We are a small school that punches above its weight in Music and, in our Centenary year, nothing has changed in this regard.
Last term saw our Gala Centenary Concert at the Stoller Hall in Manchester and, in March, we will be back there for the Bellevue Northern Music Festival. This is an event we initiated back in 2016 and is held every two years to showcase the immense musical talents of the four northern Bellevue Schools - Forest Prep, Forest Park, Brabyns and Edenhurst. Our Year 5 and 6 pupils (and some Year 4s) will present a varied programme of musical pieces/songs and will join with pupils from the other schools in a mass choral work. In addition, our instrumentalists will perform two pieces as part of the inaugural Combined Bellevue Festival Orchestra - over thirty Bellevue musicians coming together to make music together!
Most recently, we had three pupils selected as National Finalists in the Independent Schools’ Association ‘Young Musician of the Year’ competition. Over the years, we have consistently had one musician in the National Final but to have three is unprecedented and was commented upon by many Heads and Directors of Music at the event itself. AW (our Music Captain), JC and ZZ travelled to Oxford for the Grand Final and performed brilliantly - unfortunately, no podium places amongst very stiff competition, but they represented Forest with pride.
Also this term, we have:
Wednesday 5th March - Years 3 and 4 going to the Halle Orchestra concert at the Bridgewater Hall
Friday 7th March - Greenhouse Choir performing at the Heaton Mersey Festival
Saturday 8th March - Mrs Whittaker’s singers performing at the Heaton Mersey Festival
Thursday 13th March - Years 5 and 6 going to ‘The Magic Flute’ performed by Opera North at The Lowry
End of March/start of April - Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Examinations held in school for piano, violin and trumpet pupils
Keep an eye out on the Music Instagram page (@forestprep_music) for pictures and stories of what is going on.
Finally, the big Summer Show reveal will be happening on World Book Day - are Year 6 and Upper School ready for what is to come?
