Autumn / Winter 2025 Music

DS’s state school has now finally finished. His orchestra performance was done and brilliant! It was their debut as it was a new orchestra and everyone was so excited and did excellently.
now I do have a question. Our local theatre has carmen in Feb. It’s by the Ukrainian national opera. I assume it’ll be very good and want to take DS to it. He’s been obsessed with Carmen music recently. However I’ve not seen it myself and not sure whether it’s suitable for a 9 years old or not? What do others think?
thank you.

That sounds exciting @herbaceous. How does that all work? Dd will be applying for Cambridge next year (not music) but is very interested in singing in the college chapel choir if she gets in. She’ll be g8 standard by then and will have been singing in a chapel choir for 9 years but I have no idea of how good you have to be to get in!

Fingers crossed then! My 10yr old got 87 so just made a distinction on her G5 violin so really dont want marks to go down!

We've done a good number of Trinity exams and never changed for us. It would be a bit of a public relations disaster if it did wouldn't it? So congratulations by the sounds of it!

Afternoon all. A mere 13 carol concerts here, plus rehearsals. Plus production rehearsals. And church services. I'm involved in about 10 of these concerts! All good fun though. I, however, never want to sing O Come all ye Faithful ever again.

DS's current project is buttering up musical directors of Cambridge Chapels, so he can go and sing to them to assess choral scholarship prospects! So far Kings and St John are very interested!

Hi, we have had the provisional trinity exam mark sheet back hut apparently it's not final until checked and a certificate issued. Has anyone known a mark change? (Really hoping it doesnt!) Thanks!

No Yoto, we are getting a CD player instead. Thanks for the album recommendations, very useful. I should add a good Christmas one to her library.

Sparks programme looks brilliant, thank you.

@musicadvice - as you are in London it would be worth looking at the Royal College of Music Sparks programme - a range of activities for children at various ages and levels with quite a bit in half terms etc.

When he’s older perhaps he could audition for NYMT pit band. (It took my son a couple of attempts to get in). Gave him a leg up in musical theatre & led to various opportunities.

At school & college he sought out the drama teacher & offered to play for rehearsals etc

his old piano teacher runs several community choirs including a couple of military wives choirs & that led to accompaniment work for my husband.

Yes, I think this could work for DS9. He can sightread at a level way above his age/ stage, as long as he's allowed to have one run-through first (his sightreading is better than his visual scanning skills). He's also happy to transpose to any key, which is a useful skill when accompanying choirs.

My son & my husband do a lot of accompaniment work. The main thing he s that you have to be a good sight reader. They work for am dram societies, community choirs & musical theatre colleges.

They're unenlightened where we live... oversupply of willing and able pianists and total lack of interest from the two ballet schools!

Vocational schools like the one my daughter went to sometimes struggle to recruit pianists. It is a particular skill though, there are courses you can do.

A lot of ballet schools would love a piano accompanist - if only they could find one.

@musicadvice if you're able to play CDs, there will be loads around in charity shops. Because there's just so much to sift through - looking at the recording label can help, eg EMI for the very traditional recordings. I recommend Channel Classics as a label - they produced really amazing recordings in the 90s and 00s by the likes of Pieter Wispelwey and Florilegium - as well as Gimell (the Tallis Scholars' label - they recorded the second ever CD recorded in about 1980,and everything they've done since), Coro (the Sixteen's label), Pentatone...

For a real banger, try The New Dutch Academy's Corelli Concerto Grossi CD. Highly recommended for inspiring budding violinists!

@horseymum yes that's my aim too. The idea of a career has only emerged since he's moved exceptionally quickly on organ, while everything else looks increasingly like exec function challenges are going to make everything a challenge.

Good to hear your son is now managing. I do worry about future independence... even if we know where the niche is likely to be. So many skills to acquire yet...

@BurntOutParent that Bach sounds amazing - I will check it out!

@musicadvice does your DD have a yoto player? I have a 7yo and he loves his - they have really lovely versions of a lot of the pieces mentioned here - Peter and the Wolf, Carnival of the Animals, the Nutcracker, and they have “my first violin/piano/classical music” albums that are full of bangers. I’m a huge fan of the Christmas one as it has lots of interesting choral music. We are also big into CDs and let the DCs rifle through our old collections. The compilation type ones are their favourites - “100 classics” or the classic fm hall of fame double CD special - these pieces are famous and popular for a reason and easier to listen to one movement of something rather than say a whole symphony.

I hope your DS has a fab time doing the crib service - a fun first 'gig'!

And yes i agree about 9yo boys, though mine makes most look pretty organised, self-contained and sensible...

@musicadvice she'd probably quite like the Story Orchestra books - and you can follow up with good recordings of each of the pieces.

Dunno if your household is into baroque music at all, but the Netherlands Bach Society's All of Bach project on youtube - i.e. professionally recording everything Bach ever wrote - is just fabulous. Have spent many hours down that particular rabbit hole since DS9 was a baby and he is now playing many of the pieces on there.

Guildhall students play lots of concerts at Milton Court, I'm sure they'll appreciate wider audience :)

www.gsmd.ac.uk/whats-on?event_category=110&event_type=713

@Ubertomusic Thanks - all of this is very useful. I'm ordering How to Build an Orchestra and see they do individual instrument books too which will be great for my eldest. Will check out LSO.

Thanks all, you've been so generous with your recommendations. I will hang around this thread in future!

@yodaforpresident This recording is beautiful, thank you so much.