Last Saturday's performance of Król Roger, featuring thirty boys from the Vaughan, was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and also streamed on the internet, via the Opera Platform.
You can hear the opera on the BBC IPlayer by clicking HERE.
You can watch the Opera on the Opera Platform by clicking HERE.
Sir Antonio Pappano talks about the importance of music education
Thirty Vaughan boys have been lucky enough over the past few weeks to work with Sir Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera House, as they sang in the Royal Opera's production of Król Roger.
Pappano was recently the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Gold Medal, one of the highest accolades in classical music. In his thank you speech he spoke, with great passion, about the importance of music education, in particular its importance to all young people, not just those who become accomplished musicians.
The Chamber Music Competition - and some reasons why you should take part
With the older students away on study leave, the next few weeks are dominated by rehearsals for the Lower School Chamber Music Competition. On Wednesday 17 June at 6pm, hopefully as many as twenty or more small ensembles, of every possible kind, will compete in this annual event, always one of the highlights of the School's musical year. Groups will very from string quartets to barbershop singing to rock bands to jazz ensembles.
Why is it important to take part? Well, chamber music (playing in a small group, undirected by a teacher) is one of the highest forms of music-making. It develops very many musical skills, listening, ensemble skills, lots of things that playing in a larger ensemble do not develop as easily.
Here are some other reasons too, reasons why it is good to learn an instrument at all. MUSIC does all the following:
1. Enriches connections between the left and right brain
Studies show that music makers have more white matter in their corpus callosum, the bundle of neural wires connecting the brain's two hemispheres.
This means greater communication between the brain's creative right
side and its analytic left side, which in turn may translate into
numerous cerebral benefits, including faster communication within the
brain and greater creative problem-solving abilities.
2. Boosts executive brain function
More white matter may be why people with musical training are also
better at making decisions, processing and retaining information, and
adjusting course based on changing mental demands. That's good news for
musicians because these executive brain functions likely contribute more to academic success than IQ.
3. Strengthens speech processing
It's no surprise that making music helps your brain process musical
sounds. But tickling the ivories or strumming guitar strings also aids
in processing consonant and vowel sounds in speech. Sharper language skills, including reading,
may in turn help kids learn better in all subjects, from maths to social
studies.
4. Magnifies memory
Related to speech processing, those with musical training are also better at remembering spoken words (verbal memory). Music-making also seems to boost working memory — the ability to temporarily store and use information that helps you reason, learn or complete a complex task.
5. Promotes empathy
Musical training doesn't just upgrade your brain's sound-processing centers; it also lifts its capacity to detect emotions in sound.
That is, musicians may be better at reading subtle emotional cues in
conversation. In turn, this could equip them for smoother, more
emotionally rich relationships.
6. Slows brain aging
Brain gains made from playing an instrument apparently don't wane
as you age either. Studies show that speech-processing and memory
benefits extend well into your golden years — even if your musical
training stopped after childhood.
7. Fosters math and science ability
Musical notes, chords, octaves, rhythm, and meter can all be
understood mathematically. So playing music should raise your maths game,
right? The research is mixed, but there seems to be an underlying
correlation between music-making and better math skills.
8. Improves motor skills
No doubt about it, playing an instrument requires stellar
hand-eye-ear coordination (getting hands and fingers to translate
musical notes on a page into sound). And for music-makers who start
young enough, those heightened musical motor skills seem to translate
into other areas of life as well.
9. Elevates mental health
Studies show that fiddlers, saxophonists, keyboardists and other instrumentalists are more focused and less prone to aggression,
depression and anger than non-musicians. In fact, creating music seems
to prime their brains for heightened emotional control and
concentration. In other words, musicians may suffer from fewer stress-related psychological and physical symptoms, including burnout, headaches, high blood pressure and lower immune function.
10. Sharpens self-esteem
Not surprisingly, mental-health gains from musical mastery (and
maybe the camaraderie of playing with others) transfers into greater feelings of self-worth. A study found that at-risk kids who participated in a music-performance group at school felt less alienated and more successful.
If you would like to know more about this, watch this video:
The Schola trebles and altos are currently singing in the Royal Opera's production of Krol Roger.
This is the first time that the Royal Opera has staged this
extraordinary work by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.
The production
is by Kasper Holten and the performances are being conducted by Sir
Antonio Pappano.
The boys sing in the first act, singing promnently at the start which
is set in Palermo Cathedral, and throughout the act at various points. The staging of the opening act is dominated by a giant head that sits centre stage throughout.
The opera is sung in Polish which has made for its own particular challenges in the preparation, although we are lucky to have several Polish speakers in the choir who have been able to help with the pronunciation!
The Royal Opera has released this short video trailer for the production.
The reviews for the first night last Friday have been excellent, with many references to the magical opening in which the boys play such an important part.
The opera has five more performances and will be broadcast live at 6.50 pm on BBC Radio 3 on Saturday 16 May.
The Schola trebles and altos are currently singing in the Royal Opera's production of Krol Roger.
This is the first time that the Royal Opera has staged this
extraordinary work by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.The production
is by Kasper Holten and the performances are being conducted by Sir
Antonio Pappano.
The boys sing in the first act, singing promnently at the start which
is set in Palermo Cathedral, and throughout the act at various points.
The opera is sung in Polish.
There are further details and tickets available on the Royal Opera Website.
- See more at: http://www.scholacantorum.co.uk/media/news/default.aspx?id=180#sthash.C2nIML93.dpuf
The Schola trebles and altos are currently singing in the Royal Opera's production of Krol Roger.
This is the first time that the Royal Opera has staged this
extraordinary work by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.The production
is by Kasper Holten and the performances are being conducted by Sir
Antonio Pappano.
The boys sing in the first act, singing promnently at the start which
is set in Palermo Cathedral, and throughout the act at various points.
The opera is sung in Polish.
There are further details and tickets available on the Royal Opera Website.
- See more at: http://www.scholacantorum.co.uk/media/news/default.aspx?id=180#sthash.C2nIML93.dpuf
The Schola trebles and altos are currently singing in the Royal Opera's production of Krol Roger.
This is the first time that the Royal Opera has staged this
extraordinary work by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.The production
is by Kasper Holten and the performances are being conducted by Sir
Antonio Pappano.
The boys sing in the first act, singing promnently at the start which
is set in Palermo Cathedral, and throughout the act at various points.
The opera is sung in Polish.
There are further details and tickets available on the Royal Opera Website.
- See more at: http://www.scholacantorum.co.uk/media/news/default.aspx?id=180#sthash.C2nIML93.dpuf
