Music Clubs
Advanced Composition
The Advanced Composition class is aimed at the school's best composers and aims to develop their talents well beyond the expectations of GCSE and A-level. Regular workshops give composers the opportunity to write works for professional players and twice a year there are workshops guided by a leading professional composer. There are also classes in analysis and a general introduction to contemporary repertoire as well as regular trips to contemporary music concerts in London.
Autograph Concert/Workshops
The Autograph Concert Series is now in its 22nd year. It consists of six concerts given by leading professional chamber groups, vocal ensembles and soloists. Many of the performers give afternoon workshops on the day of the concert which are open to College pupils and pupils from all schools in the local area. The concerts are free to all College pupils and Music Scholars and all pupils learning instruments are encouraged to attend and take advantage of this remarkable opportunity.
Barber Shop Group
The Barber Shop Group comprises mainly of the tenors and basses of the chamber choir, but is open to any boy with an interest in singing. They perform a wide range of repertoire from American Barber Shop classics to arrangements of more recent songs, such as Billy Joel and Gene Pitney.
Chamber Choir
This is a specialised choir of about 28 singers open to pupils in the lower 5th and above. It sings a selection of sacred and secular repertoire from the 16th century to the present day. It performs at the major College Concerts, and has sung Evensong at St George's Chapel, Windsor, St Paul's Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, London and Chichester Cathedrals. The chamber choir is performing high profile concerts in and around Brighton. In September 2004 they sang with the Sussex Symphony Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras at the Brighton Dome and at a service at St Peter's in the presence of Tony Blair and in March 2006 they performed at St John's Smith Square in London. They toured to Prague in 2005 and Moscow in 2006.
Chamber Music
Selected musicians who have attained an appropriately high standard on their instruments are invited to meet every week to study major works and learn the skills required to play in small groups. Recent ensembles have studied a variety of works from Mozart's ‘Dissonance' quartet to Bolling's Suite for Cello and Jazz Trio. The main objective of these rehearsals is to prepare for performances throughout the year at the school and in the Sussex area, and to compete in the annual National Chamber Music Competition for Schools held in February/March. In April 2006 the Senior String Quartet took part in the prestigious London String Quartet Symposium. They were one of only three school ensembles selected to perform alongside quartets from the top national conserva
Chamber Orchestra
Brighton College Chamber Orchestra is an elite ensemble of the school's best players performing a wide range of repertoire from Baroque Concerti to works for Romantic chamber orchestra, providing pupils with both valuable performing experience and a chance to make orchestral music at a high level. Performances occur every term in such contexts as the Christmas Concert and separate orchestral concerts, in March 2006 they performed Holst St Paul's Suite in St John's Smith Square, in London. Pupils are selected by the music department to take part and are expected to attend regular rehearsals.
Chapel Choir
The Chapel Choir performs weekly in the Chapel Service on Tuesday mornings. Its repertoire covers sacred music in all styles from Palestrina motets to Fauré's Requiem and modern Christmas music. It also provides music for very significant College occasions such as Speech Day in the Dome, the Remembrance Day service in the College Chapel and the Christmas Carol Service in St Peter's Church. Most recently it has released a highly professional CD of Christmas music which has been broadcast widely on BBC TV and on Radio.
Choral Society
The Choral Society has over 100 members taken from pupils, staff parents, OBs and friends. It performs two major concerts each year with the College Orchestra in December and May. Recent works include Elgar's The Kingdom, Bach's Magnificat, Handel's Dixit Dominus, Dvorak's Mass in D and Rutter's Gloria. The adults rehearse in a very social atmosphere in the evenings. There is no audition and no experience is necessary, just an interest in singing.
Concert Band
This weekly activity is an opportunity for all wind and brass players to play a variety of styles from arrangements of classical and popular tunes to original repertoire for Concert Band. The band perform twice yearly at the school concerts and are always very popular with audiences.
Percussion Ensemble
Open to all pupils who have orchestral percussion and drum lessons. The percussion ensemble will explore all aspects of rhythm including kit, tuned percussion, samba and African drumming. There are elements of improvisation and also skills in ensemble playing.
Saxophone Ensemble
This ensemble is designed to show the talents of the many College saxophonists and performs at teatime recitals, Open Mornings and College Concerts; it is hoped that some of the Prep school pupils will also take part in future events. The group covers specially written music for saxophone ‘choir' and also arrangements of familiar tunes. The group has proved extremely popular with audiences and all the College saxophonists are encouraged to attend.
Swing Band
The Brighton College Swing Band is now in its seventh year and is run by Neil Carter, Head of Woodwind and Brass at the College. The band are a popular item in school concerts and have featured at many outside events including the NHS Trust Ball, a VE Day commemorative event at Whitehawk Primary School, the College Family Society 160th Ball and the Kemp Town Carnival. The band performs a variety of music including big band classics, Latin and popular songs. All budding jazz musicians above Grade 4 are welcome to join.
Symphony Orchestra
The Symphony Orchestra is the College's principal instrumental group and performs large-scale works from the orchestral repertoire in the Christmas and major annual Concert, most recently Bizet's Carmen Suite, Beethoven's Symphony no 1, and Walton's Crown Imperial. It provides valuable experience in ensemble playing for all its members and opportunities for more experienced players to lead sections and take on solo roles. Through intensive weekly rehearsals, including sectionals led by the Head of Wind and Brass and the Head of Strings, the Symphony Orchestra learns the technical skills of large ensemble playing and gains in depth knowledge of the repertoire they are studying.