.
A good experience for all, with many new memories made.
Year 13’s Hugh, Head of RAF
The RAF Cadets had a superb Field Day, as we always do, having the opportunity to take part in lots of different activities throughout the day.
We thoroughly enjoyed Laser Quest, it’s always a firm favourite with everyone, but it was also great to have the chance to take part in air rifle shooting, paintball, gun run, a confidence course and zip wire. We were all really pleased to achieve new records on gun run – as well as the confidence course!
It was a busy but exciting day for RAF Cadets, thanks go to everyone involved including the students as well as teachers that made this possible.
As part of Field Day last week, our Director of Music, Jonathan Woodley, encouraged students from Years 10 to 13 to consider what they might like to do, rather than dictate the session himself.
Ever enthusiastic and highly ambitious and creative, these young musicians decided they would like to record cover versions of songs by Etta James and Nina Simone.
Mr Woodley commented on his decision to hand the power over to his students for their Field Day activity,
“By giving students the freedom to make these kinds of choices it empowers and motivates them, as well as creating desire, interest and broadening their approach to making music – it’s the perfect storm!”
He continued,
“I explained to each of them that I wouldn’t be writing the music for them, they would have to figure out the chords for themselves and work together to put on a performance ahead of recording it. I take a similar approach with all of my students – encouraging them to learn to play with sheet music as well as without – playing by ear is just as important a skill for young musicians, and one that is often overlooked. Every lesson, rehearsal and even this Field Day is an opportunity to learn, to improve and to realise what they’re able to accomplish with hard work and focus.”
Talking more about his approach to teaching music in general he shared,
“Even when we have a band or an orchestra, I have an expectation of each musician taking ownership of the part they play – pardon the pun – and ensuring that they have a learning opportunity each and every time. There’s little point giving them a piece of music they could easily perform, the purpose of learning more about themselves, their instruments, playing together and music in general is to stretch them, taking them out of their comfort zone slightly and most importantly give them the opportunity to improve – which they always do!”
He continued,
“I’ll often hear students share their concerns that they can’t play the piece they’ve been given in an orchestra, worried it’s beyond their current capabilities – but that’s the whole point, and by the end, when it comes to the live performance, they can always do what they worried they couldn’t. Because they’ve learned to!”
It’s clear to see the students thoroughly enjoyed Field Day, and by all accounts they recorded some super music. Well done everyone!
On Tuesday evening we said a final farewell to our Year 13 students, with a musical extravaganza that they had put together themselves.
The beautiful summer evening started on the Chapel lawn with picnics and Pimm’s as we were treated to some great covers from our bands.
Everyone then enjoyed refreshments in School Hall where we were immersed in the astounding musical talents of our leavers.
It was hugely evident that music has been a significant part of these students’ time here at Woodbridge School. Family, friends and staff were reminded of the hidden talents of our students and it was a fitting way to end the musical year.
Well done to all those involved and all our best wishes to each and every one on your journey from here on.
Parents, friends and family joined us in School on Wednesday night, for our Percussion Concert.
An evening of percussion has become a firm favourite in our Music calendar for all involved. If you saw the tables, glasses, wine, and programmes you might have been fooled into thinking a serene evening was in store.
As you casted your eyes further into School Hall, marimba, xylophone, snare drums, timpani, drum kit and other instruments that make up percussion were visible – and so too was the realisation that this evening was going to be anything but serene!
As students from both our Prep and Senior Schools readied themselves for the start, the evening began with Bounce Back by the Percussion Ensemble.
What followed was an exciting array of music ranging from Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz to Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk, leaving Jai Ho! ringing in the ears of the audience.
An enormous well done to Year 8’s Sheryl, Digby, William and Tahir, Year 7’s Angus, Year 6’s Ethan and Nina, Year 5’s Zach, Year 4’s Charlie, and of course Mrs Seed, who is responsible for leading this unique concert.
An uplifting evening enjoyed by all; thank you if you came along to watch and support, this is always a great opportunity for our students to experience live performing!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in School on Monday evening for our Lent Concert and to all our students who performed. Year 13’s Ollie reports on the evening, as a member of the audience as well as a performer.
Year 13’s Ollie
Parents and students alike were treated to an absolutely brilliant concert on Monday night in the Seckford theatre, when the music department put on their Easter showcase.
The evening featured an incredibly wide range of acts, from Symphony Orchestra to Rock Band, and Chamber Orchestra to Swing Band. One particular highlight was being able to watch the band from the recent whole School musical perform for one last time, with brilliant vocals from Year 12’s James and Xander, reprising their iconic roles from the production.
The concert was an absolute pleasure to watch and perform in, and has certainly set a high bar for the Festival of Voices vocal concert, which takes place at St Mary’s Church on Friday 26 April.
Thank you to everyone who came along to support our musicians, and we hope to see you all at future concerts!
