Music
Grosvenor Grammar School has always had a strong tradition of music-making, with a special emphasis on choral music. This continues to the present day with an ever-growing number of extra-curricular activities, including instrumental ensembles, musical productions, an extensive use of Music Technology and over two hundred pupils taking instrumental or singing lessons per week.
The vast array of extra-curricular and co-curricular pursuits ensures that pupils are afforded a range of opportunities in varied settings to develop performance related musical skills, self-discipline and self-confidence.
The academic year has been particularly exciting, yet challenging. Our busy calendar of events, includes the annual Prize Distribution Ceremony, Nine Lessons and Carols at St, Anne’s Cathedral, Open Nights, Spring Concert, Junior Certificate Presentation and prestigious engagements for the Confucius Institute, charity events, educational and community outreach projects.
The Music Department continues to strive towards a high standard of musicianship whilst providing Grosvenor pupils with valuable opportunities to develop their musical skills such as the Chamber Choir performing alongside the Three Priests for Her Majesty the Queen and the President of Ireland, being finalists in the BBC Songs of Praise (UK) School Choir of the Year 2013, winners of the BBC Northern Ireland School Choir of the Year 2015 and Semi-finalists as one of the top six senior school choirs in Northern Ireland in 2019.
Grosvenor provides a large variety of instrumental tuition available, paired with an ever-increasing collection of extra-curricular activities.
All pupils receiving instrumental/singing lessons and pursuing GCSE and A Level Music are strongly encouraged to attend at least ONE activity to develop their musicianship skills and play in all concerts, competitions and services as requested.
Instrumental Groups
The Orchestra meets every Thursday afternoon from 3.30pm to 4.15pm and performs at all school concerts. It provides pupils from Grade 4 standard upwards the opportunity to develop their skills.
The Jazz Band meets every Thursday after Orchestra from 4.15pm to 5.00pm. This group welcomes any pupil who plays saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, double bass/bass guitar or drum kit.
The String Ensemble meets every Thursday after Orchestra from 4.15pm to 5pm. It provides pupils who are learning violin, viola, cello and double bass the opportunity to develop their string technique and musicianship.
The String Quartet, for pupils Grade 6 standard or upwards meets on Thursday mornings at 8am and represents the school at public functions
Choirs
The Junior Singers meets every Monday from 1.10pm to 1.40pm. The Junior Singers perform at Open Nights and the Spring Concert each year.
The Senior Choir meets on Tuesday and Thursday from 8.15am until 8.35am and on Wednesday from 8.15am to 9.05am. It performs at all school music occasions, as well as at many other functions.
Theory Class
Tuition to prepare pupils for theory examinations is provided every Tuesday from 3.30pm to 4.30pm.
School Musical Productions. – September to January
Vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra/band rehearse on designated days after school on a rota basis.
Most recent productions include; The Addams Family (2019), Sister Act (2017), Hairspray (2016) and Aida (2015).
Chamber Choir
Grosvenor’s Chamber Choir, consisting of pupils from middle and senior school has been very busy during this academic year. The choir performed ‘Be Still My Soul’ by Jonathan Rea at the school’s annual prize giving ceremony, carrying the piece to their audition for BBC’s School Choir of the Year. For the Carol Service in December, the Chamber Choir prepared and performed ‘O Magnum Mysterium’ as well as ‘A Christmas Blessing.’ Following their audition for ‘School Choir of the Year,’ they competed in the final heat of the competition at Bangor Academy, with ‘Be Still My Soul’ by Jonathan Rea and ‘I’m Gonna Sing ‘Til the Spirit Moves in My Heart’ by Moses Hogan earning themselves a place in the semi-final where they performed ‘Lightning’ by Greg Gilpin and ‘The Lord Bless You and Keep You.’ Unfortunately, on this occasion Grosvenor Grammar School’s Chamber Coir did not gain one of the three places in the final, but with dignity and pride the repertoire of pieces from the competition was performed at the Spring Concert on Wednesday, 27th March 2019 to much delight of all in attendance.
On Thursday, 22nd November Grosvenor’s Chamber Choir was invited, by both ‘Connswater Community Greenway Events’ Manager Shona Campbell and ‘Trust’ Manager Michele Bryans, to perform at C.S. Lewis Square for the local Christmas Fayre, before the much-anticipated switching on of its festive Christmas lights.
