Music at Fairview

It is with immense pride that I, Kerys Gutsell-Thompson, the Specialist Music Teacher at Fairview Community Primary School, take this opportunity to inform you of Fairview's incredible Music Department.

Having worked in over forty primary schools throughout Medway, and taught music for over thirty years, in various local authorities, much of this as a Head of Music in Secondary education, I can testify that Fairview is, still, quite categorically, the best-appointed school I have worked in. Furthermore, SLT support of music, class music lesson provision, a designated music room, quantity and quality of instruments per child, instrumental tuition offer, and extra-curricular music are second to none. Over two hundred children at Fairview engage in weekly extra-curricular music, and all children also have one hour a week's specialist, practical, class music lesson with me.

At Fairview, every child is a musician. There are no limits to what a child can achieve and become, musically, at Fairview.

MMA's KS2 Choral Festival 2024 - WEDNESDAY 13th MARCH 2024

Parents, please see below links to the lyrics and backing tracks for the KS2 Choral Festival in March.

MMA KS2 Choral 2024 Words

Audio Tracks for KS2 Choral Festival 2024

Annual Summer Concert - Tuesday 27th June 2023

We were immensly proud of our sixty Fairview musicians who performed in front of parents and staff at our annual Summer Concert on 27th June. They were so respectful to each other and very professional and made it an excellent evening. The audience could not stop complimenting the performers - well done each and every one of you.

Children in the concert are part of the following music groups within the school:

• Fairview Youth Choir

• FAB Band

• Ukulele Ensemble

• Recorder Stars

• Dreamy Drummers

• Soloists and Duets

Class Music Lessons

In class music lessons with me, children from nursery up to year 6 listen to, compose, and perform music of all styles and genres, and sing. My plans are informed by my own knowledge and experience combined with The National Plan for Music and the Model Music Curriculum. Our music room is extremely well-appointed, with full class sets of electronic keyboards, guitars, ukuleles, glockenspiels and untuned percussion, as well as orchestral instruments, so all lessons are practical.

Singing Assemblies

In our weekly singing assemblies, the children sing engaging and thought-provoking songs based on our school values, from the UK and around the world, and which also underpin our school intent of home, near, far. The children love their singing assemblies and make a beautiful and uplifting sound!

Choir

Our school choir, first conceived in October 2021 as the Fair World Choir, expanded in October 2022, and opened its doors to other schools, to become the Fairview MMA Community Youth Choir. This choir includes many Fairview children, from years 3 upwards, as well as an increasing number of secondary school children from throughout Medway, up to year 10. All children who attend share a passion and talent for singing. Our repertoire is varied and inclusive, embracing songs from around the world, sung in different languages, as well as traditional UK song heritage, Folk, Classical, Pop, Rock, and Jazz. We have performed at prestigious local venues such as the MMA Medway Schools Carol Festival at Rochester Cathedral, as well as elderly people's residences, school concerts and assemblies. We rehearse every Wednesday after school from 3.30-4.45pm.

Band

FAB - Fairview Alternative Band - started up in January 2022. It consists of musically talented children from years 3 upwards who perform on an array of instruments (voice, keyboards, and ukuleles as well as orchestral instruments). It is 'alternative' in that, although several of the children in band can competently read music, musical literacy is not a pre-requisite for being in the band. In fact, my commitment to the children is that I will always take it upon myself to make all our repertoire inclusive and accessible to all, so that no child who wishes to join will be turned away because of any barrier. No matter what. We perform at school concerts and assemblies and our repertoire is varied and real, including popular songs by Elbow, Imagine Dragons and Emile Sandé, Baroque music by Handel, and - more recently - the classic Blues song, Railroad Blues. We rehearse every Thursday after school from 3.30-4.30pm.

Dreamy Drummers

Our Dreamy Drummers are taught drum-kit performance skills on one of our two beautiful drum kits, by an extremely gifted ex-pupil (now at Rainham Mark Grammar School) who comes back to Fairview every week. Dreamy Drummers is for children in any year and has proved so popular that we often have a waiting list! We practice every Tuesday after school from 3.30-4.30pm.

Fairview Ukulele Ensemble

Fairview Ukulele Ensemble gets together to rehearse in school time in the weeks leading up to a performance event. Members of the ensemble are encouraged to perform in school assemblies and concerts, but we are most proud of our achievement of having performed at The Central Theatre at the MMA Ukulele Festival in March 2022.

Fairview Recorder Stars

This group, like the Ukulele Ensemble, gets together to rehearse in school time in the weeks leading up to a performance event. Our recorder stars are very proud to have performed at the Central Theatre at the MMA Recorder Festival in 2022.

Instrumental Lessons

At Fairview, we have a superb team of experienced, highly qualified, expert peripatetic instrumental teachers, all professional performers themselves. Pupils have access to heavily subsidised recorder, violin, flute, clarinet, and guitar lessons, which are incredibly popular. We currently have over one hundred and twenty children benefitting from these weekly instrumental lessons at Fairview.

Therapeutic Music

Some children are offered one to one Therapeutic Music sessions as an opportunity to organically explore their thoughts and feelings through music, in their own unique way. They try out different instruments, sing and sometimes dance. Every session is different as it's about how the child feels on that day, at that time. Therapeutic Music is self-expression in a calm, safe space.

Year 6 Musicals

Every year the whole of year 6 rehearse tirelessly, singing, playing instruments, acting and dancing to put on a week of production performances to the school and parents. In June 2022 we presented 'Hoodwinked', a fun and lively version of the Robin Hood story.