Making music a reality
When we realised a live Festival was just not going to be possible this year we started to consider how we could manage an online one. It would not be possible to host a “Zoom” type event with everyone present online as singers and instrumentalists would need an accompanist with them in the room at home which just wasn’t possible for the majority! So we decided to create online classes where performers could upload their work using a pre-recorded accompaniment where necessary.
To keep it simple we created 3 Music repertoire classes to cater for students at all stages of their development, Grade 4 and under, Grade 5 to 6 and Grade 7 and over and invited them to create a programme of 2 to 3 pieces to show off what they could do. Teachers, parents and students were all very pleased and excited that we were giving both an opportunity for students to showcase their work and something for students to work towards at a time when there are so few opportunities for either.
We were delighted to receive sixty entries featuring a variety of musical instruments ranging from harps, strings, woodwind and piano to electric guitar and also a good number of singers.
Performance videos were uploaded to google classrooms where they were assessed by professional adjudicators who gave a mark and written feedback. The adjudicators were impressed by both the high standard of the entries and the quality of the videos.
Below are just a selection of the exceptional performances that made this such a rewarding event.