The event marked C.S. Lewis Square being officially open for two years, as well as the 55th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’ death. The Choir performed a selection of pieces which they are due to perform at the upcoming annual Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at St. Anne’s Cathedral, such as ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ and ‘The Angel Gabriel’, receiving praise from the public for coming out on such a cold, windy night.
The Music Department was very grateful to the ‘Connswater Community Greenway Events and ‘Trust’ for affording the Chamber Choir the opportunity to perform at this prestigious event.
On Friday 23rd November 2018 the Music department welcomed William Thompson, from EMS Audio, to the school as the Chamber Choir recorded its entry for the prestigious ‘BBC Radio Ulster School Choir of the Year’ 2019 as well as ‘BBC Songs of Praise Young Choir of the Year UK’.
The Choir’s performance pieces were ‘Be Still My Soul’, composed by Jean Sibelius and specially arranged by Jonathan Rea for the GGS Chamber Choir, followed by ‘I’m Gonna Sing ‘Til The Spirit Moves in My Heart’, composed by Moses Hogan.
As always the professionalism of Mr W. Thompson, himself a former choral scholar of King’s College Cambridge, in recording the CD was much appreciated. The Chamber Choir was conducted throughout by Miss Foster with piano accompaniment from Mr J. Arnold.
On Friday, 25th January 2019, Grosvenor’s esteemed Chamber Choir was fortunate enough to welcome Mr A. Nunn, the new Artistic Director of the Ulster Youth Choir, to the school where he delivered an inspirational and most worthwhile workshop to those in attendance.
Mr Nunn visited GGS last year to conduct a workshop which also acted as the audition for his appointment as the UYC Artistic Director; he was obviously very appreciative to Grosvenor for its role in this process and, as a follow-up, delivered an exceptional workshop based around ‘I’m Gonna Sing ‘Till the Spirit Moses in my Heart’, one of the pieces that the Chamber Choir is due to perform in the Heats of the prestigious ‘BBC N.I. School Choir of the Year Competition’ 2019.
Mr Nunn’s attention to detail proved incredibly helpful and many members of the Chamber Choir stayed on, following the workshop, to complete an audition for the Ulster Youth Choir itself; we await the outcome with anticipation.
Mr Nunn’s credentials are evident to all; he is currently Director of Choirs at the ‘Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Junior Conservatoire’, in Glasgow, where he is responsible for the choral programme of 300 students aged 8-18. In addition, he is a regular conductor with the ‘National Youth Choir of Scotland’ and, most recently, conducted NYCoS in Belgium, in performances broadcast live on BBC1 and BBC2, to mark the centenary of the 1917 Battle of Passchendale. Given such widespread experience, it is of little surprise that Mr Nunn’s session met with such a positive response.
Congratulations to a number of Grosvenor’s talented choristers who have recently been selected onto the Ulster Youth Choir and Ulster Youth Training Choir respectively.
Participating as members of the 2019 Ulster Youth Choir are: Chloe Hunter-Rea 14 TG3, Beth Vance 13 TG6, Anna Cousins 13 TG3, Anna Smith 13 TG3, Adam Blair 14 TG5, Tyler Smith 13 TG5 and Daniel Stewart 13 TG5, while, in addition, Stephanie Wallace 13 TG2, Sarah Whittle 13 TG3, Ruth Sellar 13 TG5 and Emily Woods14 TG2 have been chosen as members of the Ulster Youth Training Choir.
The above selections were made following auditions held recently in Grosvenor by Andrew Nunn, the UYC’s Artistic Director.
Each year both the Ulster Youth Choir (open to young people aged 18 – 24) and the Training Choir (open to 15 – 18 year olds) run residential courses which prove invaluable in providing first-class training for all in attendance; this year’s courses are set to take place from 14th – 20th, and the 21st – 27th July respectively, while a twentieth anniversary tour to France is also penciled in, along with a Concert in the Ulster Hall on 27th July.
