Music has always been an important part of school culture at St Peter’s, Cambridge. Our founder, Arthur Broadhurst, shared his love of music with his students and saw music as playing a key role in holistic education and personal well-being. Today we are building on his legacy with a fantastic array of music opportunities for students of all abilities, outstanding facilities and equipment, and talented teachers.
Our Music Programme offers students opportunities to develop a range of important skills through instrument playing, the use of music technology to compose and record, and exploring musical knowledge.
In the classroom, we encourage and challenge students to learn and hone their craft through interactive music-making, in both individual and group activities. We have extensive facilities and instruments here, providing students with unique learning experiences and the opportunity to discover new areas within Music. In our recording spaces, students can learn how to compose, record, and produce a song from beginning to completion. Students could even commercially release their own material.
Students have the opportunity to regularly perform live at various concerts. This is important to developing confidence in their ability and learning how to communicate music within an ensemble. We strongly encourage our music students to participate in the co-curricular programmes on offer, so that they build their skills and work with like-minded people.
Enjoy one-on-one tuition with specialist instrumental teachers. The aim of the specialist tuition programmes is to help students to develop musical, social, and personal awareness. This is nurtured through participation in individual music instruction to support invl=olvement in musical performances. Private tuition operates during the school day on a schedule that compliments student's classroom learning.
Rehearse and perform in outstanding facilities. There are two music classrooms with a range of top-quality software and technology for writing, recording, and producing music. Our performance studio has a Steinway Piano, extensive orchestral percussion, and a range of instruments. There are 11 different rehearsal studios within the Performing Arts Faculty. Our drum attic and JamHub rehearsal space are where our commercial musicians can craft their music together.
We encourage students to create their own music groups. Our facilities and equipment are available for student-led groups to use. These groups are a great form of recreation and students develop significant self-management and leadership skills while enjoying the opportunity to express themselves creatively with music. There are in-school opportunities for these groups to perform at; the STARS concert, the Rock of Ages concert, and the House Music Rock Band evening. We often have success with student-led groups who enter the annual Regional Rockquest competition.
At St Peter’s we have an exciting calendar of musical events throughout the year. These performance opportunities showcase what our talented students are able to achieve through dedication and diligence. They include: contemporary music concerts, chamber and orchestral music performances, choir performances, and culminate in our annual Gala Showcase Concert which celebrates the outstanding performing arts acts of the year. St Peter’s has two long-standing annual music competitions. The Bevan Cup (for solo music performance Years 7–13), and Kammermusik competition for classical & contemporary ensembles.
We also have two traditions in music that involve our four competitive houses. Our House Music competition gives all our students experience at working together to rehearse and perform the year’s song challenge. With each competitive house having about 300 students, everyone can build confidence and enjoy participating. Our House Rock competition is a battle of the bands between our competitive houses. These two competitions play a significant role in St Peter’s culture.
At St Peter’s we encourage all our students to explore opportunities in music so that they can discover their passion and fulfill their talents.
