Sounding Out
Sounding Out is a Saturday morning music centre at The King’s School providing an instrumental learning programme for students from local state primary schools. Within the programme students:
- Learn to play an orchestral instrument that they have not previously experienced, taught on a Saturday morning by experienced instrumental teachers provided by The King’s School;
- Take part in a range of complementary musical activities on a Saturday morning;
- Progress to individual instrumental lessons;
- Attend rehearsals and performances by professional performers.
Families are encouraged to engage with the initiative initially through an outreach programme of live musical performances and activities within their own school and subsequently at The King’s School.
The programme is intended to build on Key Stage 2 whole class musical learning and will allow children who demonstrate talent, aptitude and interest to continue in their musical learning after this ‘first access’. By joining one of The King School’s ensembles and gain experience of high-quality instrumental playing, alongside other young players.
Young singers locally who show exceptional talent will be invited to join one of the King’s School choirs and gain practical choral singing expertise and support with applying for choral scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge.
Aims
To provide high quality and heavily subsidised opportunities for students from state funded schools to learn, perform and create classical music.
To champion the power of classical music.
Background
A huge decline in arts education in state funded schools has been exacerbated by curriculum demands and performance measures.
Many young people now have no familiarity with classical music or learning / trying out an instrument.
Sounding Out was set up to try and redress this in the Canterbury area.
Resources
Sounding Out takes place in The King's School Music Centre.
Teachers have been appointed to teach the trumpet and violin and lead our general musicianship hour “Saturday Jam”. Each beginner has been given their own instrument to take home and practise on, as well as a music case, tutorial books and a Sounding Out hoodie.
Pupil Involvement
King's School musicians play to the Sounding Out students and have also visited the primary schools.
16 year 5 pupils from across 4 local primary schools.
Frequency
Every Saturday during term time from 8.30 till 12.30.
The project is planned to grow year on year increasing numbers of students participating and the range of instruments offered.