Music Lessons

Students benefit from the teaching of staff who maintain active professional performing careers. Lessons in singing and all major orchestral instruments, as well as saxophone, keyboard, drums, classical guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar and jazz piano are offered within school. Associated Board music exams are held each term, for which there is an exceptionally high success rate.

Performance

Judgemeadow students perform in several concerts each year, ranging from major performances in school, to informal concerts at lunchtime or assemblies that introduce pupils to the experience of performing in public for the first time. A number of students go on to study music at A level, and many of our past students have gone on to study music at major universities and music colleges.

Performance Exams

Students can be entered for performance exams with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in consultation with their instrumental/vocal teacher. The college is an examination centre for the ABRSM. This means that students are able to take their graded practical exams during a week towards the end of each term.The department recognises that music exams are not the most appropriate target for all young musicians, and informal or formal performance opportunities are therefore integral to the school's concert programme with a view to providing appropriate goals for every student.

Ensembles

At Judgemeadow there are various performance opportunities for pupils who play Brass, Strings, Woodwind and Percussion instruments.

The Orchestra is a full sized ensemble comprising strings, woodwind, brass and percussion. It is made up of pupils who are grade 3 and above. Their repertoire is taken from works from the baroque period to the romantic period, while also performing scores taken from film and TV.

Our choir recently joined with City of Leicester College and St Paul’s School to perform a concert at The Curve.

Unrivalled Opportunity!

Instrumental lessons and performance opportunities

We continue to offer a rainbow of exceptional opportunities both in the classroom and after school for our students to learn, perform, achieve and excel.

Five of our instrumentalists took performance exams at the end of the last term, with very good results: 1 pass and four merits.  Our instrumental lesson timetable continues to be as busy as ever.

After the restructuring of Leicestershire Arts in Education – now renamed Leicester-Shire Music Service – the Music Department is now solely responsible for the provision of instrumental lessons at school.  From the outset, I have been determined to engage specialist teachers for each instrument, and to maintain a continuity of service. 

Extracurricular groups continue this academic year, working towards performances at our three concerts.  Jazz Group continues to meet at 7.30 am on a Monday, and Music Technology group on a Monday afternoon, with orchestra on Tuesday afternoon.  We are looking into the viability of forming a staff-student choir. 

Again, this offers our students far more opportunities than most city and county schools.