Music

Throughout the school, students have the opportunity to express their talent and develop their skills as part of an ensemble. In addition to the many student led rock, pop and jazz groups that the students form themselves, our current formal school ensembles include:

Pre Prep Choir; Prep Choir; Prep Chamber Choir; Senior Choir; Senior Chamber Choir; Year 7/8 Choir; Harmonix (a capella group); Junior Strings; Intermediate Strings; Senior Strings; Chamber Groups; Senior Orchestra; Big Band; Jazz Band.

Some of these ensembles are by invitation or audition, requiring a minimum standard and ongoing commitment to regular rehearsals and performances.

Shrewsbury's Symphony Orchestra, Choirs, Ensembles and other groups perform regularly throughout the year as part of the school's own extensive series of Recitals, Concerts and other performances, as well as within the wider community.

Our students also enjoy regular opportunities to perform internationally, including a recent tour of America’s East coast (incorporating a series of concerts in New York and Boston), and attendance at the Primary Performing Arts Carnivals in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City.

Students often take the initiative in organizing ad hoc performances as part of their own rock and pop ensembles, accompanying community events. In recent years we have also been very pleased to welcome back some of our musical alumni, currently studying or graduated from some of the world’s leading musical conservatoires, to perform on Shrewsbury’s stages once more.

The popular bi-annual House Music Competition gives students from across the Senior School to take the lead and to prepare high quality, entertaining performances that they hope will earn the coveted competition trophy for their House.

Shrewsbury offers all students the opportunity to have individual instrumental or voice lessons at school. Standards of individual musicianship are high and our students regularly enjoy success in international solo competitions. The instruments we currently offer are:

Piano (Classical/Jazz); Violin; Viola; Cello; Double Bass; Flute; Oboe; Clarinet; Bassoon; Trumpet; French Horn; Trombone; Tuba; Orchestral percussion; Drum Kit; Harp; Saxophone; Guitar (Acoustic/Electric); Voice (Classical/Pop); Thai Instruments. Aural (listening skills lessons) are also offered.

The majority of lessons take place during the school day with students coming out of curriculum time on rotation to attend their lessons; instrumental lessons for senior students from year 10 upwards are timetabled outside of curriculum time. Lessons are usually 30 minutes in length and are taught by full time and visiting teachers who are all practising professional musicians.

Many of the orchestral instrument teachers work with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, The Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and other professional ensembles in Bangkok. Lessons are billed separately.

Any instrumental players who wish to progress to practical grades 6+ are required to sit the ABRSM Grade 5 music theory examination. Individual theory lessons are offered as part of the school’s Instrumental programme (paid) and on a group basis as part of the school’s Extra-Curricular activities programme (free of charge and dependent upon capacity).

In addition, we now also offer Composition lessons free of charge as part of the school’s Extra-Curricular activities programme; a huge benefit to GCSE and A level students who are required to submit composition pieces as part of their assessed coursework.

In many cases it is possible to rent a school instrument for a small termly fee. Please contact the Music Department directly if you would like your child to be involved in any of the activities and/or if you would like them to receive instrumental tuition.

We welcome scholarship applications from both current students (where they have met the scholarship selection criteria) and prospective students throughout the year.

Where a prospective student meets both the criteria for application to the school, as well as the selection criteria for one of our scholarship programmes, they will be invited for interview and assessment / audition. Where possible, this will be scheduled to take place alongside the standard entry assessment tests. For students who are yet to join our school, a scholarship application form (and supporting documents) will need to be submitted in addition to the standard application form.

For more information, please visit our admissions pages