Downs Junior School Music
  • News
  • About
  • Curriculum
    • Home Learning
    • Home Choir
    • Warm Up Activities
    • Kodaly
    • Year 3
    • Year 4
    • Year 5
    • Year 6
    • Assessment
    • Composers
    • Extras >
      • Breakwater Academy
      • Disney
      • Musical Maths
      • French
      • Future Career in Music
      • FUN
      • Hans Christian Andersen
      • Hobbie Stuart
      • John Williams
      • Our World
      • Pentatonix
      • Peter and the Wolf
      • Sing Up
      • Silent Film Music
    • JPDD 2018
    • Music Education
    • Musical Elements
    • Music Technology >
      • Websites
      • Software
      • Apps
    • Notation >
      • Rhythm and Pulse
    • Pentatonic Scale
    • World Music
  • Clubs
    • Super Choir (Y6)
    • Mega Choir (Y3-Y6)
    • Music Jam (Y3-Y6)
    • Orchestra (Y3-Y6)
  • Events
    • 1. Harvest
    • 2. Halloween
    • 3. Bonfire Night
    • 4. Remembrance
    • 5. Christmas
    • 6. Battle of the Bands
    • 7. Brighton Festival
    • 8. Sports Day
    • 9. Summer Concerts
    • 10. Year 6 Productions
    • OTHER EVENTS >
      • SEPTEMBER >
        • Rugby World Cup Concert
        • Roald Dahl
        • International Day of Peace
      • OCTOBER >
        • Black History
        • National Poetry Day
        • Glyndebourne >
          • Belongings (Glyndebourne)
          • Pirates 2013
          • Rusalka 2012
          • La Boheme 2011
          • Opera Land
        • United Nations Day
      • NOVEMBER >
        • Children in Need
        • Anti-Bullying
      • DECEMBER
      • MARCH >
        • Commonwealth Day
        • Red Nose Day
      • APRIL >
        • International Dance Day
      • MAY
      • JUNE >
        • Refugee Week
        • World Environment Day
      • JULY >
        • International Youth Arts Festival
      • AUGUST >
        • International Youth Day
  • Instruments
    • PRIVATE LESSONS >
      • Brass
      • Cello
      • Double Bass
      • Drum Kit
      • Guitar
      • Piano
      • Violin
      • Voice
      • Woodwind
    • Ukulele - whole class
    • Keyboard - Whole Class
    • pBuzz - whole class
    • Recorder - whole class
    • Percussion - whole class >
      • DRUM UNITED
      • Body Percussion
    • Second Hand Instruments
    • Singing Voice >
      • Sing-A-Long
      • Books for Singers
    • Don't Stop the Music
  • Musical Theatre
    • Musicals
    • Bugsy Malone
    • Macbeth
    • Mary Poppins
    • Matilda
    • Oliver - The Musical
    • Pantomime
    • Sweeny Todd
    • The Greatest Showman
    • The Jungle Book
    • The Lion King
    • The Wizard of Oz
    • Rusbatch Shows >
      • Kesho Amahoro
      • Albatross
  • Support
  • Contact
Picture

Howard Blake OBE
​(28th October 1938)

Howard Blake is an ex-pupil of Downs Junior School - he attended in the 1940s when the school was called Downs County Primary School. Howard often re-visits Downs Junior School to attend our Christmas Concert. In 2018 he generously paid for the children to watch The Snowman Live at the Theatre Royal Brighton.

Howard's career has spanned over 50 years and has produced more than 650 works. His most successful work is his soundtrack for Channel 4’s 1982 animated film (of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book), The Snowman, including the song "Walking in the Air". The song forms the centrepiece of The Snowman, which has become a seasonal perennial on British television.

Howard's Recent School/Concert Visits

Picture
Howard Blake with musicians at Downs Junior School in 2013

In 2013, Howard  performed Walking in the Air at the end of our Christmas concert : ​This was an enormous privilege .
Below, Howard Blake talks about how ​he came to write
​the music for The Snowman:

Watch The Snowman below:
The story relates the fleeting adventures of a young boy and a snowman who has come to life. In the second part of the story, the boy and the snowman fly to the North Pole. "Walking in the Air" is the theme for the journey. They attend a party of snowmen, at which the boy is the only human. They meet Father Christmas and his reindeer, and the boy is given a scarf with a snowman pattern. Excitingly, the story is set in Brighton and the film clearly features the Brighton Pier and the South Downs. Raymond Briggs is based in the nearby village of Ditchling.

The Snowman Live - on Stage at the Theatre Royal Brighton 2018

In January 2018, Howard Blake, very generously, paid for theatre tickets for all of the children in Year 3. 
Picture

Content for Educational Purposes
No Copyright Claimed    2011-2020
Press pause to buffer embedded video clips. After 30-60 seconds, (depending on your internet speed), videos should then play smoothly.
Downs Junior School Website