DASP Summer Concert - July 2017

On Saturday 8th July, 250 students took place in the annual DASP Summer concert at Weymouth Pavilion.  The concert featured all of the DASP ensembles and also a large DASP Orchestra of over 100 students and a large combined first schools' choir.
Photos and video can be found on our gallery and video pages.  An article from the Dorset Echo can be found here.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Workshop - June 2017

On 25th June, 80 students from across DASP took part in a one-day workshop with members of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.  They played two pieces; Ride of the Valkyries and A Night on the Bare Mountain.  These were then performed to parents at the end of the day.  The day was a huge success and the children really gained from the experience of playing in such a large ensemble.
Photos and video can be found on our gallery and video pages and an article from the Dorset Echo can be found here.

Brass Masterclass - March 2017

On 29th March, Brass students from Thomas Hardye School and those that attend DASP Brass Ensemble and Beginner Brass Group were treated to a brass masterclass by ex-BSO trumpeter, Dennis Curlett.  Dennis was able to offer advice and top tips to our brass students.  Thank you to Mr Ansell for organising the session.

Julia's House Fundraising Concert - March 2017

On Sunday 19th March, Stringalings, Flute Choir, Uke Troupe, Harmony, Classics and various small groups and soloists took part in a fundraising concert for Julia's House at the Dorchester Corn Exchange.  The Mayor was in attendance and was greatly impressed by the wealth of talent on show by the DASP students.  Over £600 was raised for the Julia's House Hospice charity.  Well done to all involved!

DASP Year 4 Singing Concerts

On 15th and 16th March, over 400 Year 4s (and some year 3s) took part in the annual DASP Singing Concerts.  In the run-up to these concerts, Mrs Trevorrow visited all of the first schools to workshop five songs with them including Lean on Me, Something Inside So Strong and Stand by Me.  These five songs were then performed in two-part harmony at the concerts.  In addition, each school worked on their own individual song to perform.
All of the performers did fantastically well and the concerts were a wonderful celebration of singing! Photos and video of the event can be seen on our Gallery and Audio/Video page.

Weymouth Music Festival 2017

Congratulations to all students that took part in the Weymouth Music Festival this year.  The DASP Brass, DASP Youth Orchestra and Training Windband all played wonderfully and received some great feedback from the adjudictors.  Many of our students also took part in the solo and duet classes too.  A particular mention to Bruno Greenfield (Prince of Wales), Eachan Hardie (Dorchester Middle School) and Verity Ridout (Thomas Hardye) who all played in the Festival concert and were cup winners.

Musical Theatre Workshop - March 2017

On Monday 13th March, students from the three middle schools and Thomas Hardye were fortunate enough to take part in a musical theatre workshop given by four professional musical theatre performers, at the Weymouth Pavilion.  The workshop was heavily subsidised using money from the Singing Strategy funding.
The students performed six songs in groups (complete with choreography) and several students also performed solos and duets.  The students all benefitted from the experience, skill and enthusiasm of the four professionals; Rhona McGregor, Lauren Ingram, Marianne Benedict and Adam Bailey, and were lucky enough to see the professionals also perform in the final evening showcase.  A fantastic day was had by all.
Photos and video of the event can now be seen on our gallery and audio/video page.

Instrumental Roadshow 2016 - 17

The DASP Instrumental Roadshow has just finished visiting all of the DASP first schools.  Four DASP Music teachers toured the schools, demonstrating a variety of musical instruments and playing a range of music, combined with a fun pirate-themed story.
The hope was to encourage the next generation of potential
musicians!
You can see clips of the instrumental roadshow here.

DASP Music Christmas Concert -Dec 2016

On 7th December, over 200 children came together to perform at the DASP Christmas concerts at the Thomas Hardye School theatre.  There were performances from all of the DASP Ensembles, several Thomas Hardye School groups and also a few select soloists.  All students performed excellently and the concert got everyone firmly in the Christmas spirit.  Video clips of the concert can be found here.

THS Choir/ICSO Concert - Nov 2016

In November, students from The Thomas Hardye School, St Mary’s and St Osmund’s Middle Schools joined forces with Imperial College Symphony Orchestra (ICSO) from London to perform a fabulous concert at St Mary’s Church in Dorchester.  This collaboration between ICSO and The Thomas Hardye School music department started in 2001 and has been an annual event ever since.  The event has grown so that this year there were over 160 performers involved.
You can hear a clip from the concert here.  To see two articles which were in the Dorset Echo about the concert, click here or here.

DASP Music Summer Concert 2016

On 3rd July, over 260 children took part in the annual DASP Summer Concert which this year, for the first time, was held at the Weymouth Pavilion.  All of the DASP ensembles performed and the standard of playing was exceptionally high.  Highlights of the concert included the 90 piece orchestra playing Bizet's Habanera and the 80 strong choir singing 'Put a Little Love in your Heart'.  A huge congratulations to all involved!  Photos and video can be found on our gallery and audio/video page.

