Music plays a vital and central role at Notre Dame from the Nursery to the Sixth Form. The Music Co-Curricular Programme is for everyone whether a beginner with only a few notes to play or a proficient performer ready to start a Music Degree.
Music covers all genres and styles from plainchant to rap and from a Classical concerto to a Blues “Improv” session. No one is unwelcome and there is a wide range of musical styles to choose from: our musicians have attended the Guildhall Junior School and have successfully auditioned for the National Schools Symphony Orchestra, while others have started their own Pop groups, or have chosen a career path associated with management in the music industry.
Our choirs tour regularly and have performed in cathedrals in London, Rome, Paris, Vienna and Santiago di Compostella. A major Musical is produced each year in conjunction with the Drama Department.
options from which to choose:
Notre Dame Singers:
The main school choir, with more than 60 girls, singing repertoire covering all aspects of music making. Entrance is based simply on the ability to sing in tune and an interest and the enthusiasm to sing all types of music.
Chamber Choir:
A smaller, selective group of the school’s most outstanding singers and open to girls from Year 7 to the Sixth Form.
Orchestra:
The premiere group within the school. The repertoire has included Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Saint Saens Dance Macabre, Bob Chilcott’s The Little Jazz Mass and music from film and the Musicals, such as Harry Potter and Les Miserables.
Concert Band:
For woodwind, brass and percussion, this group have recently performed music from Sondheim’s Into The Woods and Happy by Pharrell Williams.
String Ensemble:
A balance to the Concert Band and for string players only.
Jazz Ensemble:
For those musicians who like to dabble in a spot of improvisation, this group is open to any musician or vocalist who enjoys Jazz. Repertoire has included the music of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder.
