Music was my first love.
And it will be my last.
Music of the future
And music of the past.
To live without my music
Would be impossible to do.
In this world of troubles,
My music pulls me through.
John Miles, 1976

Our girls are far too young to remember this song from the 1970s but it could have been written with them in mind. Music at NGHS has always been spectacular and in this world of troubles it has certainly pulled us all through.

Guided Home Learning

With the passion and dedication of everybody in the Music Department and our devoted peripatetic teaching staff, our girls have embraced guided home learning and produced some outstanding pieces. Even under their own steam, some of the girls have written and performed moving and relevant songs to capture the mood of the times and bring hope and joy to everybody. This is what our girls excel at – being in the moment and using their initiative.

Brave Love

Right at the very beginning of the lockdown period when we were all feeling fearful and apprehensive, two of our Year 7 girls composed and recorded a beautiful song called Brave Love with powerful and poignant lyrics. This was picked up by the media and soon featured on Notts TV. Such talent and compassion from such young girls makes us very proud.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

And this wasn’t the only musical collaboration to catch the eye of the media. The rainbow became the symbol of support for our NHS workers and carers, and pictures of it soon appeared in windows across the nation. So it was only natural that the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow would capture this mass feeling of pride, gratitude and support. In a huge project involving girls from across the school playing a variety of musical instruments and singing together remotely, the song was played during the familiar Thursday evening Clap for Carers and was later broadcast by the BBC giving it national coverage. Absolutely amazing!

We’ll Meet Again

During this period of time we also celebrated the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Cue another phenomenal musical collaboration, this time between the Infant and Junior School and NGHS alumna Emma Brown who is a renowned mezzo-soprano singer. Emma is so supportive of the school and has worked with the Junior girls before when they toured the battle fields of France and Belgium during the Armistice Centenary events of 2018. This time, together, the girls and Emma performed a wonderful rendition of We’ll Meet Again which was beautiful and heartwarming.

The Bare Necessities

The Year 4 Infant and Junior girls were due to perform Disney’s The Jungle Book earlier this term but of course, this was not to be. Undeterred by the circumstances and embracing the technology of the moment, Years 1 to 5 came together in a digital collaboration to bring us The Bare Necessities. What a fun and uplifting performance proving that the spirit of an NGHS girl simply cannot be beaten. They will always grab every opportunity to perform, entertain and enjoy themselves along the way.

Remote Concerts

By far the biggest musical projects during these difficult times have been the two remote concerts featuring many, many of the girls from all year groups. These have been painstakingly compiled by the ever busy, ever dedicated Mr Rolfe. The girls more than gladly sent in clips of themselves performing at home so that they could be put together – and the results have been truly extraordinary. Parents and friends eagerly awaited the launch of these concerts and were full of awe and admiration at what they saw and heard. Take a look:

That’s Not All Folks

There have been so many other musical collaborations taking place, including of course the recent GDST Song Contest featuring all of the GDST schools. This all just goes to show how important music is in lifting the spirits and morale of the population. More than this however, we believe it shows the incredible relationship between our girls and our staff. Always full of enthusiasm and willingness to participate in musical endeavours, our girls happily and skilfully sing, dance and play their hearts out. Backed and supported by an incredible team of hardworking staff, there really is nothing that these girls are not capable of, even under the most challenging of circumstances. We can’t wait to see what else they have up their sleeves.