BBC Concert Orchestra Workshop - June 2016

On Saturday 25th June, over 90 young people took part in an orchestral workshop at The Thomas Hardye School, led by members of the BBC Concert Orchestra.  The workshop was brought to us by the BBC Ten Pieces coaching scheme and saw Alastair Malloy (percussionist with the BBCCO) lead the workshop with support from four other BBCCO musicians plus a team of DASP Music peripatetic staff.  The morning saw 65 older children learnt to play Holst's Mars and Haydn's Trumpet Concerto.  In the afternoon 30 beginner players joined the orchestra to learn to play Bizet's Habanera from Carmen with the main orchestra.  Creating a massed DASP orchestra was a wonderful experience and the level of playing was exceptionally high.
​A fantastic day was had by all!  Thank you to everyone involved!

 Come and Try Concert - May 2016

​On 12th May, DASP Music held a Children’s Concert and Come and Try session at The Thomas Hardye School.  The concert featured all of the orchestral instruments that are available to learn in the DASP schools and was an opportunity to find out more and hear the instruments played by professionals, both in a solo and group context.  Afterwards, the children were given the opportunity to ‘have a go’ on all of the instruments.  The hope is that in running these events, we inspire the next generation to learn an instrument and help parents with the difficult decision of which instrument to choose.  We hope to run a similar event next year.  Thanks to all the peripatetic staff and THS students who were involved.

DASP Orchestra Light up the Queen's 90th - April 2016

​On Thursday 21st April, the DASP Orchestra performed at Dorchester Town Council’s Beacon Lighting Ceremony to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen.  It was a varied programme of English themed pieces including Vaughan Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’ and ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ by The Beatles.
Thank you to Mrs Wolff, Mr Ansell and Mr Kinnersley for
supporting the orchestra and well done to all involved!

ACM Gospel Choir Workshop - April 2016

On 11th April, nearly 200 students from the middle schools and THS took part in an inspirational workshop and concert, led by the Academy of Contemporary Music Gospel Choir.  This choir first became known through the BBC show 'Last Choir Standing' a few years ago, and has more recently won the accolade of 'Gospel Choir of the Year'.  The all-day workshop resulted in an evening concert at the Weymouth Pavilion where the students came together to perform songs in three part harmony with choreography.  This project was supported with funding from the National Singing Strategy, and it is hoped that as a result of it, we will encourage more children to engage in singing and join the choirs that are on offer through the DASP schools.  Thanks to all of the teachers who supported this event - a fantastic time was had by all!  Click here for photos of the event and here for videos.

Classics Choir and Puddletown Middle School sing Carmina Burana - March 2016

On Saturday 12th March, children from Puddletown Middle School and the DASP Classics choir joined with Dorchester Choral Society for a performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana at St Mary's Church in Dorchester.  The children sang the Ragazzi (children's choir) choruses as well as joining in for the famous 'O Fortuna' chorus.  They performed beautifully and it was a great experience for all involved.  Special thanks to Mr Pontin, Mrs Brind and Dorchester Choral Society for making it all possible.

DASP Year 4 Concert 2016

On 9th and 10th March, over 400 Year 4 children from across the DASP pyramid took part in the annual DASP Year 4 concerts.  We were lucky enough to be able to use funding from the National Singing Strategy, to this year fund Mrs Trevorrow to visit each of the schools to run a series of vocal workshops in which to teach the children the songs to be performed in the concert.  The result was five pieces, all sung in two or three part harmony, learnt off-by-heart and sung to a very high-standard.  Songs included 'Can you Feel the Love Tonight' and 'Lean on Me'.  Each school also prepared their own individual song and these were all especially well put together this year and there were some great individual performances.  Thank you to all of the staff who made the evenings possible, thank you to the parents for supporting the concerts and well done to all of the children who worked so hard and performed so well!

DASP Brass Ensemble are winners at the Weymouth Music Festival!

Two DASP Ensembles took part in the Weymouth Music Festival this year on 5th March.  The Training Windband wowed adjudicators with their rendition of 'Land of Hope and Glory' (the adjudicators could not believe that they were all beginner musicians!) and the DASP Brass Ensemble performed excellently and were awarded the Best Youth Ensemble cup!  Thank you to Mr Goodwin and Mr Ansell for giving both groups the opportunity to perform and well done to all who took part!