String Quintet
The String Quintet, comprising of Lucy Hamilton 14 TG2 (Violin 1), Ruth Sellar 13 TG5 (Violin 2), Tyler Smyth 13 TG5 (Viola), Karl Kirkpatrick 13 TG5 (Cello), James Magrath 14 TG5 (Double Bass), performed at many functions and events during this academic year. To start off the year they played at Grosvenor’s Annual Prize Distribution where they played from their normal repertoire consisting of pieces such as ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles and ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing’. At Christmas, the Quintet was invited to play at the Ulster Chartered Accountants annual charity lunch at the Europa Hotel where they performed a collection of Christmas Carols and songs, for example ‘The First Noel’. Upon returning after the Christmas holidays, the String Quintet played at Grosvenor’s Open Evenings for prospective pupils wishing to go to the school. This was followed by a performance at the Eastside Awards held at the Hastings Stormont Hotel, prior to the award ceremony. As the year drew to a close, they performed ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ from the movie ‘Titanic’ and also the ‘Game of Thrones Theme,’ at the annual music evening, held to honour all of the musical activities which take place throughout the year. All of this would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of both the string players and Miss Foster who organises all musical events which take place in the school.
On Friday, 7th December Grosvenor’s esteemed String Quintet was invited to perform at the annual ‘Chartered Accountants of Ireland (Ulster) Christmas Charity Lunch’ at Belfast's Europa Hotel. The String Quintet’s performance at this event has become a yearly tradition and, once again, the standard of musicianship on display did not disappoint as Ruth Sellar 13 TG5 (Violin 1), Kara Purdy 13 TG4 (Violin 2), Tyler Smith 13 TG5 (Viola), Karl Kirkpatrick 13 TG5 (Cello) and James Magrath 14 TG5 (Double Bass) wowed those in attendance with their expertise.
Each year the Chartered Accountants’ Christmas Lunch sees invited guests bring a high-quality toy or children’s gift which is then distributed by the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul, helping to ensure an enjoyable Christmas for the less fortunate; with this in mind it was, once again, an honour for Grosvenor to be associated with such an event as its selected musicians played their part in making the day a huge success once again.
Congratulations to Grosvenor’s esteemed String Quintet, comprising pupils Lucy Hamilton 14 TG2 (Violin 1), Ruth Sellar 13 TG5 (Violin 2), Tyler Smyth 13 TG5 (Viola), Karl Kirkpatrick 13 TG5 (Cello), James Magrath 14 TG5 (Double Bass), who were invited to perform at the prestigious ‘Eastside Awards’, held at Hastings Stormont Hotel on the evening of Friday, 25th January 2019.
The third Eastside Awards provided an opportunity to celebrate the best that East Belfast has to offer, in categories ranging from ‘Best Food Destination’ to ‘Top Retailer’; ‘Employer of the Year’ to ‘Volunteer of the Year’.
The GGS String Quintet, accompanied to the event by Head of Music Miss Foster, did the School proud with an assured and entertaining performance prior to the main ceremony itself.
Tyler Smyth 13TG5
Senior Girls’ Choir
The Senior Girls’ Choir met during lunchtimes throughout the year and, although our preparation time was limited, we managed to pull off memorable performances in the Carol; Service and Spring Concert. Led by Miss Foster, we were encouraged to sing a wide variety of pieces both accompanied and a cappella. At the Carol Service we sang a beautiful arrangement for upper voices by Jay Althouse of the popular carol ‘Silent Night’. We then prepared a challenging new composition of the ‘Bird’s Lullaby’ by the distinguished composer Sarah Quartel which we performed at the Spring Concert. On this occasion I had the opportunity to conduct, accompanied by Miss Foster on the piano. We all enjoyed singing such beautiful pieces and it is no chore to sacrifice a few lunchtimes when the outcome is a successful performance.
Lucy Hamilton 14 TG2
Senior Gents Choir
The Senior Gent’s Choir, composing of eight Senior School pupils, sang the well-known song ‘Hallelujah’ arranged by Roger Emerson. The choir rehearsed during available lunch times and registration coming up to the Spring Concert to learn the piece. Along with the help of Miss Foster the choir was able to run the piece on the evening of the Spring Concert as a pupil lead item, being accompanied on piano by Jack Brown 13 TG3. This lead to the members of the choir taking ownership of the Concert item and increased the enjoyment of all those involved.
Stephen Wright 13 TG6
Barbershop
This year, the barbershop consisted of Jack Brown 13TG3, Stephen Wright 13TG6,
Daniel Stewart 13TG5, Adam Blair 14TG5 and led by Tyler Smyth 13TG5. At the Grosvenor Grammar School Annual Spring Concert, we performed the piece ‘You’ve got a Friend in me’ from the film Toy Story and fitting with the theme, we wore cowboy hats to add a little flair. Although we our rehearsal time was limited, we met during lunchtimes and, with the helpful direction of Mr J Arnold, we were able to make this year’s performance a great success. This year’s barbershop, alongside the Senior choir, Chamber choir, Orchestra and many other parts of the Grosvenor Music department made the 2019 Spring Concert my favourite that I have taken part in.
