The Edinburgh Academy

The Senior Orchestra

has played symphonies by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, and works such as Walton's Crown Imperial and Sibelius' Finlandia in recent years.

The String Orchestra

has explored a wide range of repertoire from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no 3 to Elgar's and Dag Wiren's Serenades.

The Junior Concert Band

(with musicians aged 10-13) reaches an astonishing standard in works as varied as Susato's Danserye and Garland's In the Mood.

The Senior Concert Band

tackles ambitious works such as Brahms' Academic Festival Overture and Shostakovich's Jazz Suite.

The Senior Wind Ensemble

has played music from the Mozart and Dvorak Serenades and more modern works such as Jean Francaix's Le Gay Paris and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera Suite.

The Dance Band

will (almost) persuade you that Glenn Miller is alive and well and living in Edinburgh, but they tackle much more recent music too. An example of modern dance band music (53MB video .avi file) may be downloaded by those with broadband.

The Pipe Band

Under the auspices of the Combined Cadet Force, the Band plays an important part in the musical life of the school, performing on many occasions both formal and informal. Members of the Band also perform outside school for various clubs and associations, for Remembrance Day services and other events, and participate in the annual CCF Beating of Retreat ceremonies at Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood. The Band has won many competitions, including the Independent Schools CCF Competition on fifteen occasions.

The Choir

About 130 strong, leads the worship at the annual Carol Service - in recent years carols composed by pupils have often been a feature - and gives two large-scale performances a year. In the winter the pupils perform on their own - recent works have included Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Orff's Carmina Burana.

Chamber Choir

The chamber choir comprises around thirty singers (in four parts). Our singers are always enthusiastic;  they have to be,  as rehearsals take place before school at 8:15 four mornings per week! This continuity helps their voices develop carefully,  and ensures that they learn a wide range of repertoire,  which in turn improves their sight reading skills.  Music is always carefully chosen,  edited,  arranged or transposed to best suit their young voices.  They regularly sing sacred and secular music from the 16th century to the present day. (Order chamber choir CD)

Parents' Choir (The E A Choral Society)

Rehearsals take place every Wednesday night during term time from 7.45pm - 9.30pm in the Robertson Room.

No need to audition, just come along.

Performances

Concerts

All the groups perform regularly: over 150 musicians take the Queen's Hall stage each May - a few final year pupils are given the opportunity to perform solo concerto movements - and there are major concerts each November in school or in Stockbridge.

Weekly lunchtime concerts in school give further opportunities for performance by soloists and small groups. Many smaller wind, brass and string ensembles rehearse weekly and are on show in the twice-yearly chamber concerts in the Hall. We are always pleased to receive invitations to perform for charity purposes.

The Chamber Choir has gained a fine reputation outside the school; in one year they broadcast no less than three times on BBC radio. They were heard on Classic FM's Lesley Garratt Show. They also regularly sing at St Mary's and St Giles' cathedrals. They have brought out a superb CD, copies of which may be obtained at the school. The Chamber Choir and Dance Band have made tours in recent years to Germany, France and Orkney. The String Orchestra visited Shetland.

Productions and Competitions

An opera or musical is put on at least every year, either in conjunction with St George's School or independently, with pupils contributing to the orchestra. Recent productions have included Princess Ida and The Boyfriend (at St George's). Staff and pupils combine biennially to give concert performances of works such as Cosi Fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Fidelio.

The growing popularity of the Academy Burns Suppers both in and out of school premises have given instrumentalists and singers further opportunities to perform. Burns Suppers also bring the Pipe Band to the fore.

Of all the Academy's musical occasions, perhaps the most remarkable and important is the Division Music Competition. The school divides into four Divisions right across the age-range, and each presents its own twenty-five minute programme of music for orchestra, choir and other groups under the direction of senior pupils. The astonishingly high standards and the enthusiasm with which they are achieved reflect well on the state of music in the school.