Music

The Head of Music at the Nippers is Mr. Kenny Hutchison.

Kenny teaches all music in the Upper Primary whilst the Early Years provision is shared with Shinobn Scott.

The music room at the Junior School is a spacious, bright and cheerful place, equipped with twenty electronic keyboards, synthesizers, a grand piano, two drumkits, fifteen acoustic guitars, recorders, electric guitars and basses and amplification. There is a computer with a sophisticated multi-track recording programme and a high quality hi-fi.

Our recording studio is in use daily, and nearly every pupil has made at least one CD. Eight practice rooms adjoin the main music room, each equipped with a piano, where instrumental lessons and individual practices take place. The rooms have recently been painted in vibrant, wacky colours. The main assembly hall is also used for musical activities and rehearsals.

Every class from the Nursery, through the Early Years and into year 7 has specialist music at least once a week. In addition to these class music lessons almost every pupil chooses to learn a musical instrument, with individual lessons being taught on a rota basis at the rate of one lesson per week. A full range of orchestral instruments is available as well as piano, chanter/bagpipes, recorder, guitar, accordion, snare drum and drumkit.

There are many opportunities for our young musicians to perform, including school concerts, Chapel services and concerts in the community. Our 40-strong mixed choir have sung on one of S Club’s singles and have recorded an album of their own. We have regular whole school singing, a junior choir in the making, and plans to start a boys choir soon.

We also have an orchestra, a string quartet, a flute group, a saxophone ensemble, a rock band and various other ensembles.

Every year we stage a big scale musical with ‘a cast of thousands’ in the Loretto Theatre, and in the past few years they have included The Wizard of Oz, Annie, Oliver, Calamity Jane, Grease, The Sound of Music and Bugsy Malone.

Associated Board examinations are arranged for those who wish to take them and we regularly enjoy a very high success rate at the Nippers.

If you would like more information on music at Loretto Nippers, please don’t hesitate to call Mr. Hutchison at the school on 0131 653 4582.