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Well, another year for music in QVS and my first full year. 2002 / 2003 has been a busy and exciting time for the music department with concerts, visiting performers, lots of new young players arriving, some new equipment in the classroom and exciting plans for the future.
The previous year ended with the summer concert, featuring our sixth year leavers, Amy Morton, Lyndsey McAulay and Laura Dunnachie who had a challenging time performing some pieces specially written for the occasion. One other sixth year leaver fulfilled a personal ambition when Matthew Roessler made an appearance playing piano in a small ensemble; he had kept this performing talent secret for most of his time at QVS!
On the instrumental teaching side we have recently said goodbye to John Dallas, our clarinet and saxophone tutor, who has left to do more work singing in Scottish Opera. Piano lessons have
restarted with Miss Deanne Campbell, clarsach with lan Wood and we now have our own fiddle group tutored by Pam Johnston. Our pupils have been out performing at a number of occasions including the School's first visit to Le Cropt Church, with a group of instrumentalists and dancers entertaining a combined church guild group. The fiddle group took part early in the year at the Burns for Bairns morning in Dunblane, and made a great impression on their first outing.
As well as a visit from the Lowland Division Band, in the spring term, we had a visit from the RAF band that put on a wonderful performance for our pupils.
Thanks to some extra funding this year the music department has joined the IT revolution with the purchase of new computer music workstations. All P7, Sl, S2 and certificate music pupils are using these computers with their synthesizer keyboards to
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compose and manipulate music. This year we are losing fifth year student David McDougall, trumpeter, pianist and organist who has been a very important member of our musical community. David, who has gained places in both the Scottish Schools Orchestra and this year the Scottish Youth Orchestra, is leaving to
take up a place in one of Scotland's specialist music schools. We all wish David the best of luck working towards his future career
The School Windband has once again been at the centre of many musical events in the school with both the summer concert and our Christmas Carol concert. We had some great fun in the audience participation carols and after a very nervous evening performance the young singers from P7 put in a good performance for the parents on the last morning of term.
The school continues to provide musicians for community functions and keeps links to its foundation with youngsters performing at Erskine Hospital, Karen Harrower playing the last
post at Stirling's Armistice service and the Windband playing for our own armistice service and OVA'S Parade Sunday.
This has been an exciting year with an increase in pupils taking certificate music, more instrumental lessons, new music technology in the department, the gift of an extensive record collection from Mr Michael Campbell, five new flutes from the schools special funding, and the start of fund raising to build a new music performing and teaching block.
We still have two more performances outside the school and the end of term concert to follow; then we can start to complete the plans for 2003 / 2004.
Mr Breingan, Director of Music
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