Music

Overview

Here at Frith Manor, we are passionate about music. We have a flourishing music department run by Mrs Ruth Cohen.

Weekly music activities include our school orchestra, choir, singing assemblies for key stages one and two, a drumming group and whole class violin tuition offered to year 4.

Our choir and orchestra take part in Music Festivals, and have won prizes and awards at a national level.

Currently, more than 100 students from year 2 upwards have individual or small group instrumental lessons at school. We have several visiting music teachers and offer lessons in:

Piano
Violin and Viola
Percussion/Drums
Cello
Guitar
Woodwind instruments – recorder, flute, clarinet, saxophone
Brass instruments – trumpet, trombone and tenor horn.

If you have any questions about our music provision, please contact Ruth Cohen at music@frithmanor.barnet.sch.uk

Instrumental Lessons

When you sign your child up for instrumental lessons at Frith Manor you are entering into an agreement with the school as follows

Lessons must be paid for a term in advance.
Half a term's notice is required to stop the lessons.
You will encourage your child to practise effectively and be prepared for their lessons.
You agree to purchase or rent an instrument following discussion with the teacher.
If the teacher is absent, they will make up the lesson. If a student misses a lesson, if given at least 48 hours notice, the teacher will do their best to make up the lesson if it is practicable. Lessons missed by the student must be paid for and will not be refunded.
The teacher agrees to teach for a minimum of 10 lessons for the term. To be punctual and prepared for the lessons and to communicate regularly with the parent regarding the student's progress.

Frith Manor Musicians' Solo Spot

Each week, we are very lucky to be treated to a musical performance at the beginning of Monday's assembly. Each week a different musician from the school puts themselves forward to perform to KS1 and KS2.

Frith Manor's Musicial Highlights

Violin concerts

What a great week it was this week with Music At Frith Manor just before half term.

Lagoon Class completed their 15 week taster violin course and gave a short concert/demonstration of the violin. Together the whole class showed their parents and a captivated Reception how to hold the violin and bow, and performed the Flower Songs, Monkey Song, DDAA at different tempos and Big Note Boogie. They made playing the violin look easy (it isn’t!) and they sounded great, performing with loads of energy and keeping together – developing listening and coordination skills at the same time. Some of the children already learned the violin before the taster, so Noe performed a solo with Stepping Stones, and Amaya and Harriett decided to play Handel’s Menuet as a duet. Catherina blew everyone away with her beautiful rendition of Sicilienne by Paradis and then performed it again this week on Wednesday for Key stage 1 and 2 in “Solo Spot” in Assemblies. The Reception classes were very excited to learn about the violin and to listen to it being played. Cyan class will start their 15 week taster in violin on Monday afternoons after half term.

All the violin students at Frith Manor also performed solo and in groups in Ruth’s Violin Concert on Sunday 2^nd February. Everyone was very nervous, especially many of them who hadn’t ever performed a solo in front of an audience before, but everyone performed very well. Learning to perform is a great and important skill to learn and takes practice. This was also the first time the Year 2 Violin Group performed, and they were fantastic. We’re all looking forward to hearing them perform in assemblies very soon. Well done to all the performers and keep practising!

Music is thriving in the Autumn term

Music at Frith Manor continues to grow and thrive. This Autumn Term we have had more than 100 children learning musical instruments at school, an orchestra of 30 students, a choir, a small ensemble, a drumming group and woodwind, brass and guitar ensembles. All these groups were featured in our Winter Ensembles Concert on 11^th December in the evening. Our piano concert for parents took place on 4^th December at 4pm when around 30 children who learn piano at Frith Manor got to perform a solo. It was a lovely concert where the students performed confidently on our fabulous Yamaha piano donated to the school by Jamie Cullem. On Wednesday 11^th December in the morning, we had our open Singing Assemblies, led by Linda Folan, where both KS1 and KS2 sang all the songs they had learned this term to the parents. It was wonderful to see so many parents attending.

Music is always happening at Frith Manor, and it permeates throughout the school. This week on Tuesday 17^th December, the orchestra performed in assemblies for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Reception Classes were invited to the Key Stage 1 Assembly, and also Little Oaks, who got their first chance to attend an assembly, sitting and listening attentively and joining in with beautiful singing when the violins played Jingle Bells. This week also, the choir visited Aarandale Care Home, where they entertained the residents with their singing of Christmas Carols.

