Music is of pivotal importance to life at Cheltenham, and there is a wealth of opportunity for every pupil to enjoy music and develop their own musical skills. Some pupils join College as experienced performers, and some are at the start of their musical journeys. The Music Department aims to accommodate all musical interests and abilities, and widen the experience of music as an aesthetic, social, practical and enjoyable discipline for all. Musical life is rich and varied, and all genres and styles are celebrated.
Musicians benefit from exceptional facilities at College. The Music Department is situated in Thirlestaine House, a beautiful former stately home with fully-equipped classrooms and rehearsal/performance spaces. Our composition suite houses iMacs running Sibelius, Logic Pro, and Spitfire Audio’s BBC Symphony Orchestra sample library, enabling pupils to explore their creativity with incredibly realistic, professionally-produced orchestral sounds. Cheltenham College is proud to be an ‘All-Steinway School’, and we believe we are the only school in the country to have two world-famous Steinway ‘Model D’ concert grand pianos housed in our main performance venues. In addition, there are a further three smaller Steinway grands, complemented by 13 of Steinway’s Essex brand upright pianos in the teaching and practice rooms. Outside of the Music Department we make great use of our magnificent 800-seat chapel, which has generous acoustics and a celebrated three-manual Harrison & Harrison organ. The majority of performances are held in Big Classical, which has a staged area and raked seating for a capacity audience of 300; it houses one of the Model Ds. Large ensemble rehearsals take place in Thirlestaine Long Gallery, where the second Model D is located.
Our vocal and instrumental ensembles allow pupils to experience all aspects of group music-making. For example, instrumentalists benefit from full symphony and chamber orchestras as well as advanced chamber ensembles and jazz bands. Vocalists can take part in choirs ranging from the 80-strong College Choir to the Chamber Choir and smaller pop/a cappella groups. There are options for pupils who wish to enjoy making music as a recreational activity as well as opportunities and support for pupils to take their skills to the highest level. In recent years, senior Music Scholars have performed piano, violin and viola concertos with our Symphony Orchestra and local semi-professional ensembles. We collaborate with the Drama Department to put on a large-scale musical every two years, most recently Grease in March 2023. Trailers, interviews and highlights can be viewed here.
Pupils have frequent opportunities to demonstrate their talents by performing in formal and informal concerts both at College and elsewhere, including Cheltenham’s Pittville Pump Rooms and Town Hall. The whole Cheltenham College community is supportive of performers, and many attend concerts both home and away.
One-to-one tuition for voice and orchestral/band instruments as well as music technology, composition and music theory.
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