Stringendos perform with Dorset Chamber Orchestra - March 2016

On March 5th, Stringendos had the opportunity to play with Dorset Chamber Orchestra at their annual Concert for Youth. They joined DChO to play a piece arranged especially for them called “Water Birds”, composed by Liz Sharma. They were able to feel what it is like to be part of a full symphony orchestra at rehearsal and in concert. Elise Griffin, year 5 student at St Osmund's, was a guest soloist with the orchestra, playing the Violin Concerto in a minor op.6 no3 by Vivaldi. Stringendos also joined DChO in the final item, playing “Carillon” from the Suite l’Arlesienne by Bizet.  It was a fantastic experience for all involved and we look forward to further collaborations with DChO in the future.  Thanks to Mrs Bultz and Mr Brewster for all of their input.

DASP Music Christmas Concert 2015

On 9th December, the annual DASP Music Christmas concert was held at The Thomas Hardye School Theatre.  Almost 200 students were involved and all of the DASP Music Ensembles took part, as well as a combined first schools' recorder ensemble of around 60 recorders!
It was lovely to see debut performances by the Stringalings, the Training Windband and the DASP Jazz Band (amongst others) as well as excellent performances by some of our more established groups.
Short compilation videos of the evening can be viewed here and photos can be seen here.
Well done to all involved!

Thomas Hardye Singers and ICSO Concert - Nov 2015

A review of the Thomas Hardye Singers and ICSO concert from the Dorset Echo website can be found here.

Richard Dickins (conductor of ICSO) said this about the concert:

"Thanks you for your wonderful singing at the weekend:  it was such a privilege for ICSO to join you for the rehearsals and concert.  The Rutter was incredibly moving - beautifully sung and most musically shaped - the Bernstein fizzed with energy and the Polovtsian Dances simply took off!!
Thanks you all for this remarkable collaboration between the town of Dorchester and Imperial College London:  it means a lot to us in London and I hope that it does to you also."

We are very grateful to Peter Oakes, Richard Dickins and ICSO for giving the students of Dorchester the opportunity to take part in an event such as this.

THS Students go 'on tour'

On Weds 8th July, DASP Music helped to facilitate a group of THS students to go 'on tour' around all three middle schools.  The tour was made possible with funding from the Dorset Music Education Hub's Singing Strategy and featured various different vocal groups from THS including Harmony, 'busking group', BOSS (Boys Only Smooth Singers) and the THS Big Band with featured vocal soloists.  The hope was to inspire the next generation of THS students to get involved in singing when they reach upper school and to especially encourage more boys to participate.  The middle schools thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we hope to continue with this sort of link between the middle and upper schools in the future.

DASP Summer Prom Concert 2015

On Saturday 4th July, students from across DASP joined together for a fabulous night of music making at the Ten Pieces Prom Concert at St Mary's Middle School.  The concert featured all of the DASP Music Ensembles and also included a performance of Grieg's 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' which brought together over sixty musicians from ages 6 - 60 performing in a large orchestra together.

The concert also featured the annual presentation of the DASP Citizenship Awards to deserving students from across the pyramid.  Through kind sponsorship from Weyprint and The Solo Trust, awards were also presented to young musicians within DASP who had excellend this year, to help them with their future musical development.

Here are some videos and photos from the event.

Many thanks to all who contributed towards making it an enjoyable and fantastic evening!

Year 3 are a 'Little bit Naughty'....

Children in Year 3 across DASP have been lucky enough to have been visited by Martine Burt, one of the regular directors of WOW Youth Musical Theatre, to take part in a musical theatre workshop.  They workshop was funded as part of the governments Singing Strategy and aimed to encourage better performance skills and improve confidence in singing.  The children spent two hours doing vocal warm-ups, dance warm-ups, drama and co-operation games and finally learnt the song 'Naughty' from the musical Matilda and performed it with actions.  We look forward to more collaborations with Martine in the future! For more Singing Strategy photos click here.

DASP Instrumental Roadshow is underway!

The DASP Instrumental Roadshow has been busy visiting 14 DASP schools over the past term, to demonstrate a variety of instruments to the children and to give them the opportunity to experience some excellent live music in the hope that in might encourage more children to take up a musical instrument.
The roadshow is more than a demonstration of instruments.  It takes the children on a journey through time and space, to collect the items on the wicked witch's list in order to break the spell and complete the final performance!  Throughout the show, the children listen to many different instruments (violin, viola, cello, trumpet, euphonium, recorders, flute, clarinet, piano and accordion!) and learn about many different musical styles from baroque to folk to tango, whilst taking part in a good amount of audience participation on the way.
To see highlights of this year's roadshow, click here.
This project has been a huge success this year, and we are hopeful that if we can find the funding, we can recreate something similar next year.

Damers First School has BBC Ten Pieces work displayed on BBC website.

Year 4 students at Damers First School have been busy making creative responses to the BBC Ten Pieces resource.  Their digital art in response to Stravinsky's 'The Firebird' can currently be viewed on the BBC Ten Pieces website.  Watch it here!

