On Saturday 13th May a group of 40 students travelled to London to see two very special performances. The first was the hit West End musical, Wicked. This is a great show to watch and for many students it was their first West End musical. In addition, one of the songs from Wicked is a GCSE Music set work and attending this performance helped students to place the music in its wider context.
The group then went to the Royal Albert Hall to watch a screening of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. However, this was no ordinary screening: as students watched the film, the soundtrack was performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This gave students the opportunity to see the range of instruments used for the soundtrack and to learn how they are combined to produce the Harry Potter music, already familiar to so many students. Key Stage 3 classes have been learning recently about the orchestra and how it is utilised for film music. This performance enabled students to see this process in action and to discuss the techniques employed.
Thank you to the staff who accompanied the trip and to the students for being such great ambassadors for our school.
Two students report on the trip:
I really enjoyed the music trip to London. Wicked was amazing. Many people had said it was great and it definitely lived up to its reputation. It was funny, it had great songs and we had amazing seats! Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was fantastic. It was in the most amazing venue – the Royal Albert Hall and it had the best orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who played the music perfectly! I truly love Harry Potter books and films but with a live orchestra playing the very famous John Williams’ music, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You don’t fully appreciate the music when it is just in the film, but with the orchestra playing it right there in front of you, it is absolutely incredible! We sat right next to the orchestra so we could see perfectly which really added to the whole experience. I still can’t believe I got the chance to see this (my parents are so envious) and I really hope we can go again to see the next film!
Mary McBride
Year 9
A few weeks ago, students who take part in music in school were given a fantastic opportunity to go to London on a music trip. Of course, I couldn’t say no! We arrived at school at 6:45am and settled on the coach for the long journey ahead. When we arrived in London we were all buzzing for the day to come and headed off towards The Apollo Victoria Theatre. Once there we watched Wicked and it was truly extravagant. I loved it and I loved watching the talented actors and actresses. It was very inspiring! Next, we went to watch Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, played with a live orchestra. It was extraordinary. I loved watching the orchestra and our seats were right next to the musicians. We could even see their music! It made me want to be part of an orchestra like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra when I’m older because it looked like so much fun. Overall the day was really enjoyable and I would certainly go again.
Megan Conlon
Year 9
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