Recital at Noon ❄️🎶

Huge congratulations to all our performers at last Saturday’s Recital at Noon. The snow certainly added a layer of logistical excitement, with some musicians quite literally digging themselves out ☃️, but ACMS rose to the occasion with a superb and varied programme.

The audience enjoyed music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, Peter Stewart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Herbie Hancock, and Lerner and Loewe. Many thanks to St Andrew’s Cathedral for hosting us so warmly, and for their continued support of ACMS and our young musicians. We are very grateful indeed. Well done to everyone involved.

Epiphany Service

Warm congratulations to our pupils and former pupils who took part in the Epiphany service at St Andrew’s Cathedral on Sunday evening. This important service marks the close of the Christmas season and provides that final chance to sing the great carols and descants one last time. We even spotted an ACMS pupil in the congregation.

The choir and clergy at St Andrew’s go out of their way to support our young musicians, both practically and musically. It was a joy to watch highly experienced singers helping our pupils learn and grow within the service. Opportunities like this are exceptionally rare. There are very few places in the country where young musicians can voluntarily sing in services of this musical standard. The Evensong tradition at St Andrew’s closely mirrors that of major Oxford and Cambridge colleges or city cathedrals, yet here local young musicians are welcomed with open arms. We are deeply thankful for this generosity and for such a memorable service.

Lower School Technical Assessments

Congratulations to our Lower School pupils who completed their technical assessments this week. These assessments are designed to explore how pupils approach their daily practice and how effectively they use their time to develop technique. Each assessment is audio recorded, allowing pupils and tutors to review the work together and identify next steps.

It was encouraging to see so many pupils taking their technical development seriously, and particularly rewarding to hear how much progress many have made over the last year or two. For staff, these assessments provide a fascinating window into the focus, discipline and growing skill sets of our young musicians.

A Lunchtime of Music at Cowdray Hall

Congratulations to our young musicians who performed this week to a large and appreciative lunchtime audience at the Cowdray Hall. The programme was rich and varied, featuring instrumental music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Alphonse Hasselmans, Joe Hisaishi and Joanna MacGregor, alongside beautiful vocal music by Francis Poulenc and much loved Scottish traditional songs.

Our thanks, as always, go to the wonderful Cowdray Hall staff for taking such good care of us. We love performing there and are already looking forward to our next visit. A special thank you to Mrs Kyle for her accompaniment, and to Mrs Smith and Lu McClintoch for staffing and supporting the trip.

Parents’ Committee Meeting

The new date for our Parents’ Committee Meeting is Tuesday 20 January at 6.30 pm in the Dyce Academy library. We look forward to seeing you there.

Exams

Well done to our S5 and S6 pupils who have made it through the first week of mock exams. Balancing academic commitments with practice and a reduced ACMS schedule is demanding, but managing busy periods is an important life skill. Our senior pupils are handling this with maturity and focus, and we are delighted for them.

Change of date 

Please note that the ceilidh experience previously listed in the calendar for 22nd Jan will now take place later in the year. I will be in touch with a new date in the coming weeks.

Looking Ahead

We look forward to welcoming our first P7 audition candidates next week. Very best wishes to these young musicians who have been preparing so carefully over recent weeks and months.