| UCS Ensembles and Groups |
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Music ensembles are available to all pupils, whether or not they learn their instrument in school, and many are available without audition. String, woodwind, brass, percussion and Chamber Choir auditions take place during the first week of the Autumn Term. The most important part of these informal auditions is the chat at the end, which gives the member of staff an opportunity to explain, particularly to new boys and girls, which ensembles are available, to talk about the nature of the repertoire, in order to place the student in an ensemble which they will find accessible and fun, whilst still challenge them and enhancing their musicianship
UCS Symphony Orchestra
UCS Concert Band
The Choir of University College School
The choir of University College School consists of the trebles (Years 7 & 8) who rehearse on Tuesday mornings from 8.15 am – 8.50 am and Fridays between 1.30 pm – 2.10 pm; and the senior choir (altos, tenors and basses) from years 8 upwards. No formal audition is necessary. The senior choir rehearses on Mondays at 4.20 pm – 5.30 pm. The repertoire is taken from the mainstream classical choral repertoire and the trebles join the seniors for all major performances. The choir has a busy schedule of concerts and performs at the Carols by Candlelight, the School Carol Service, the larger end-of-term concerts as well as combining with the Centenary Choir to perform two major choral works every year. The choir regularly tours abroad, and have recently visited Venice, Prague, St. Petersburg and Krakow. Under the direction of John Bradbury they have produced two CDs.
The Chamber Choir
Works performed include: Faure’s Requiem; Handel’s Messiah and this year they will be performing: Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia.
Close Harmony Close Harmony meets every Thursday from 1.30 pm – 2.10 pm and is for those students who enjoy singing but like a more popular style of choral arrangement. This group is led by one of the more senior students and performs regularly in school concerts throughout the year. Close Harmony is non – auditioned and requires enthusiasm more than ability.
Chamber Orchestra
String Ensemble
Second Wind
Top Brass
Brass Sinfonia Brass Sinfonia rehearses every Tuesday before school and performs in each of the Chamber and Instrumental Concerts. A junior and intermediate ensemble, they play a variety of repertoire chosen to improve ensemble skills, enhance sight-reading facility and be fun to play. Recent repertoire has included: Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain King, Barry James Bond Theme.
Chamber Music
Jazz Ensembles and Jazz Jam Jazz is traditionally very strong at UCS, and, in addition to performing in many school concerts, our Jazz ensembles have been booked to play at many special occasions and functions. Jazz, theory and instrumental techniques lessons are available via the individual instrumental tuition scheme, see the separate downloadable form via the main music department page. Pupils are only generally considered for proper Jazz techniques lessons when they have achieved ABRSM grade 5 or equivalent on their instrument. Jazz Jam rehearses every Friday after school.
Saxophone Ensemble
Clarinet Ensemble Clarinet Ensemble rehearses every Tuesday before school and has regularly played in the school Chamber and Instrumental Concert Series. Repertoire is extremely varied to explore a mixture of classical, light and jazz styles. These smaller ensembles allow for an opportunity to tackle issues of intonation, articulation and phrasing on an individual basis. Recent repertoire has included: Boufil Trio, Templeton Bach Goes to Town, Niehaus 3.
Guitar Ensemble Guitar ensemble is available without audition and meets every Wednesday morning before school. Recent performances in the school Chamber and Instrumental Concert Series have included arrangements of songs by The Beatles, Take That and The Feeling with parts tailor made to suit electric and acoustics guitars and pupils of all standards. Percussion Ensemble Percussion Ensemble meets weekly every Wednesday lunchtime and plays a great variety of repertoire in a variety of styles from 'classical' to Twentieth Century via much African drumming and music for Samba band.
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The UCS Symphony Orchestra performs a variety of pieces from the full symphonic repertoire in each of the major school concerts. It rehearses every Thursday after school and in the Spring Term there is also a collaboration concert with the Orchestra of South Hampstead High School, which allows us to play larger scale late romantic and twentieth century music. Recent repertoire has included: Rossini Overture to William Tell, Dvorak New World Symphony (movts 1 & 4), Vaughan Williams Sinfonia Antartica (1st Movt), Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Ives Variations on America and Mahler Symphony No. 6 (Scherzo). The school Symphony Orchestra toured Belgium in July 2006.
