School of Music welcomes budding musicians from Goresbrook School

120 Year 9 pupils from Goresbrook School, Dagenham, visited the School of Music for a day of workshops and recording sessions.

The students enjoyed a performance by members of the School of Music Jazz Ensemble, a tour of the Centre for Student Life, an exciting workshop on Chinese instruments led by Kiko Shao, and took part in the recording of an EP.

The event was organised by Dr Daniel Bickerton, Director of Learning and Teaching, in collaboration with School of Music alumnus and Assistant Principal at Goresbrook, Alex Davis. Alex graduated with a BMus degree in 2015 and completed his MA in Music in 2016.

Under Alex’s leadership, Goresbrook School have formed a series of jazz ensembles designed to introduce each pupil to instrumental performance, and were recently awarded a grant from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation to aid their music making.

Dr Daniel Bickerton said: “It's always a privilege to introduce prospective students to the School of Music and our lively performance culture. We have a special relationship with Goresbrook School thanks to their Assistant Principal, Alex Davis (alumnus BMus 2015, MA 2016), and this year we were able to deliver recording workshops, as well as broaden the horizons of the visiting pupils with an interactive session on Chinese orchestras led by Dr Kiko Shao.

“This project is so important because it shows that the expressive and performing arts are of tremendous value when it comes to enrichment programmes for secondary school pupils. I'm always so proud of the way our staff and students work together to deliver such dynamic and engaging outreach opportunities. I am particularly grateful to the School of Music and AHSS for funding the visit this year.”