20th-25th July 2015

 

The academy’s ever-popular summer music course  was enjoyed by thirty-five students this year, led by a team of  nine teachers.  The course is open island-wide, and this year it included children ranging from 9yrs to 17yrs of age, playing violin, viola, cello, piano, flute, saxophone, trumpet, tuba, cornet, and percussion.

 

The mornings were committed to music tuition, with a variety of one-to-one lessons, chamber music coaching, theory and aural coaching, individual practice, and large ensemble rehearsals using every nook and cranny of the property!  All the childrens’ time was fully timetabled, and in the break-times and lunchtimes we all had the opportunity to stretch our legs and let off some steam on the lawns.

 

 

The afternoons were dedicated to activites, and the first was an action-packed three-hour session at Creepy Valley, including the Aerial Trek, Powerfan Jump, King Swing, and Zip-Wire.  Exhilarating and challenging in equal measure!

 

The second afternoon was a chance to relax at the Aquasplash leisure pool, and on the third day we had great fun with Lawn Games (including rounders, football, racing, wink-murder, and sleeping lions!).  The Thursday evening presented the first concert of the course, and this took place at Georgetown Methodist Church in front of a packed audience.  The concert featured a mixture of student and teacher performances.

 

 

On the Friday afternoon we were based at St. Brelade’s Bay with Jersey Seafaris, and everyone had the chance to experience the high-speed thrills of the speedboat, and despite the sun not shining at its brightest we were still able to hold the obligatory sand-castle building competition:

 

 

The Saturday of the course was dedicated to the final concert, with preparations and final rehearsals all morning before parents, family and friends arrived for the afternoon concert.  All the course participants performed the pieces they had worked on all week, and congratulations to all the performers for giving us such a wonderful concert to complete the course!

 

 

5th July 2015

 

The academy’s annual concert at the Jersey Arts Centre gave lots and lots of students the opportunity to perform in a professional concert venue, and this time round the concert focussed entirely on chamber music.  Divided into numerous duets, trios, quartets and larger ensembles, the concert featured a wide range of music for strings, wind, brass, percussion and piano.  Kandid Prints were there to take some high-quality photos of the performances, which can be viewed at their website: www.kandidprints.co.uk.

 

21st-24th April 2015

 

Jersey young musicians had the opportunity to perform side by side with musical friends from Coutances in a series of concerts.  The exchange link between the Jersey Academy of Music and the Ecole de Musique de Coutances was formed in 2012 through the St.Ouen’s Twinning Association, and in 2013 an trio of young musicians from Coutances visited the island, which was then reciprocated in 2014 when seven local academy students visited Coutances.  This time round, a six-strong French flute ensemble visited Jersey, led by their teacher Pascale Mabire.

 

 

The residency began with rehearsals in which the French and Jersey students met for the first time and put together the various pieces of music they had learnt in advance, led by local academy tutors Claire and Andrew Harvey.  On the Wednesday morning, the French musicians performed a schools concert at Janvrin Primary School, introducing the various types of flute, including piccolo and bass flute, and one particular highlight was the Arabian Dance performed at the end with the support of the schoolchildren on various percussion instruments.  That evening the combined Jersey/Coutances ensemble gave their first concert at St.George’s Church, St.Ouen.  The audience were treated to a wide range of solo and ensemble pieces, culminating in a massed group performance of Chitty Bang Bang.

 

 

The following day the French group were back at St.Ouen, performing to Les Landes Primary School, and many of the children were already familiar with Coutances through the parish’s link.  That evening the combined local and French students gave their second concert at Georgetown Methodist Church, marking the church’s 171st concert in their series.

 

 

The final schools concert took place the following morning at Victoria College Preparatory School, in which all the instruments were showcased with the support of various academy tutors.  By the conclusion of the tour, the visiting students had performed to over six hundred schoolchildren. Plans are in place for local academy students to travel to Coutances next year to continue the exciting exchange.