The UCS Concert Band is a full symphonic wind band currently numbering 68 students. It rehearses weekly before school every Friday and plays in the major school concerts. Concert Band draws on much of the major film music repertoire, specially re-arranged for symphonic wind band, in addition to new music written for the ensemble. Concert Band toured Paris in the summer of 2007, where it received great acclaim from enthusiastic audiences who compared it very favourably with other ensembles, many containing much older students, that they had heard participating in the same concert series. Recent repertoire has included: Hazo Fantasy on a Japanese Folk Song, Murtha Duke Ellington in Concert, Shore Lord of the Rings Suite, Zimmer Music from "Gladiator", Vaughan Williams English Folk Song Suite, Schifrin Mission: Impossible Theme, Arnold A Grand, Grand Festival Overture, Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean Suite and Sparke Jubilee Overture.
The Chamber Orchestra is essentially a string orchestra for the most advanced players in the school though additional instrumentalists join us for particular pieces. Entry is by audition (usually at the start of the year) but is open to all year groups. The majority of the players are of Grade 8 standard. We play in all the main school concerts and often accompany the school and chamber choirs. In the first half of the Autumn Term we join with the Chamber Orchestra of SHHS to tackle larger-scale works. The Chamber Orchestra has undertaken a number of foreign trips; recent destinations include Krakow, New York, St Petersburg and Venice. Repertoire includes: Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 4, Beethoven Grosse Fugue, Britten Simple Symphony, Corelli Concerto Grosso, Copland Quiet City, Elgar Introduction and Allegro, Haydn Symphony No.104, Mozart Symphony No.23, Shostakovich Chamber Symphony, Suk Serenade for Strings, Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings, Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, Vivaldi Winter from the Four Seasons.
String Ensemble is open to all without audition and is made up of pupils who are between grades one and five. Parts are tailored according to ability and the emphasis is on fun ensemble music making. We rehearse for half-an-hour before school on Thursdays. In general, this is a Lower School group (Years 7 and 8) though some older boys also like to attend. The repertoire is a mixture of classical pieces and arrangements of more popular tunes. Many boys find this a useful stepping stone before joining the Symphony Orchestra or a chance to shine in music that is immediately more approachable. Repertoire has included: Music from the Snowman, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Flop-Eared Mule and Purcell's Rondeau. We play in informal chamber concerts. Last year the String Ensemble participated in a production of Britten's Noye's Fludde.
Second Wind is a beginner to intermediate woodwind ensemble for flutes, oboes, clarinets, saxophones and bassoons. It rehearses weekly every Wednesday before school and performs publicly in the Chamber and Instrumental Concerts in each of the school terms. Repertoire is taken from a wide selection of classical arrangements, TV and film themes and other popular pieces. It is open to all without audition to teach ensemble skills and improve sight-reading ability, as well as having a lot of fun. Recent repertoire has included: Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunderbirds, Mamma Mia and Superman medleys.
Top Brass rehearses every Monday before school and performs at the major end-of-term concerts in addition to playing fanfares at special occasions such as Speech Day or the School Carol Service. As our senior brass chamber ensemble, players audition, normally at the beginning of the academic year and the repertoire is extremely demanding (note Brass Sinfonia is available with out audition, see below). Recent repertoire has included: Janáček Fanfare from Sinfonietta (arranged for 12 solo brass and timpani), Bernstein West Side Story Medley, Holst Somerset Rhapsody, Jacob Five Bagatelles, Rossini Overture to the Barber of Seville.
UCS prides itself on its provision for string, wind and keyboard chamber music. All of the scholars, in addition to many other UCS students, are involved in existing ensembles, or new quartets, trios etc. will be set up in order to provide the unique benefits from playing chamber music, in addition to experiencing the rich repertoire. Recently performed repertoire includes: Quartets: Haydn (from Op. 20 and 33), Beethoven Op 18 Nos 1 & 4, Op 95, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich 4, 6 & 8, Debussy, Mendelssohn Octet, Piano Trios: Mendelssohn, Grieg, Klengel, Wind Quartets: Holcombe, Francaix, Norton, Bozza.
Saxophone ensemble meets every Tuesday before school and performs regularly in the Chamber and Instrumental Concert Series, in addition to lunchtime concerts and other appearances. The school owns both a tenor and baritone sax, allowing the group to play both professional arrangements and pieces specially written for saxophone quartet. Recent repertoire has included Mancini's Pink Panther Theme and Duke Ellington's It don't mean a thing.
Ensembles & Groups