Impact Report 2022

13 IMPACT REPORT

CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

St Edward’s has a long-standing ethos of supporting those within our community and opening up our facilities to our charitable friends and neighbours. Here is just a small selection of some of the events and activities that have taken place at School over the past year with thanks to our colleagues.

MUSIC AND THE ARTS COMES ALIVE THROUGH SUCCESSFUL CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS, AND IT’S BEEN WONDERFUL TO MAKE LINKS WITH OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS AND WITH TALENTED MUSICIANS FROM ACROSS OXFORDSHIRE - BOTH AT SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL AND AT PRIMARY SCHOOLS. CREATING A NETWORK BETWEEN MUSIC SPECIALISTS IN SCHOOLS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT AIM: IT’S A SUBJECT WHERE YOU CAN FEEL ON YOUR OWN, AS YOU LEAD ALL THE CURRICULAR AND CO-CURRICULAR MUSIC. BUT LINKING UP FOR PROJECTS LIKE THE BEMUSE PIANO MASTERCLASSES, OR THE CHILCOTT BIRDLAND PROJECT SHOWS WHAT AN EFFECT YOU CAN GET, WORKING AS A COMMUNITY TOGETHER. ALEX TESTER DIRECTOR OF MUSIC AND ARTS, ST EDWARD’S SCHOOL

Music Department

We lead St Edward’s Singers as a community chorus for staff, parents, and neighbours with a concert in Gaudy Week at the start of July. We hosted sessions from Turtle Opera in London, in a collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music and with undergraduates of Oxford University music faculty. The project enables 16 young musicians with autism to devise, rehearse and perform a new piece of opera writing, with an ensemble of professional musicians and music students behind them.

A collaboration with The North Wall to bring two major concert pianists to give a recital and masterclass within our Music School where students from Burford School, the Cherwell School, the Dragon School, Gosford Hill and Teddies all joined together to watch. The National Youth Jazz Orchestra performed in the Olivier Hall and tickets were given to local state secondary and primary schools and to local neighbours.

In May we hosted the Music Teachers’ Association Conference welcoming 250 national and international delegates. We also facilitated a primary school singing project to sing extracts of Birdland, a new work by well-known composer Bob Chilcott. The five movements were taught by schools using material given to them. We then offered each school one visit from our staff to embed the music, and one session with Bob Chilcott visiting. Schools involved were Burford School , The Cherwell School , Gosford Hill , and St Barnabas Primary School Jericho.