“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” Sergei Rachmaninov
HLC is proud of its strong musical tradition. The Music department aims to enable all pupils to gain a lasting appreciation and love of music that will last beyond their school years, through encouraging skills in listening, composing and performing.
The separate Music House (opposite the main school) is a fantastic resource with 34 practice and teaching rooms, most containing a piano. The main teaching rooms are well-equipped with classroom percussion instruments, a keyboard lab and networked PCs running the music notation software Sibelius. The College Chapel houses a two-manual tracker action pipe organ and a 7’ grand piano.
Curriculum
The first three years (Years 7- 9) provide a wide base from which to enjoy listening and performing. At GCSE level the emphasis is firmly on a practical approach to the subject: composing music, a solo and ensemble performance, and the study of Set Works. In the Sixth Form, Music is offered for AS and A level. Performance and compositional techniques are assessed as course work, while aural awareness and the study of Set Works are assessed in a written examination.
Instrumental and singing lessons
Almost half of the pupils at HLC learn one or more instruments, taught by our highly qualified and experienced peripatetic staff. We offer all the main instruments, plus percussion, harp and organ. Most pupils opt to take examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, which we run at least three times a year. A few girls go on to take diplomas of the London colleges as well.
Past pupils have gone on to study music at such establishments as Chetham’s School of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music and Trinity College. Girls also go on to study Music at university, most recently at Lancaster, Birmingham and York. Girls who sing in the Chapel Choir are often able to apply for university choral scholarships.
HLC Music and the local community
The Music department seeks to make and maintain links with the wider community through various events. Recent community events have included a fund-raising concert in St Wilfrid’s Church, Carols at the Queens Hotel in Leeds for the Variety Club Yorkshire Business Awards, a ‘Come and Sing Fauré’s Requiem’ and a Strings Workshop for primary aged children in the local area.