Singing Strategy Projects are underway...

It is a busy time of year in DASP music from a singing perspective!  We currently have several singing projects on the go, thanks to funding from the National Singing Strategy, via Dorset Music Service.

Kathie Prince is starting a tour of all of the first schools, delivering singing development sessions to all first school staff.  These sessions will help to improve the teachers' confidence and will give them new ideas on how to approach singing with children.  Kathie is also running targeted session with some school choirs, and has so far visited Milborne St Andrew First School.

Steve Wilson has run sessions with all year 7 boys across the whole DASP pyramid, singing songs such as 'We will Rock You', 'Hey Brother', and 'I wanna be like you'.  He has just started a new DASP vocal group for middle school boys, The Treblemakers, which rehearses at Dorchester Middle School on Tuesdays at 3.45.  Everyone is welcome!

MSO and FSO end of term concerts and Easter Bonnet parade!

On the last day of the Spring term, MSO and FSO both held informal concerts for parents. 
FSO started their concert with an Easter bonnet parade.   The effort that the children had all put into their hats was fantastic!  They then performed a selection of pieces that they had been working on during the term.
MSO kindly invited some of the Manor Park beginner string players to join them in a performance of In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg.  This was the first time that these string players had played with an orchestra and was a great opportunity for them.  The mini concert was followed by a party tea for all.

Weymouth Music Festival 2015 -
MSFC are cup winners!

On Saturday 7th March, the Middle Schools' Flute Choir, Middle Schools' Brass Ensemble, Skylarks Choir and THS Harmony took part in the Weymouth Music Festival at Wey Valley School.
All the groups performed very well, with Skylarks performing 'Listen to the Rain' and 'Do You Know How it Feels' both by Lin Marsh, THS Harmony singing 'Budapest' and MSBE performing 'William Tell Overture' and 'This Train'.
A special congratulations must go to the Middle Schools' Flute Choir, who won the Intermediate Schools Instrumental Group category with their performances of 'Serenade' by Schubert, 'Breaktime Boogie' by Zoe Booth and 'Walk like this' by Ian Clarke, which featured some unusual extended flute playing techniques!
Well done to all who took part!

DASP Year 4 Concert - March 2015

On Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th March, St Osmunds Sports Hall hosted two sell out 'From Stage and Screen' concerts performed by year 4 students from across DASP.  This annual event has become a highlight of the First Schools' calendar and is a great opportunity for all of the children to experience performing in front of a large audience.  The schools all performed individual songs, and then came together for five songs en-masse which included 'You've never had a friend like me' from Aladdin, 'It's a hard knock life' from Annie, and 'Thank you for the music' by Abba.  Well done to all involved.   

More photos from the DASP Christmas Concert can be found on our Gallery page.  There is also a 'highlights' video to be found on our Audio and Video page.

More photos from the DASP Year 4 Concert can be found on our Gallery page.

DASP Christmas Concert 2014

Tuesday 16th December saw the Thomas Hardye School Theatre packed out for the annual DASP Christmas Concert.  As usual, the concert was divided into two halves - the first being mainly for the first school children and the second being for the middle and upper school students.  The first half opened with the triumphant sound of brass as the THS Orchestra played Star Wars.  This was followed by excellent performances by the Manor Park String Group, the First School's Orchestra, the DASP Recorders, the Puddletown Middle School Brass Group, the Bluetacks wind ensemble and the Skylarks vocal group.  Approximately 60 children came together to form a First Schools' Choir and performed the song 'Midnight'.  The second concert opened with the Middle Schools' Orchestra and was followed by performances by DASP Flutes, Middle Schools' String Ensemble, Middle School and THS Brass Ensembles, DMS Ukes, DASP Harmony vocal group and the THS Orchestra.  The evening finished with a fun sing-along for everyone, led by the DASP Staff Band with a rendition of Wizzard's 'I wish it could be Christmas Everyday'.  Thank you to all who contributed to the evening and Merry Christmas from all at DASP Music!

THS Choir and Imperial College Symphony Orchestra Concert

On Saturday 25th October 2014, The Thomas Hardye School Singers joined forces with the Imperial College Symphony Orchestra in a concert at St Mary's Church in Dorchester.  The programme consisted of Requiem by Faure, Tall Trees by Peter Hope, The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky and Carnival Overture by Dvorak. 

During Tall Trees, the THS choir was joined by 25 students from the three middle schools.  During the Nutcracker Suite, students from DASP joined with the orchestra.  The chance for students from DASP to play and sing with such a high level symphony orchestra is a unique opportunity which not many school students would ever get.  We are thrilled that the link with ICSO remains so strong and look forward to our next collaboration.