Daniel Stewart 13TG5
Junior Singers
It has been my great pleasure to become the director of the Junior Singers this year. We have a faithful group of children who attend weekly rehearsals. They have developed extremely well over the year and we have covered repertoire from sacred, pop, movie and contemporary genres. I am looking forward to the coming year and we always welcome new members.
Ms J. Bourke- Tutor of Singing
The Junior Singers have completed a very successful and busy year! This year for the very first time we were being led by the schools beloved and well-known, Ms J. Bourke; who also gives singing lessons to a lot of our pupils. We were accompanied on the piano by our very own, Miss R Foster; who has taught here for years and has had many competition winning pieces with the Junior Choir in the past. We had around 25 pupils ranging from Years 8-10, eager to perform and we practised intensely every Wednesday afternoon from 3:30pm until 4:00pm. The Junior Singers had their debut at Open Nights, on Wednesday, 9th and Thursday, 10th January 2019, when we performed at the top of Grosvenor’s feature staircase welcoming the P6 and 7 pupils to our fantastic school! We sang the pieces ‘Still’, ‘Somewhere Out There’ and ‘Still, Still, Still’. We received a very positive response from anyone that heard us. After that, our focus was very much on the upcoming Spring Concert. We began rehearsing at Monday lunchtimes as well as continuing with our Wednesday after school session. Finally, after all of the hard work and long rehearsals it was the night of the annual Grosvenor Grammar School Spring Concert. The Junior Singers were second up to perform and the pieces we sang included ‘Kusimama’, ‘Why We Sing’ and ‘Still.’ Everyone did exceedingly well and we could not be happier with how our performance went. I would like the thank Ms Bourke and Miss Foster for all the hard work they have put into the Junior Singers this year. We could not have done it without them. I look forward to another successful year with Junior Singers.
Maddie Gribbon 9S
Orchestra
It was a great opportunity to be the leader of the Grosvenor Grammar School Orchestra this year, especially as I currently play violin in the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra and Ulster Youth Orchestra.
In Grosvenor, the Orchestra provides everyone with a chance to play music together and develop playing and performance skills that can only be experienced in the challenges of group-playing. We practise a variety of pieces throughout the year but for the annual Spring Concert and open nights we concentrated on the extensive ‘Abba Medley’, arranged by Richard Ling. We rehearse every Thursday afternoon after school from September until the concert, working hard to perfect our technique. A big thanks must go to Mr Nigel Snell, our conductor, who has shown nothing but dedication and commitment over the years, and the orchestra would not be where it is without him, and also to Miss Foster for her support and organisation.
Lucy Hamilton 14 TG2
Jazz Band
After school on Thursdays once all the strings and woodwind have cleared off after orchestra, Grosvenor’s Jazz Band moves into the Lecture/Dance Hall to practice. We had lower numbers than usual this year and were missing key instruments, such as a trombone player. Despite this, the group of 9 or so players worked valiantly on preparing a program for the annual Spring Concert under the guidance of our committed conductor Mr Nigel Snell. The group also entertains on open nights, and various musical assemblies throughout the year. This year we performed various styles of jazz, such as ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ arranged by John Berry, suitably contrasted by ‘Green Onion’ arranged by Roger Holmes. The band’s favourite piece or in fact the signature tune of GGS Jazz Band remains the uplifting ‘Birtdland’. There’s good banter and a relaxed atmosphere during rehearsals and playing jazz really helps develop your musical ability and knowledge. The group is open to anyone who plays trumpet, trombone, saxophone, guitar, bass, drums, or keyboard and we rehearse from 4:15pm to 5pm on Thursdays. We are always happy to have new members, so if you play one of these instruments and want to have a go, you’re always welcome to come along!
