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PAST EVENTS & NEWS |
We extremely proud of the wide range and quality of the musical experiences that happen in the music department at The Thomas Hardye School. Below you can find a summary of some of the activities that have happened so far this year.
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The Royal College of Organists - Year of the Organ 2025 |
Bronte Shande and The Amy Winehouse BandOn the 16th of Novemeber 2025 The Performing Arts department were very proud to watch past THS Music student Brontë Shande fronting the actual Amy Winehouse Band at the Lighthouse Concert Hall in Poole. What a voice! The entire venue was on its feet! Brontë is the long standing replacement as vocalist with Amy's original band and continues to tour widely.
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Last Post for RemembranceCongratulations to Joe Ansell (year 9) for performing the Last Post beautifully in our school Remembrance ceremony in front of over 2000 students, staff and guests.
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Dorchester Young Musician FestivalOn the 8th of November 2025 115 performers from year 2 to 13 took part in our Dorchester Young Musician Festival, 12 classes throughout the day, 3 adjudicators (who were blown away by the talent on display), many family and friends watching, wonderful volunteer helpers from the Dorchester & Casterbridge Rotary Club and one fabulous celebration concert in the evening featuring a selection of performers of all ages. The dedication, hard work, resilience, peer support, talent and pure joy displayed by every young musician was phenomenal. Huge congratulations to every single young person who took part.
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Music & Drama Education AwardsWe are very excited to announce that The Thomas Hardye School Music Department has been shortlisted for the award of "Outstanding School Music Department" at the national Music and Drama Education Awards for 2026. This is a huge accolade! By sharing this, we want to advocate for what is possible in comprehensive schools when departments are highly ambitious, and are well supported by the whole school and wider community.
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Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra TripOn the 5th of November we took 50 students from years 9-13 to watch the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra perform a fantastic concert at the Pool Lighthouse. The highlight was the UK premiere of a saxophone concerto by Dani Howard performed by the wonderful saxophonist Jess Gillam. Thanks to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for an inspiring evening out!
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Organ TripOn the 24th of October 2025, two our our organists have gone on trip to one of our local churches to explore a different model of organ and discover some of its mechanics by seeing its workings. Thanks to Heather Reed for organising.
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Sixth Form Open EveningOn the 23rd of October 2025 we opened the department up to prospective A Level Music and Music Technology students. We had six of our A Level Music sixth form reps helping out and answering questions for visitors. We we really proud to welcome next year's students to the school and show them the vast array of opportunities on offer for music students at The Thomas Hardye School. Further details of the A Levels on offer can be found by scanning the QR code on the flyer to the left.
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Autumn ConcertOn the 21st October 2025 we held our annual Autumn Concert. This concert is primarily a focussed opportunity for our A Level Music students to perform suitable repertoire for their A Level recitals, in order to help them to gain valuable experience of performing as a soloist. It is a vital experience to help them overcome the nerves of performing and to develop the skills needed to present themselves with confidence. Our students all performed as soloists and as part of class ensembles. Alongside these performances The Thomas Hardye Singers entertained the audience with some of the beautiful music they had previously performed at Sherborne Abbey earlier this month.
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Routes Into Music Expo DayOn the 20th of October, as part of its role as our role as a Lead School for Music in Dorset, we hosted a Routes Into Music Careers Expo day put on by the Octagon Music Hub. All our year GCSE and A Level students were able to take part in the day. We heard from nine professionals in widely ranging musical careers from composers to audio visual companies to recording studios, and more. The day opened the eyes of the students to the wide range of opportunities beyond performing and teaching in the music industry. After the conference, we held our own Q and A session with four of alumni students who are either currently studying at university or college or have recently graduated. Thanks to Theo Boyd, Ralph Bishop, Charlotte Ballard and James Osborne Jackson for their helpful advice.
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Black History Month PerformanceOn the 17th October the music department paid tribute to Black History Month with an enormously funky performance of music by one of our superb student bands called Cosmic Dustbin. They performed a programme of music written and performed by Black musicians to an excited lunchtime audience. Their set list included:
Stevie Wonder - Superstition Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke Chic - Le Freak The Jacksons - Blame It On The Boogie |
Evensong at Sherborne AbbeyOn the 16th October 2025 around forty of The Thomas Hardye Singers, led by Mrs Trevorrow, sung Evensong at Sherborne Abbey. The service included:
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence - Bairstow Responses - Tomkins Magnificat and Nunc dimittis - Howells For some it was their first experience singing like this and one we're sure they'll remember for a long time. It was a long day with lots of hard work, but also lots of fun and joy! Very few comprehensive schools are capable of events such as this and we are enormously proud of those that took part. |
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Trip to Echotown Recording StudioOn the 13th October Mr Trevorrow took all the A Level Music Technology students in years 12 and 13 to Echotown Recording Studios for a day's experience of recording in a professional studio. Echotown Studio is a world-class recording studio and boasts some of the best recording equipment on the south coast. Our students explored the historical application of recording in analogue to tape using the awesome 32 channel Solid State Logic desk. They also got to see and try out some fantastic period instruments they study on the course such as electric pianos, organs and classic synthesisers. A highlight of the day was recording a track digitally using the fantastic facilities. I am sure we will repeat the trip each year now. Thanks to the studio owners Grace and Nick Capaldi and Gareth Mathews who acted as our studio engineer and instructor for the day.
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Lead School for MusicWe are delighted to announce that The Thomas Hardye School has been chosen as a Lead School for Music by The Octagon Music Hub. The school has been selected, for its outstanding commitment to music education and will play a key role in supporting and inspiring others across the network. As a Lead Schools, we will:
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Music Mark of RecognitionWe are proud to say that the Octagon Music Hub have presented us with the Music Mark of Recognitions for Ambition & Quality to celebrate the value we place on music in our school. We are delighted to have recognition for the opportunities and inclusivity we place at the heart of the music department's ethos.
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