Instrumental Music

Many students at BGS learn instruments, either with the School’s instrumental staff or with teachers outside School. All are encouraged to take part in the wide-ranging variety of groups that rehearse weekly, either after School or at lunch. Concerts take place at least once a term, mostly in the School’s Great Hall. Once a year the best groups perform in the prestigious St George’s Concert Hall.

String Orchestra : catering for the younger students, this group aims to develop ensemble and confidence in playing prior to moving to the senior orchestra. Repertoire tends to range from arrangements of classical movements and popular songs to specially-written pieces.

Wind Orchestra: our largest instrumental ensemble, including all woodwind and brass players from Grade 3 to Grade 8. The younger players learn ensemble discipline from the older, and the overall performance standard is high. Repertoire includes medleys of film music and the standard works (Vaughan Williams’s Folk Song Suite etc).

Senior Orchestra: the school’s symphony orchestra. Entry standard to the strings is about Grade 5, woodwind and brass somewhat higher. Repertoire is varied, from Haydn to Matthias.

Jazz Band: the School’s Jazz Band has a very varied repertoire, from jazz standards to covers of recent songs from the charts. Herbie Hancock frequently brushes shoulders with Amy Winehouse in their performances. As well as playing in school concerts, they are showcased in the annual Jazz Barbecue, which takes place at the end of the Summer term.

Ceilidh Band: a mix of Celtic traditional reels and dances together with arrangements of ballads makes up the bulk of this group’s repertoire. Violins, penny whistles, guitars, bass and of course a bodhran produce a lively end to many concerts.

Instrumental Groups:there are many other smaller groups, some of long standing (such as Concertante [flute group], Sax Education and Percussion Ensemble) while other chamber groups are made specifically for one or two terms, or sometimes longer, often to give special opportunity to specific talented musicians. Recent groups of this nature have included a number of string quartets, and a group who performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no.4.