From half term we started our “Solo Spots” in KS2 assemblies on Mondays and KS1 and 2 assemblies on Wednesdays, when anyone can put themselves forward to perform a short musical solo just as the assembly begins. There is huge variety in the talent we have at Frith Manor. So far we listened to, amongst others; Emme and Bella together on violin, Matej on drum kit, Naomi, Aria, Bella, Anna and Ayva on piano, Victora and Suzu on cello, and Vyom on flute. We have a whole class instrumental teaching project in year 4 where everyone in year 4 learns to play the violin as a taster in learning to play a musical instrument. This term, Lagoon class have been having fun learning how to play violin music together every Monday afternoon. They are beginning to sound quite good!

Thanks to all our wonderful and talented Music Staff Team: Ruth Cohen, Music Lead, Orchestra, Violin; Linda Folan, Choir and Singing Assemblies; Joe Ospalla, Drums; Naama Kozokaro, Piano; Ben Mason, Brass and Piano; Bozena Bates, Woodwind; Daniel Evans, Guitar; Janet Reed, Cello.

At Frith Manor you can learn these instruments: Piano, Violin, Cello, Guitar, Trumpet, Trombone, Tenor Horn, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Drums, and we may offer individual singing lessons there is demand. Currently we have waiting lists for most instruments and a few spaces on Piano and Brass instruments. We can offer subsidised lessons to those in need. If you are interested in music lessons for your child, please email Ruth Cohen on music@frithmanor.barnet.sch.uk

Frith Manor at The Barnet Infant Music Festival - November 2024

On Friday 8^th November all of Year 1 and Year 2 – Amber, Cinnamon, Honey, and Sunshine classes participated in the 2024 Infant Music Festival. This was run by BEAT – Barnet Education Arts Trust and devised and directed by Ros Savournin. The children in year 1 and 2 had all prepared songs to sing in the festival in advance with their teachers and had also been trained by our singing teacher Linda Folan in their singing assemblies.

On the day we were excited and looking forward to going and singing and performing with other schools. We walked from Frith Manor to Millbrook Park School after lunch, where we joined forces with children from Millbrook Park and Summerside Primary School.

The music festival was based around the picture book “Beegu” by Alexis Deacon. Beegu is not supposed to be on Earth. She is lost and her spaceship has crashed. She is a friendly little creature, but the big Earth People are not very welcoming at all. The little ones are a different matter.

These were the songs that we learned and how they go with the story:

When Beegu’s spaceship appears in the sky:

“What are you” - A song based on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

When Beegu falls asleep with the puppies:

“Heno, Heno” – a Welsh Lullaby

When Beegu finds the children in the school playground, - 4 Playground Songs:

“Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear“

“Zhao pengyou” - a Chinese partner song about Friendship

“A Sailor Went to Sea” - a traditional English partner clapping and action song.

“Hi Lo Chickalo” - a Clapping Song originating in Africa

The Final Song, when Beegu is taken back home by her mother, was “All The Difference” - a song that celebrates differences and friendships.

We sang all those songs with the other schools all together, but we sang “Wake Up” which we had been learning in singing assembly as our school solo song. The song is fun and lively and Frith Manor sang and did the actions with great energy and enthusiasm.

A huge thank you to the amazing Year 1 and Year 2 teachers who helped the children practise and learn the songs and also did a great job on the day leading the school song and doing all the actions. Also a big thank you to our wonderful singing teacher, Linda Folan, for teaching the songs in the singing assemblies.

Well done!

What an incredibly musical summer term it was at Frith Manor - July 2024

The second half of the summer term included our piano concert after school on 3^rd July. 34 students of our wonderful piano teachers Naama Kozokaro and Ben Mason performed to a packed hall full of parents, family and friends. The students performed confidently with great musical enthusiasm.

On 10^th July in the evening, just before the England semi final in the Euros against Holland, we had our Summer Ensembles Concert. This contained items from all our music groups – Violin Group, 21 students led by Ruth Cohen; Woodwind Ensembles – clarinet, flute and saxophones – led by Bozena Bates; Piano Ensemble led by Naama Kozokaro, Guitar Ensemble, led by Daniel Evans; String Trio; Brass Ensemble led by Ben Mason; School Orchestra led by Ruth Cohen; and School Choir led by Linda Folan. Approximately 65 students took part.

On 12^th July we were treated to a Brass, Woodwind and Percussion assembly. For the first time at Frith Manor we not only had 3 drum soloists perform, including Max Bartlett who had written his own composition for the drums, but we also had our School Reading and Rhythmn Drumming Ensemble. The number of students taking drum lessons is increasing and we are looking forward to more concerts from our percussion players.

