Penkhull Music Festival 

Mrs Locker and Mr Hands enjoyed taking a group of children from KS2 to the Penkhull Music Festival in September. We all enjoyed watching children from Newcastle High perform on their instruments; there was a wide selection from the saxophone and piano to a string ensemble, mixed voice choir and guitar.

Following the performance, we went to the village hall for a workshop with the professional vocalist, Edward Pitt Mansfield.

Hoodwinked

About Hoodwinked

This modern Robin Hood musical is great fun to perform and will be enjoyed by children and parents alike.

Robin Hood is back in town, along with Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Friar Tuck and Richard the Lionheart. Will he succeed in his plight to free the nation from the tyranny of the wicked Sheriff? Will King Richard return from the Crusades in time? And, will Maid Marian get her man?

A swashbuckling modern adaptation of the traditional Robin Hood story, Hoodwinked will have your audience 'booing', 'hissing' and 'cheering' with gusto.

The Year 6s worked hard with their teachers to learn their parts for Hoodwinked, and they impressed the audiences with their acting and singing. We heard some excellent solos by Isobel P, Lydia J, Reuel A and Ebony W, and saw some great dancing from Maid Marian's ladies and the Merry Men! Well done, Year 6! 

Music and Performing Arts Clubs Autumn 2019

Performing Arts Summer Showcase

For the first time, rather than prescribing what children would perform, Mr hands and Mrs Locker decided to give the children in the 4,5,6 Performing Arts Club the opportunity to perform an act of their choice. Children could choose to sing, act, dance or play an instrument and they could also choose their repertoire to perform at the Summer Showcase concert. It was wonderful seeing the children working independently in their groups to practice their acts and they really enjoyed showing their work to each other to get helpful feedback on how to improve. 

As there were so many acts, Mr Hands and Mrs Locker could only spend a limited amount of time with each group, and it is also worth noting that most of the actors and dancers wrote their own scripts and choreographed their own routines which is deserves accolade indeed for children of such a young age. 

Children in the 1,2,3 Performing Arts Club worked well to learn a particularly tricky song and dance routine for the Tiger Tango  and they loved singing alongside the older children for Rockstar.

Parents, carers, families and teachers were wowed by the performance and it was a real honour to be able to work alongside such committed and enthusiastic children.

Mr Hands and Mrs Locker are already thinking about what to do for the Christmas concert and we hope to see some of the same faces (and more!) in September!

Sutherland Plays With the Halle Orchestra!

Over this academic year, all Year 4 pupils have been learning to play a string instrument as a whole class with a peripatetic teacher from Stoke-on-Trent City Music Service, Mrs Hollingshurst, working alongside Mrs Locker.

Pupils learnt how to identify the different strings on their instrument, change the pitch of the notes using their left hand and play by plucking the strings (pizzicato) and using the bow (arco.). They developed our knowledge of key musical elements, learnt more about reading music notation, different composers and pupils have enjoyed singing together. In June, we took the year group to the Victoria Hall to play alongside a professional orchestra from Manchester, the Halle.

Panto Pandemonium!

After a very short term, and only nine hours of rehearsals(!), the children in the 4,5,6 Performing Arts Club performed Panto Pandemonium; a show which was a hilarious battle between good and evil that all took place in Pantoland, to a soundtrack of fantastic music in a wide variety of styles. There was an array of traditional panto characters (Jack, the Giant, Aladdin, Cinderella, Ugly Sisters, Seven Dwarfs and even a Pantomime Cow) and plenty of booing, hissing and 'behind you' for everyone to enjoy. All in all, 'Panto Pandemonium' was great fun for audience and performers alike.

We heard some beautiful solos from Freddie (Aladdin), Lydia (Wicked Witch) and Rebecca (Good Fairy) and some excellent singing and acting from all involved.

After impressing the parents and families in an after-school performance, Mr Boote asked the children to perform to the whole school! The children performed excellently and Mr Hands and Mrs Locker could not have been more proud. 

Easter Performance

The children in the 1,2,3 Performing Arts Club had fun writing their own acrostic poems about Spring to perform to parents and carers. The children started by creating a list of words that they associate with Spring, then they worked in small groups to write their poems. The children then spent their time with Mr Hands and Mrs Locker learning how to project their voices and slow down their speaking to suit a poem recital. 

As part of the show, we also sand some songs, and I know that Chocoholics was their favourite (I wonder why?!). Well done to all involved! 

Gangsta Granny Song Writing with Manchester Camerata

In January, Sutherland was nominated to take part in a free creative song writing project with Manchester Camerata. A group of 30 Year 6 children worked with a professional composer and musician from the orchestra to create their own songs based upon a section of Gangsta Granny by David Walliams. We then had to go to Stafford County Showground to perform our song alongside other schools from Staffordshire to retell the story through song accompanied by a small group of professional musicians. Our section was when Ben and his granny arrive at the Tower of London (after travelling through the sewers! Eugh!), to steal the crown, and they are caught by the Queen in her slippers!

It was a fantastic day, and the children sang confidently and clearly. They were excellent ambassadors for Sutherland and they made us all very proud. Well done!

Deck the Hall - December 2018

A great many thanks to everyone who attended the ‘Deck the Hall’ concerts that were held in our performance space here at Sutherland. This was a joint production between Sutherland children and staff, NSOS and Cor Bach. The show was a great success with good audiences of not just our immediate school community, but also the wider public who enjoyed the great entertainment and singing. We would like to congratulate the children that performed, they all thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and Mrs Locker and Mr Hands are incredibly proud of the progress they have made since September.

It was such a fantastic opportunity for Sutherland children to perform to a wider audience. We really hope that we will be able to do this again as the children benefit so very much!

Instrumental Lessons 2019/20