Fine Winter 2019

Music,
music,
music!
Director of Music, Neil Matthews, tells Fine Sussex & Surrey how
music at Hurst College is about inclusivity alongside quality, whilst
also allowing the most able to fulfil their potential
“Music is my first love and it will be my
last/Music of the future and music of the
past/To live without my music would
be impossible to do/So in this world of
troubles my music pulls me through” John
Miles Music 1976.
In this somewhat trite and ham-handed
lyric, John Miles encapsulates what music
means to virtually all of us on a purely
human level. Music surrounds us in our daily
lives whether we are choosing to listen
to it or simply hearing it as we go about
our business, wherever that may be. Music
speaks to every single one of us in some
way or other and the process of creating it
is something that everyone will experience
at some point or other. In the nursery
rhymes of our childhood to the hymns and
sporting anthems of our adulthood, we
will all engage in ensemble music-making
at some point. Music in any school is about
creating as many opportunities for that
music-making in as many styles as possible
and making those opportunities engaging,
worthwhile and enjoyable whilst striving
for the highest quality outcome as possible.
Music plays a huge role in our children’s
culture – it is everywhere – and fostering
a genuine appreciation of all manner of
styles and genres is key. Many studies
have concluded that there is a correlation
between learning music and academic
achievement and this is easy to see. The
single-minded determination required
to succeed when playing an instrument
is massive and the longitudinal approach
towards any musical outcome helps to
foster that way of working and thinking
elsewhere. Music is both a solo and
collaborative activity and, through honing
their skills individually before making music
with others, children develop socially
and are encouraged to push themselves
to achieve the best that they can.
Ensemble music-making and sharing music
collectively sparks intellectual thought and
fosters the ability to listen, learn and lead.
Both listening to and performing music
can stimulate all manner of emotional
responses from despair to sheer joy and,
for many pupils, is an important outlet to
express these emotions.
This is why it is so important that as much
music-making as possible is available to all
the pupils here at Hurst. Nobody should
ever be discouraged from taking part.
We have all heard friends and colleagues
declare that they can’t sing or play and all
too often this is accompanied by a tale
of a primary school teacher telling them
that they couldn’t. Music (alongside all the
other arts) is the adhesive which binds
together our civilised society and, as music
educators, we are at risk of closing the
door on music completely for our pupils.
It is important that we always remember
there is something for everyone, musically,
and no opportunity to perform or take
part should ever be squandered. These
musical opportunities do not need
to centre around music created by
traditional means either - with all of our
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