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 String Orchestra have twice visited Shetland, joining forces with local string players. Most recently, collaboration with local musicians has also been a feature when members of the Senior Orchestra toured Virginia (2006) and the Sorrento area (2008) see review below..

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 Big 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 Big 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. The second concert is given in conjunction with the Choral Society and a specially invited orchestra.

Chamber Choir

The chamber choir comprises around 55 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)

The E A Choral Society

Many, but not all, of the members of this thriving adult choir are present and former parents. Rehearsals take place every Wednesday evening during term time from 7.45- 9.30pm at Henderson Row. All are welcome without audition! There are two concerts a year: the first in early December, and the second in June in conjunction with the school choir and, when it is available, in the Usher Hall.

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 regular chamber concerts in the Hall. We are always pleased to receive invitations to perform for charity purposes. Invitations this year have come from the Cameo Club at Blackhall, St Columba’s Hospice and the Corstorphine Trust, and we will give a Charity Concert at St Stephen’s Church, Comely Bank in March 2010.

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 Giles' cathedral. They have brought out a superb CD, copies of which may be obtained at the school. The Chamber Choir and Big 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 other year, with pupils contributing to the orchestra. Recent productions have included West Side Story, O what a lovely war! and The Mikado.

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.

Orchestral Tour to Sorrento 2008

I am happy to say that the school’s trip to Sorrento this half term was an enormous success. The orchestra had been working very hard for this tour with rehearsals dating back into last year, and a number of pre-tour concerts, so it was great to see that all of our hard work paid off.

We left on Thursday 16th and, after a long day’s travelling, we arrived in our fantastic hotel in the centre of Sorrento. The weather was a perfect 25 degrees with blues skies, and the food was outstanding, with tasty three course meals every day and of course the fabulous ice cream. Throughout the week we spent a lot of our time sightseeing. We visited the island of Capri with its amazing hills and views over mainland Italy. We also visited the historic ruins of both Pompeii and Herculaneum, and a tour of the Amalfi coast with its astonishing views. We climbed to the top of Vesuvius and even got to go inside the crater of the active volcano! All of the above were spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities which were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

When we weren’t sightseeing we had a busy schedule of concerts and rehearsals (the first in the garden of Hotel Eden amongst the lemon trees). We got to play inside some amazing buildings – a villa by the sea, two churches.. but also on a special stage set up in the loading bay of a tomato canning factory – and all four of our evening concerts went really well. Everybody played their part and we even managed a standing ovation! Overall the trip was very enjoyable and a great experience.

Chris Littleboy