On Wednesday 17^th July the Violin Group, Orchestra and String Trio with Amy, Kaho and Saki performed for Key Stage 1 and then again for Key Stage 2 on Monday 19^th July. Music continued right to the very end of the term!

We will especially miss our very talented year 6 performers and hope they will continue with their music throughout their secondary school careers. We wish them good luck.

Looking forward to another great year of music learning and performing at Frith Manor for September 2024.

Frith Manor Soloists’ Concert - May 2024

Frith Manor’s second in a row annual Soloists’ concert took place at 2pm on Friday 17^th May.

Yet again our students found the confidence to perform to the whole of Key Stage 2 and to our parents. We have so much talent here at Frith Manor.

Opening the show was Saki in year 6, who performed a beautiful Chopin Nocturne in Eb Major on the piano. This was followed by Kaho in year 6 who performed the last movement of the Vivaldi Violin Concerto in A minor. Ben in year 6 then performed the bold James Bond Theme on his trumpet, followed by Victoria in year 4 who gave us a haunting rendition of the Sleeping Beauty Waltz by Tchaikovsky on the cello. More Chopin followed with Manon in year 6 playing the Quatar Mazurka on the Piano, with Mihika in year 4 then playing Bach’s Minuet number 1 on the violin. Nia in Year 6 performed Ninette’s Musette on the Piano. We had no idea until that moment that Nia was such an accomplished pianist. Marwa in year 6 then performed the lively Sailor’s Reel on the Guitar, followed by the serene Hills and Dales by Mika in year 4 on the violin. Jay in year 6 bowled everyone over with his perfect performance of The River Flows in You by Yiruma on the piano. Jay had never performed a solo before and although he said he was very nervous beforehand; this didn’t show at all. Emme in year 4 performed the fast Perpetual Motion by Suzuki on the violin, followed by Suzu in year 4 who played Bach’s Minuet number 2 on the cello. Catherina in year 3 gave a stunning performance of Reiding’s Concerto in B Minor on the violin, sensitively accompanied by her sister Elizabeth in year 6. It is always wonderful to watch students play music together. Meeya in year 6 performed The Entertainer by Scott Joplin extremely well, even though she admitted to not having been learning it for very long, and Bella in year 5 then played Fiddle Time on the violin. Another great guitarist followed in Harriet in Year 5 playing Forest Awake, and then Sabina in year 5 performed Pieces of Eight on the Clarinet. Jenson in year 5 who has only been playing for a couple of terms performed Persuasive Waltz by Jeffrey Wilson on the beautiful sounding alto saxophone, and then Astrid in year 6 played Joy to the World on the Guitar. Oliver in year 6 gave us the joyful Bear Necessities on the alto sax followed by Alexa performing Mama Mia wonderfully on the trumpet. Several of our students including Alexa, Oliver and Jenson, had rushed from a rugby tournament to then take part in the concert. One of our highlights and a comic break in the concert after this was The Duck Song, complete with actions, sung by Lawrence, Astrid and Marwa in year 6. Three very serious performers completed our amazing concert: Zan in year 5 performed Funk Shuffle on the drum kit, followed by Amy in year 6 performing Carl Bohm’s virtuosic Introduction and Polonnaise, and to close the concert with L’Ondine by Chaminade we had our very own concert pianist Elizabeth in year 6.

A huge well done to our extremely talented musicians at Frith Manor, and a big thank you to Naama Kozokaro, and Ben Mason our piano and brass teachers who accompanied the students.

Looking forward to next year’s concert!

Frith Manor Musicians' Solo Spot 2023-24

Each week, we are very lucky to be treated to a musical performance at the beginning of Monday's assembly. Each week a different musician from the school puts themselves forward to perform to KS2.

So far this year we have been treated to performances from musicians who have been playing their instruments for anywhere between less than a year to those who have been perfecting their skills for over 5 years!

Watch Elizabeth (Y6) dazzling the children with her piano performance on 13th November.

LYCB Inspire day at Frith on Sunday 28th Jan 2024

Frith Manor School was delighted to host Fred Slide's London Youth Concert Band Inspire Workshop on Sunday afternoon 28th January.

Two of our students - Sabina on clarinet in year 5, and Ben on trumpet in year 6 - participated and had a great day!

A busy December 2023 for Music at Frith Manor

December was such a busy month for the Frith Manor musicians.

