Prospectus Session 2016-17

teachers Steven Isserlis, Felix Andrievsky and Joanna MacGregor. We have greatly enjoyed welcoming established
musicians such as David Watkin, Simon Smith, Steven Osborne and Susan Tomes who have on occasion come into
school to try out new programmes on a receptive, critical audience.
Pupils play regularly in youth orchestras such as the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, the National Children’s Orchestra, the
National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and the National Youth
Orchestra of Great Britain, sing in the National Youth Choirs of Scotland and attend chamber music courses such as
the Hebrides Ensemble course at the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. Pupils often play alongside professional
musicians in groups such as the Edinburgh Quartet and the Scottish Ensemble. Permission from the Headteacher and
Director of Music must be sought by any pupil wishing to participate in an external musical event.
Competitions, local, national or international, as well as ABRSM exams, are used for encouragement, experience or
measures of progress, as judged appropriate by music staff. Pupils have enjoyed considerable success in the BBC Young
Musician competition and BBC Jazz and Folk Awards and in other competitions and festivals around the country,
including the Moray Piano Competition, the British Flute Society Competition and the Royal National Mòd. Pupils are
often awarded the Diploma of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (DipABRSM).
Academic Music and aural-based theoretical and practical musicianship is provided to enhance the skills a musician
needs to be a fully-rounded performer. As singing is an excellent way of developing the ear every pupil participates in
Choir on a weekly basis. Junior pupils study theory, general and practical musicianship, including composition and
improvisation. Senior pupils study harmony, counterpoint, practical harmony, composition, aural perception, form and
analysis and history of music. Pupils sit Cambridge iGCSE in S4 and SQA Advanced Higher Music in S5; pupils in S6
usually sit the Cambridge Pre-U exam or will follow an advanced course best suited to their academic profile. Either
pathway will involve both Theory and Practical and/or Composition. Pupils are encouraged to study for Grade 8 Theory
and/or Practical Musicianship.
St Mary’s Music School has commissioned and performed works from several Scottish-based composers: in recent years
“O” and “Seven Last Words from the Cross” from James MacMillan, “Veni Sancte Spiritus” from Alasdair Spratt,
“Lorca Songs” from Alasdair Nicolson, “Capricci” by Lyell Cresswell, a String Quintet and orchestral works by Tom
David Wilson. Composition, led by Tom David Wilson, is strong amongst pupils, and composers’ concerts and
workshops are held regularly. Composers are expected to rehearse and conduct their work, and to record and present
the results online. The Cathedral has long been at the forefront of commissioning and recording works from many
leading composers (see Choristers pages). Vice-President Sir James MacMillan is a regular visitor to school, giving talks
and workshops on different aspects of composition. We promote the annual Isobel Dunlop Composition Award, which
in 2014 was supported by the author Alexander McCall Smith and involved setting a text by W.H. Auden. The 2015
Competition was judged by Sebastian Forbes. This year we welcome the Master of the Queen's Music Judith Weir as
judge.
Chamber music and orchestral concerts have been recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 2
and BBC Television has filmed in connection with BBC Young Musician. The Choristers are heard regularly via radio
and TV and through the many recordings of the choir, several of which are to be found as Gramophone recommended
recordings.
Musically, the city of Edinburgh has a great deal to offer and each summer Edinburgh becomes the world’s festival city.
With the Usher Hall on the doorstep and the Queen’s Hall close by, pupils enjoy many opportunities to hear outstanding
soloists, orchestras, specialised baroque and contemporary ensembles, opera, and to hear and sometimes play with the
city’s thriving amateur chamber orchestras. The school plans such trips every week of the school year, with many of the
concerts offered free to our pupils. The extensive City Music Library is within walking distance of the school. The Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland is 50 minutes away in Glasgow.
All pupils go on to Higher Education, with by far the majority studying music and entering the music profession. Many
former pupils have enjoyed success in prestigious national and international competitions and many are now pursuing
international careers, for example guitarist Paul Galbraith, pianists Steven Osborne and Simon Smith, composers Helen
Grime and David Horne, jazz pianist Alan Benzie, soprano Susan Hamilton, mezzo-soprano Monica Brett-Crowther,
cellist Philip Higham and conductor Garry Walker. Comedian, actor and television presenter Alexander Armstrong was
a chorister at the school.
S t M a r y ’ s M u s i c S c h o o l