The school offers a wealth of opportunities for our numerous budding percussionists, and our percussion room is extremely well stocked with an enviable range of professional standard instruments including orchestral marimba, vibraphone, timpani and djembes.
Our Percussion Ensemble meets regularly to perform together – something of a rarity in a school and certainly something we’re extremely proud of. The presence and quantity of ensemble musicians has attracted the attention of musical directors putting on a performance in St Edmundsbury Cathedral, which is rather exciting.
Our Director of Music, Mr Woodley shared,
“We are extremely excited to have been approached to provide percussion for a big opera production next year – I can’t share any more details than that right now, but it’s a true reflection of the ability and talent our students have and we’re delighted to have been asked!”
He continued, sharing details of the School’s Percussion Teacher, Kyomi Seed,
“We’re truly blessed to have the talent and enthusiasm of Kyomi in School each Wednesday and Thursday – and she also teaches at our Prep School, our students certainly enjoy and benefit from their time spent together.”
He continued,
“Access to and experience of music and musical instruments is so vital for learning, and also incredibly fun! We’re so pleased to welcome such talent into Woodbridge School for our students to experience, learn and benefit from.”
Kyomi studied at The Julliard School in New York where she achieved a Master of Music Performance, Florida State University where she received a Bachelor of Music Performance and has an Australian Kodlay Music Certificate in Education. With truly magnificent orchestral experience, including the Aurora Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Illinois Symphony Orchestra to name but a few, our students benefit from her wealth of experience and passion for percussion!
Not only did our School musicians provide the entire musical accompaniment to the whole School musical Little Shop of Horrors recently, but Mr Woodley, our Director of Music, has also been holding Rock Band after School club and teaching students about the importance and impact of music in film in his Film Music Composition lessons.
Music for Little Shop of Horrors
Our whole School musical took place the week before half term, we hope you managed to get tickets to see the sell-out performances, and experience and hear our wonderful musicians provide all of the musical accompaniment for each of the five shows.
Ordinarily students’ theatrical performances feature our own as well as outsourced musicians, brought in to support and complement our own music provision, to enhance and capture each scene of School performances. However, the decision was made this year for the band to be solely sourced from our own pool of talented and confident musicians, and what a delight it was to hear them play throughout, as our musical Little Shop of Horrors told the story of Seymour, Mushnik and Audrey.
Mr Woodley said,
“It was incredible to see and hear our students playing in the pit during the performances, I had the pleasure of conducting as well as contributing, playing the guitar for some of the scenes. Watching our students prepare and commit to perform for the show has been wonderful, and I believe they’ve learned a great deal as well as thoroughly enjoyed the experience – particularly playing live to a packed out theatre five times in a row! Exhausting, but exhilarating!”
He continued,
“Some of our students played more than one instrument, and watching them pick up and play in between different scenes, feeling and understanding the difference their instruments made and contributed – was wonderful for me and them. Well done to all of them, I’m incredibly proud.”
Film Music Composition
As part of their music lessons in School each week, Year 8 have been having great fun working with Mr Woodley on Film Music Composition. Students attend the lesson, spend time watching and considering the musical element of different films, and then take time to compose their own piece of music for particular scenes; considering what those scenes needs in order to elevate the film beyond the visual element.
Watching Guardians of the Galaxy on the screen, Year 8 have thoroughly enjoyed working on the Marvel superhero film, Mr Woodley commented,
“This film is providing great food for thought when it comes to learning about the importance and impact of music, and is certainly inspiring our young musicians to get creative! It’s not enough to have brilliant actors, film sets and scenes – they only really come to life when the musical element comes into play, and we’ve been taking time to appreciate the importance of different instruments, tones, rhythms and beats when it comes to portraying emotions in film. It’s been a great experience and I really think our students are thinking about this more than they ever were when they’re watching films now! It’s a really fun and interesting way to learn about the importance and relevance of music, to appreciate how dynamic is can be, and the way it influences interpretation in film.”
Rock Band Club
Inviting students from Years 7, 8 and 13, Rock Band Club is open to every student, no matter what their level or instrument, or even experience might be, and provides an opportunity for enrichment – and enjoyment.
Even for those that have never played before, this after School club provides students with the chance to consider instruments they’d like to play, and teaches them about transferring and/or learning new musical skills, including those relating to working as part of a larger group of musicians.
“This club supports students’ learning from the classroom and possibly private tuition, in a fun and engaging way. Even if they don’t play an instrument already, they can come along, pick something up and have a go, and for those already learning particular instruments, they’re able to try alternatives, learning how to transfer learned skills and experience music in a different way. The songs played are decided by the students, it’s a great and fun way to teach them how to explore music and instruments, and teaches confidence.”
explained Mr Woodley. He continued,
“There’s no other feeling quite like playing in a band, and no other way to get the feeling that can only come from seeing and experiencing the power of rock!”
The club takes place every Tuesday during term time, from 4.30pm in Music Room 1, and is open to all students no matter what their level of instrument playing.
For more information, visit Music Studies.