Spring /Summer 24 - Music thread

Maybe look at the grades- the specialist school near us gets the highest in the country I think. ( St Mary's in Edinburgh) Partly it's tiny and the kids are really motivated.

Thank you @horseymum 🙂It's such a big decision that I cannot make up my mind, and yes we would miss our friends. I'm also a bit concerned about academics - DD is not very academic but does reasonably well at school and might want to study something not related to music at uni.

Hi @Ubertomusic congrats on the offer. For us, JD works best as DD wouldn't want to board and the three specialist schools we could feasibly travel to would just be such long days, there wouldn't be time for any other life outside. She would have missed her friends too. It works well for others on this board though. We wouldn't have got enough fee reduction for the fee paying and the other two are state schools so would have saved money there. I think she might have considered it for 6th year but had dithered about for what to do it wasn't really an option. She gets the residential fun bit from courses.

HI@Ubertomusic - I have one who is now at music specialist school. She has three studies? You only get an offer on your first but you usually get to study the others as well? So DD has three hours of lessons across her three studies but the bulk on her first? she still gets to play the others in ensembles...

Happy to answer any more questions by message if it's helpful- though we are still just learning at the moment as she only started in September.

Hi, I'm looking for some thoughts on specialist music schools vs. JDs please.

DD plays 3 instruments and sings, she doesn't have enough time to practise so we applied to a specialist school. She got an offer, but on one instrument only so we'll need to continue privately on at least one more. We would need to move which is a huge change of lifestyle (work is flexible so no problem).

She's at a JD and happy there so I'm not sure what to do. We would definitely save 2-3 hours a day and maybe 10K a year as well, but I'm a bit concerned if it might get a bit odd not seeing non-musical people around. Also, I guess music schools (and JDs) can be very competitive at a higher level, and if you have no escape to "normal" life it might affect your mental health.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or personal experience.

What a shame. This was the one weekend ds hadn't got anything on although he had been hoping to go to a conference type event in London (an industry thing but where there are student tickets available). He played with this group a while back (for the benefit of others it is a group who usually do what is known as closed sitzprobes of west end shows but they occasionally also do public concerts).

Mine almost applied for that but he's already got paid work this Sunday which he can't change.

Thank you @horseymum! Would love for anyone else who have done this particular residential or have worked with Chineke! Junior orchestra before to share their experience please. Thank you everyone.

@thirdfiddle I definitely get emotional at kids concerts, whatever level.
@Comefromaway that's brilliant news, how exciting.
@BBLY not done Chinese but mine have loved every residential they have done so I would say to go for it. There's something so special about spending time with other young musicians. When did arrived at hers, she thought she'd only know two people but plenty of others said hi right away.

So it's confirmed. Ds is off to Belgium this weekend. He will be playing in an orchestra accompanying some famous west end stars (with a few isolated piano solos). He is beyond excited.

Congratulations for @Comefromaway DS, you must be so proud of him!
Well done for @thirdfiddle DD. Glad to see young people putting the efffort in and enjoying themselves!

Ooh comefromaway, that sounds exciting! &How lovely that it's you he needs to tell in the middle of the night.

DD back from her orchestra course and had an amazing time. I'm such a sap, all those young people having so much fun playing away on stage makes me tear up every time. Sod the grades, this is what it's all about 🎶💕

There is a very exciting potential orchestral project in the pipeline for ds, just waiting for the i's to be dotted and the t's crossed. He rnf me last night at 12.30am excited and unable to sleep!

Hi all. It’s lovely to read all the dc’s music activities. Has anyone’s DC done the Chineke! Junior’s summer residential course before please? TIA.

@horseymum i have had one confirmation that one of the pieces is 'cheesy'

• one of the pieces is always 'cheesy' - she hates anything that isn't a) difficult b) in Latin or similar and she also has a particular hatred of things like 'body percussion' and actions.

Also apparently there was a ceilidh last night WITH THE BOYS (this is girls' choir, so a new development where they do some stuff together)... but she didn't dance with them.

The food is apparently better than at her school.

That's it.

Hope everyone who's DC are on Easter courses are enjoying them. Have had about three words from DD which I think is a good sign!

We didn't spend nearly 1/4 on her bow. More like 10%! It's a lovely wooden one though and she loves it.

We will insure through Allianz I think. Just need to sort that and then remove the school one from our household insurance.

DD's bow alone would have been £600 new. Fortunately it was slightly less due to being second hand. The cello was so expensive but her teacher says it'll last her for life so that's something I suppose! She'll only be getting little birthday and Christmas presents this year! She's ok with that.

I do feel bad as her older brother doesn't get nearly as much spent on him! Suddenly a £200 hockey stick seems very reasonable!

wrong thread

Congrats on the new cello! We seem to have picked up another instrument on loan as according to teacher the one she had on loan wasn't good enough for upcoming concerts so he found another one. She's now got a taste for rather expensive instruments. Need to set her sights a bit lower when we buy before she leaves school.
Cost is a huge barrier - I look at our council orchestra and wonder what the improvement would be in sound ( and motivation?) if everyone could upgrade even one level of instrument. It's too expensive for many people and also not a priority - as a non musical parent, if a £70 violin 'works' why would you even pay £250, let alone £1000? There are grants and instrument loan schemes but many require the player to be at a good level already, the parents to be really engaged and aware of these things and also fit the financial criteria. Filling out forms is fiddly and success rate is low.
For us, rarer instruments have provided massive opportunities but are hugely expensive and fickle, requiring frequent visits to a repairer and costly consumables.

@QueenMabby yes it is a HUGE barrier. Those who do end up getting the grants and things that help often seem to have started very young (so musical but impecunious parents or particularly good schools) or to actually have been pretty well off in the first place to have got to the stage to get the support. Makes me very, very sad.

We're currently realising DD needs a piccolo. That's a cool £1000 apparently for the one her teacher approves of. And it's not even her first instrument!

New cello is exciting though. We still have a battered old 3/4 at home - it's called Blossom. Last one was called Cherry. Something to do with the wood colours I think. For some reason cellos get names in this house but not usually other instruments - perhaps it is because they are sort of person-sized and shaped. Last bassoon was bartholomew but current incumbent is nameless. Flute names never stick.

It is a massive barrier unfortunately Queen Mabby. It makes me sad too.