Blog Archives - Downs Junior School Music

Sensational Samba from Pulse of the Place

26/5/2017

HUGE thanks to Pulse of the Place samba band. They travelled through the night on a coach from Edinburgh to be with us, before heading on to Varndean. They will be performing tomorrow at 14:30 at the Peter Pan playground (near the Volks railway), 16:30 outside Unitarian Church and at 19:00 by Palace Pier. Please go along and support these incredibly talented kids if you can. Thank you.

Samba Sounds

25/5/2017

Rohan Seilman is an ex-pupil of Downs Junior School. Following his time at DJS he and his family moved to Edinburgh, where he remained. He has since led a successful youth percussion group in Edinburgh (called Pulse of the Place) and works for the arts charity Arts Afternoon.

His Samba group have been invited to perform in Brighton this weekend - they're performing at numerous venues over the next few days: Unitarian Church, Peter Pan playground and Palace Pier.

Today, Rohan kindly returned to the school to deliver free samba workshops with the Year 6 classes. Tomorrow - he's returning with his youth samba group Pulse of the Place. They will perform for the whole school in two assemblies. Updates will be posted to the SAMBA page.

Hall of Fame Rehearsal (Sports Day)

23/5/2017

Sports Day will soon be upon us.
Use this video to help you rehearse the MOVES for Hall of Fame:

The Voice UK Finalist - Team Will.i.am

23/5/2017

The Voice UK Finalist: Michelle John, will be performing in Brighton on Saturday 10th June, She will be supporting the Brighton Goes Gospel Choir concert, featuring Downs Junior School staff - Ms Kay, Miss Rusbatch, Ms Kaiser & Mrs Roberts, plus MANY more voices.

Brighton Goes Gospel invites you to join them for an evening of foot stompin’, hand clappin’ soul enrichin’ gospel music starring BGG’s Special Guest ‘The Voice UK 2017 Finalist’ Michelle John.

Tickets can be purchased in person from
The Brighton Dome Box office or at The Clarendon Centre, 47 New England Street,.
Tickets are also available online at: www.brightonticketshop.com or telephone: 01273 709 709. Limited tickets will be available on the door, on the night – all £15.

We look forward to seeing you there, on Saturday 10th June.
Doors open at 6.15pm with the show commencing at 7pm.

MEOW-TASTIC Experience

22/5/2017

Meow Meow: Souvenir - at Theatre Royal for Brighton Festival

In March 2017, the Brighton Festival producers asked Miss Rusbatch to create and train a small choir of 8 children. The choir would go on to perform on stage at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, alongside the hugely talented performance artist Meow Meow, for her Brighton Festival performances of 'Souvenir'.

Johnny, Sophie, Joshim, Grace (Year 6), Cai, Dolly (Year 5) and Ernie and Phine (Year 4) rehearsed and performed like professionals. Their custom-made costumes were shipped over from Australia which helped the children to slip into character, representing the souls of children and the angels of youth whose lives once touched the fabric of the Theatre Royal's rich history. Well done kids. You were GREAT!

For more information, visit the Meow Meow page.

Orchestra - Composition

18/5/2017

Orchestra are working on their own composition this term. It is currently entitled No Hope. This is what it sounds like, following 3 weeks (roughly 90 minutes in total) of composing and rehearsing. The next step is to move through some unexpected chordal changes and introduce some beautiful counter-melodies and harmonies.

Theatre Royal - Brighton Festival

18/5/2017

Meow Meow: Souvenir - Theatre Royal 20th May 2017
Featuring 8 children from Downs Junior School

Created by Meow Meow in collaboration with composers Jherek Bischoff and August Von Trapp, musical direction Jherek Bischoff & design by Andrea Lauer.

A fantastical song cycle on a half-remembered misreported history of Brighton's Theatre Royal.

Actress, singer, dancer, Meow Meow is a cabaret diva of the highest order. Her kamikaze performance style has thrilled and inspired audiences globally with her shows The Little Match Girl and Apocalypse Meow and An Audience with Meow.

Hard to classify, her collaborations span artforms and genres: Pink Martini, Barry Humphries, Symphonies and Philharmonic Orchestras and Amanda Palmer and the Dresden Dolls to name a few.

For this exclusive Brighton Festival performance, Meow Meow joins forces with the Orchester der Kleinen Regiment to summon the ghosts of Brighton's Theatre Royal, past, present and future featuring original collaborations with composers Jherek Bischoff, August von Trapp, and The Lilliputian Octet. She will also be joined on stage by 8 talented children from Downs Junior School: Joshim, Sophie, Johnny, Grace, Cai, Dolly, Ernie and Phine.

Don’t miss this exceptional performer in a one-off musical homage to what may have been, and what may still come to pass.

Violin Lesson Cancelled

11/5/2017

Here is a statement from the B&H Music Service:

Unfortunately your child's violin teacher, Lisa de Simone, has had to return to Italy due to an unexpected family emergency. Lessons scheduled for Thursday 11 and Friday 12 May and for the week beginning 15 May have unfortunately had to be cancelled. We are currently expecting lessons to resume the week beginning 22 May and will contact you next week to confirm arrangements. Please accept our apologies for the break in tuition.

We would like to reassure you that lessons will be monitored to ensure your child receives the correct amount of lessons for which you have been charged across the academic year.

TV Star Isis (Mimi)

8/5/2017

Congratulations to Isis (Mimi) in 5M for being selected to perform in the new Heart FM advert. It launched on TV last night so keep your eyes peeled and dance along!

pBuzz-illiant and UKE-tastic Effort!

3/5/2017

Sarah Leeves from BHMA says:

"I am seriously impressed with 4PY's and 4F's efforts and talent. I hope this attitude to learning and performing continues. Well done everyone"

For more information about pBuzz and Ukulele, click on the Quick Links on the right.