Russell was one of eleven local schools to take part in The Riversmeet Consortium of Primary Schools Music Festival run by Hertfordshire Music Service at St Clement Danes School in the spring term. The entire Year 5 class performed the song Shake it Off on ukelele while trumpet and French horn players from Years 4-6 were part of a combined primary school brass band and string and woodwind players tackled three challenging classical pieces as part of an orchestra. The highlight of the event for most of the children was playing the theme music from Star Wars.
The school have had a record number of children learning musical instruments, partly as a result of music fun days at the school where professional musicians and local music students have been involved and children can ‘have a go’ at playing various instruments from trumpet to guitar, but also as a result of creating a musical culture with many musical groups for the children to join once they have taken their first steps on their instrument.
“We have a huge number of children playing instruments now” says Music Enrichment Volunteer Christine Deeley, “ At our Easter Concert we were even able to include some of our pianists with twenty young pianists playing in succession as audience members arrived.”