Keen to share our Harrodian love of music with those in the local community, music teacher Ms Baum organised a community concert for local neighbourhood care charity FISH.
'Our pupils are always looking for opportunities to perform and we have such wonderful musical talent here at Harrodian that it is a shame not to share it more widely' says music teacher Ms Claudia Baum when asked about the motivation behind her latest initiative.
Our pupils are always looking for opportunities to perform and we have such wonderful musical talent here at Harrodian that it is a shame not to share it more widely
Music teacher Ms Claudia Baum
Claudia's first idea was to create an auditioned choir that could be called on for ad-hoc performances. This resulted in the formation of the Harrodian Harmonies, a group of singers selected from the 11s/Year 7 to the 13s/Year 9. Impressed by their hard work and ability to learn challenging melodies and harmonies, she was determined to give them more exposure. With the support of new Director of Music, Ms Kay Le Doujet, and enthusiasm of the pupils themselves – some of whom also gave solo performances – her idea of a community concert became a reality.
On Friday 3rd November, our group of 17 pupils was invited to perform for guests of the charity FISH as part of their Retro Café at St. Michael & All Angels in Barnes – a get-together that supports those with early memory loss and dementia. The concert included four performances from our newly formed Harrodian Harmonies choir and five soloists, see the programme below.
Choir members:
11s/Year 7: Cara M, Evangeline R, Tilly T, Sasha S
12s/Year 8:: Ramsey B, Delilah M, Marina S, Xavi P, Sienna BS, Ava G, Ela P, Stella GM, Tabetha G, Beth W
13s/Year 9: Rebecca S, Sam O’C, Otta G, Chiara G
At the end of the concert, our Harrodian performers encouraged some audience participation with a Beatles-themed sing along. Clapping, singing and laughter were all part of the fun. After this they gave each FISH guest a Harrodian goodie bag containing a handmade lavender bag made by our PP3 gardening club pupils from the lavender grown on the allotment, a card written by the same PP3 pupils, some other lavender/purple-themed gifts and a special Harrodian crossword. All the pupils then sat down with the guests in the audience to chat and share a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit like a group of familiar old friends.
To see a short reel about of the event made on our @harrodiannews instagram page please click the image below or follow us on @harrodiannews:
Hopefully this concert marks the beginning of more community events to come and it is certainly something that Claudia is looking to develop when she says, 'Taking Harrodian music into the local community is something we feel really strongly about and after the success of this event, it is something we are definitely going to do more of in the future.'
Taking Harrodian music into the local community is something we feel really strongly about and after the success of this event, it is something we are definitely going to do more of in the future
Music teacher Ms Claudia Baum
Director of FISH Arlene is very excited about an ongoing partnership between the charity and Harrodian and is full of praise for our pupil performers describing them as both 'outstanding' and 'brilliant.' Enthusiastically she adds, 'it was so lovely to see those with early memory loss or dementia engaging with Harrodian pupils' performances and they all said it was a wonderful afternoon.'
It was so lovely to see those with early memory loss or dementia engaging with Harrodian pupils' performances and they all said it was a wonderful afternoon
Arlene, Director of neighbourhood care charity FISH
A huge congratulations to everyone involved. For those would like to be part of the Harrodian Harmonies choir next term Ms Baum will be running auditions in January and there are already plans for another community music event in spring next year, so watch this space!
