We were delighted to welcome nearly 100 LGS pupils to our Musicians’ Breakfast last week. It was high time we said “thank you” for the hard work your children put in to enjoying their music-making day after day. Naturally, we kept the music flowing with performances from the Lower School Strings, Flute Group, and Senior Brass and announced that our first round of music colours will be awarded at the end of this term.

So many of our young people go above and beyond to seize the musical opportunities on offer. Even before term started, around forty pupils travelled to Warwick Arts Centre to watch the National Youth Orchestra and meet some of the players, an experience we hope will inspire them to join the ranks of this world-leading orchestra. Barely a week later, ‘Meet the Music Teachers’ showcased some 25 new musicians from the Year 7 scheme, a unique platform we hope will springboard many onto a path of continued instrumental study.

There is plenty of music going on. So, why do we value it so much at LGS?

Music encompasses community, communication, cognition, creativity, concentration, culture – all rolled into one – especially when individual hard work combines with collaboration and the thrill of live, embodied performance.  

In short, we value music because we know it’s good for our health!

Daisy Fancourt, professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at UCL, explores this further, examining the science of how the arts transform our health. Her book, Art Cure, is a fascinating read and draws on the expertise she gleaned from her time at the Centre for Performance Science at the Royal College of Music and Imperial College, London. We are delighted to be working with the Royal College on performance research, helping our pupils gain greater skill and resilience as performers, whichever career they choose in the future.

To gain a glimpse into the vibrancy of today’s music industry, we welcomed back the inspirational singer, composer, and animateur Eleanor Rashid (OL) to ​record a podcast​. She reflects on her time discovering her passion for music whilst at LGS, and her current portfolio career – I hope you enjoy!

I will finish by highlighting two of our major upcoming performances:

• LGS Big Band at the Little Theatre – 4 March – tickets here
• LGS Chorus and First Orchestra – 19 March – tickets here

Thank you to Mr Barker for sharing a little of his boundless enthusiasm and for helping to explain why music is such an important part of life at our school. We know that the skills pupils acquire in music are valuable in their own right, but are also relevant in a much broader sphere.

Magnus Anderson
Headmaster