Ben Russell 14 TG1
String Ensemble
String Group is an extra-curricular music activity in which string players rehearse on a Thursday after the main school orchestra from 4.15pm to 5.00pm. We play an extensive range of music from pieces by living composers such as John Williams Movie Themes, a string arrangement of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, TV Theme Tunes such as Downtown Abbey and pop arrangements such as ‘Yesterday’, ‘You Raise Me Up’, Viva La Vida. Throughout this year we balanced foot tapping chart pieces with sectional rehearsals (dividing into Violin 1, Violin II, Viola, Cello and Double Bass) to develop our string technique. This was showcased in a polished performance of the famous piece ‘Amadeus’ from Symphony No. 25, arranged by Jamin Hoofman. The Spring Concert is a musical highlight of the year and one that helps us to target our progress but in addition we look forward to playing at a couple of music assemblies throughout the year. The School’s Open Nights in January is a major occasion, playing in front prospective Grosvenor pupils and providing a friendly ambiance for our visitors. These great experiences have definitely improved everyone’s playing technique, sight-reading and have provided opportunities to build one’s self confidence while playing alongside pupils in all year groups and make friendships with fellow musicians. I would encourage anyone playing a string instrument to join, as it is a fun way to end a Thursday afternoon.
Karl Kirkpatrick 13 TG5
Brass Group
The Grosvenor Brass Group has gone from strength to strength during the academic year of 2017-2018 under the enthusiastic leadership of Mr W. Thompson, a former pupil of the school. The group includes musicians from Year 8 through to Year 14 and brings together brass musicians who play cornet/trumpet, tenor horn, baritone, euphonium and tuba in various groups outside school, both in the City of Belfast School of Music and local brass bands. Meeting on Tuesday mornings before Registration, members of the group have enjoyed working on a wide variety of music throughout the year. Mr Thompson always manages to be witty, patient and encouraging, even at such an early hour of the morning.
This year the band enjoyed playing traditional Christmas Carols in the wonderful acoustic of St. Anne’s Cathedral before the Grosvenor Carol Service.
We also played at the Open Evenings for the Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils viewing the school. We were located in the Science Department which allowed the parents and children to listen to us playing as they walked around the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Laboratories. Some families stopped and listened to us playing, which hopefully is an indication of future brass players coming to Grosvenor in the future.
Our final performance to wrap up the year was the Spring Concert which showcases all the talent, especially in the Music Department. In the concert we played two pieces, the first was the familiar Can-Can by Jacques Offenbach and the second was Zambezi by Nico Carstens and Anton De Waal, arranged by Derek Broadbent.
The Brass Group thoroughly enjoyed working with Mr Thompson throughout the year on new pieces that pushed us to demonstrate our talent. Any new brass or percussion players would be very welcome, especially any trombone players!
Andrew Lawrie 14 TG2 and Victoria Lloyd 12R
Flute Group
This year, flute group had to be restarted from scratch as unfortunately all of last year’s members were in upper sixth. This however did not deter us. A group of five of us banded together and met up every Thursday morning after the Christmas Holidays. We were expertly led by the extremely talented Mrs Guyomard, who pushed us to achieve the best of our abilities and helped us to develop into well-rounded musician. We began working on some new pieces to rebuild the Flute Group repertoire and in the annual Spring Concert in March we debuted with Rondo Alla Turca (Turkish March) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. For me, with being in upper sixth this means that I unfortunately won’t be able to play with the Flute Group again next year, but I strongly urge all aspiring flautists to join as it will help to greatly develop your musical abilities and is also a wonderful opportunity to play in a group and have a good laugh.
Chloe McCully 14 TG5
Guitar Club
Guitar Club is fun, loud and a good way to end the week in Grosvenor Grammar School. We meet for an hour every Friday at 3.25pm in the music department to jam and create a bit of fusion with old rock and indie classics that just keep coming back and new songs that strike a chord with everyone. Some prefer rock, some pop and others just go with the flow. Guitars, bass, drums and vocals are the order of the day and noise levels high but the emphasis is definitely on having fun.
On open nights we get the chance play some of our favourite covers in a relaxed fashion in front of the many visitors to the music department and then as part of the spring concert we have the opportunity to put our musical performance skills to the test in what is always a very enjoyable and special night.
Guitar club is always a popular item in the Spring Concert and this year was no exception with a polished performance of ‘Careless Whisper’ by George Michael, ‘Youngblood’ by 5 Seconds of Summer and ‘To know him is to love him’ by Dolly Parton, which proved a great success with the audience.
Mr M. Flanagan
Guitar Tutor