To celebrate Make Music Day on 21st June, Palladian Academy Trust Junior Band, made up of 350 young musicians from its family of schools in Bath and Wiltshire, gathered to give two memorable performances.
This talented Junior Band played their hearts out to audiences at Oldfield Park Junior School on Lymore Terrace and Saint Philip’s Primary School on Bloomfield Rise in Bath. They performed a variety of songs including using a plethora of instruments including drums, guitars and keyboards.
Make Music Day is a huge celebration championing music making all around the world and is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every year, thousands of towns and cities across 120 countries hold free musical events to share a love of music. Last year, despite the pandemic, 30,000 performers presented 3,000 live and digital events to a combined online and live audience of over 330,000 people. This sparked the interest of the children within Palladian Academy Trust who were keen to join in the fun and contribute to this special day in the global music calendar.
Dave Goucher, Headteacher of Oldfield Park Juniors and Andy Joy, Headteacher at St Philips Primary School were united in their praise for their talented children.
“Make Music Day has given our young musicians a wonderful opportunity to showcase their individual talent and share the stage with their peers,” said Dave. “Our children love to perform on stage and their performances were outstanding. Music is such a vital part of our creative curriculum as it nurtures active listening, collaboration and coordination.
“Being part of a trust-wide band allows pupils to make new like-minded friends outside of their school and it’s been a really positive experience for all. As well as creating a memorable occasion, our pupils are developing important life skills such as respect, kindness, humility, giving, courage and appreciation. Thank you to all of our staff and parents for your time and commitment in putting this together for us”
Parent, Jon Gore, who is the founder of Palladian Parent Orchestra and coordinator of Palladian Junior Band, added, “It’s great to get as many people as possible playing music together and I hope more of pupils within the trust are encouraged to try it out for themselves after hearing us play. Whilst it’s great to encourage musical talent, wherever it lies, music shouldn’t just be about learning scales and accumulating grades – it’s a fun and creative way of coming together, expressing yourself and having a really good time.”
Donna Tandy, CEO of Palladian Academy Trust, commented, “Seeing so many of our pupils from every school in our trust coming together for events like today is really special. They were all clearly so happy and proud to be on stage and that makes my heart sing – it’s important that every pupil has the chance to try different instruments, sing in a choir, try something new in school – how else will they find out where their true passions lie.
“Our vision for the trust is to create excellent and equitable opportunities for all, inside and outside of the classroom, and today is a perfect example of how this can be achieved. Thanks to everyone who helped to make this a truly memorable occasion.”