Music
Gustav Holst was Director of Music at the school during the period he composed his orchestral suite, The Planets; he was succeeded by Herbert Howells before John Gardner followed in the 1950s. Gardner wrote many memorable pieces for the school, including his popular Christmas carols Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day and The Holly and the Ivy.
The school has many music programs, for mainstream pupils, and also scholarship or advanced pupils. The training orchestra, called the "Sinfonia", is generally for years 7-9, however some lower ability students stay on. It trains for one and a half hours a week. The advanced orchestra, called the "Symphony", is generally for years 10 and above, however, higher ability and scholarship musicians from younger year groups perform in it as well. It trains for two hours a week. There are also a number of string, brass and flute groups, as well as a wind band. The school also has a choral program. For Lower School students (ages 11-13), there is the Junior Choir. For Middle School Students (ages 14-16) there is a Middle School Choir. Both of these are open to all. However, for the Senior School (ages 16-18), there is a select choir. For the entire school, there is an advanced choir - "Paulina Voices" - to which admission is by audition only.
Read more about this topic: St Paul's Girls' School
Famous quotes containing the word music:
“So gladly, from the songs of modern speech
Men turn, and see the stars, and feel the free
Shrill wind beyond the close of heavy flowers,
And through the music of the languid hours,
They hear like ocean on a western beach
The surge and thunder of the Odyssey.”
—Andrew Lang (1844–1912)
“The harp that once through Tara’s halls The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on Tara’s walls As if that soul were fled.”
—Thomas Moore (1779–1852)
“He turned out to belong to the type of publisher who dreams of becoming a male muse to his author, and our brief conjunction ended abruptly upon his suggesting I replace chess by music and make Luzhin a demented violinist.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)