 

 

14th-15th March 2015  

 

Led by the ‘Dyva Duet’, with academy percussion tutor Eva Hsieh and her visiting duo partner Judy Chen, this project was open to local young flautists and percussionists islandwide.

 

 

The weekend focussed on ensemble playing, combining a mixture of flute and percussion coaching.  The groups worked on specially arranged repertoire, and the course led towards a concert on the Sunday evening. This concert also provided the platform for the inaugural performance of the newly formed Jersey Sinfonietta, conducted by Russell Abraham, and was enjoyed by a packed recital hall.

 

 

20th-22nd February 2015

 

On the 20th February Jersey welcomed the English Brass Academy to Jersey to hold a weekend brass course at the Jersey Academy of Music, Chateau Vermont. Led by EBA’s Artistic Director Paul Archibald plus Steve Stirling & Jonathon Hopes, they & local tutors joined forces to inspire & coach 37 players aged 8-20!

 

The course commenced on the Friday evening with an opening concert at Jersey’s St Helier Town Hall where visiting & local tutors joined to perform solos & ensemble works which included Mozart’s Magic Flute for 4 Horns (Alan Civil) with Steve Stirling, Victoria Laurens, Pippa Lumbard & Stuart Lumbard. EBA tutors performed Poulenc’s Trio for Trumpet, Horn & Trombone.

 

Saturday morning at 9am welcomed a bustling atmosphere of nerves & excitement throughout the Chateau! This quickly moved to laughter & fun with Paul Archibald’s clever & enjoyable ice-breakers & warm up games! Steve Stirling led the students into an insightful session on breathing & before they knew it everyone was relaxed & focused, ready for the hard work to begin! Players were split into a variety of chamber groups – being mindful of age as well as ability & off they went! Not long before a well-earned break was due before another ensemble session!

 

 

After lunch time the players were split according to instruments for a performance workshop. Each student had 10 or 15 minutes to perform & gain a mini lesson from the visiting tutors – a fascinating experience to observe as well as participate in! Every player gained so much from this session regardless of the standard of the student on the platform in tips & techniques to explore.

 

 

After a break more ensemble work saw pieces taking good shape in preparation for the course concert the following afternoon. 5pm saw the majority of students pack up for the day, leaving the advanced older students to take part in a very insightful discussion on the world of music colleges & universities & the professional world of playing. Tutors & students also joined together to rehearse the Capriol Suite.

 

 

Sunday again started with warm ups & games, including rhythm games & a surprisingly tricky game “3,6,9”. Ensemble time was then the emphasis for the remainder of the morning, where rough edges were smoothed & chamber music techniques refined in preparation for the afternoon’s performance.

 

After a full concert rehearsal which included a mass performance of “Summer in Spain” cleverly arranged by Paul Archibald to include every one of the 37 players, family & friends arrived to fill to capacity the concert hall to enjoy a very successful concert. This included Quintets, dectets & other chamber groups & the before mentioned massed performance!!

 

The weekend was a great success which both students & tutors thoroughly enjoyed! New friends were gained & playing standards were definitely heightened!

 

“The recent collaboration with the Jersey Academy of Music was a real highlight for me and my work with English Brass Academy. The enthusiasm and professionalism of everyone at JAM, the beautiful environment of the Chateau and the opportunity to work with such positive, talented students was very memorable. I hope that this will be the first of many joint projects in the future.” Paul Archibald, Artistic Director, English Brass Academy

 

”A brilliant weekend of brass workouts for all comers in the palatial setting of Chateau Vermont! It was fantastic to see young players raise their game so quickly and get to grips with blowing for real! The concert at the end of the weekend was very exciting – some strong musical personalities started to emerge – I’m sure we will be seeing a lot more of brass players from Jersey!” Steve Stirling, Horn Tutor, English Brass Academy

 

Special thanks goes to the visiting tutors for their enthusiasm & inspiration, local tutors for giving up their time & to the support of the Jersey Academy of Music & Jersey Music Service – without whom this wonderful weekend would not have been possible!

 

Pippa Lumbard, Brass tutor, Jersey Academy of Music