On 13th we had some lovely open singing assemblies both for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, which parents were invited to. The children got a chance to show off their performing skills, getting into the festive spirit, led by the wonderful Linda Folan.

Later that day 30 of our piano students had their end of term Piano Concert directed by our piano teacher Naama Kozokaro.

On Thursday 14th at 6pm in the evening we had our Winter Concert. Approximately 60 children took part in this. This included our String Ensemble, Recorder Group including some year 2 performers, Flutes, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Brass Group, Choir, Guitar Ensemble and our school orchestra. We were so proud that our recorder players included a year 2 mum who has been learning along with her children, and Elias, a student who is now in year 7 who returned to play the trombone in our brass group. Our musical community extends beyond the immediate school boundaries. A copy of the programme can be found here.

It didn't stop there!

On Monday 18th December our String Quartet and Choir went to perform at the Aarandale Care Home. The children performed and behaved beautifully and the residents loved it - joining in and singing along. There was an ex opera singer amongst them who gave a spirited performance herself!

On Wednesday 20th December our String Quartet, Piano ensemble and Orchestra performed once again in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 assemblies. They are becoming quite the professional gigging musicians. They have all been working very hard and we are very proud of them.

Frith Manor at The 2023 Barnet Infant Music Festival

On Monday 6th November all of Year 1 and Year 2 – Amber, Cinnamon, Honey, and Sunshine classes - participated in the Infant Music Festival. This was run by BEAT – Barnet Education Arts Trust and devised and directed by Ros Savournin. The children in year 1 and 2 had all prepared songs to sing in the festival in advance with their teachers and had also been trained by our singing teacher Linda Folan in their singing assemblies.

The music festival was based around the picture book “Up and Down” by Oliver Jeffers. This touching story is about the friendship between a boy and a penguin.

These were the songs that we learned and how they go with the story:

“Once there were two friends...
and they always did everything together….”

Together, wherever we go – a song about teamwork

“One day the penguin decided there was something important he wanted to do all by himself... fly!.......”

Flying Round – a three part round

“That night, the penguin couldn’t help but miss his friend. Likewise, the boy could barely sleep for worrying about his friend……”

The Same Moon – signed using British Sign Language

“At the circus the penguin’s big moment had come “- (dance)

“Finally, together, the two friends made a break for home” - Thank you for being a friend – by Andrew Gold

We danced to an extract from Entrance of the Gladiators which is the “typical” circus music as the story had a reference to the circus. We were all given different brightly coloured scarves to wave around and to dance with.

We sang all those songs with the other schools all together, but we sang the song “Thank you” by Matthew Crossey and Tom Kirkham, which we had been learning in singing assembly as our school solo song. The children behaved and sang beautifully. They enjoyed preparing for and participating in the event and learned a lot. Well done KS1!

Frith Manor Orchestra perform at Summer Music Concert 10th July 2023

On 10th July Frith Manor presented a Summer Music Concert and our amazing school orchestra performed. It is clear how much they have grown together as a group of performers over the past year and their performances showed us what teamwork and resilience (two of our Frith values) can achieve.

Frith Manor Soloists' Concert on Friday 19th May 2023

On Friday 19th May Frith Manor presented a soloists' concert. Many of our talented musicians were brave enough to perform a solo in front of the whole of Key Stage 2. The confidence with which out students performed was impressive. We were treated to a wide range of music and listened to many different instruments. We have quite a number of virtuosos in our midst.

Saki in year 5, opened our concert confidently with a movement from a Mozart piano sonata.

This was followed by Emily in year 6 playing "Winter" by Vivaldi on the violin, Sabina in year 4 played Ode to Joy on the clarinet after only one term of lessons.

Despina in year 6 gave a gentle rendition of a Schumann Romance on the violin, followed by Mia in year 5's lively Sneaky Business on the piano.

Shreya in year 6 got together with Lucas who accompanied her, to play a beautiful clarinet solo after only two terms of lessons.

Kazumi and Laurence in year 5 played joyful violin pieces, with Zara in year 6 presenting a piece by Handel, and Diana playing Le Morisqe a baroque dance on the recorder accompanied by drum and piano.

Milo in year 6 played the lively Allegro by Cimmarosa and Nathaniel in year 6 showed us how haunting and effective the tin whistle can be in his own version of The Ring Goes South (nicknamed by us the "Lord of the Tins.")

Victoria in year 3 played Somewhere Over the Rainbow so beautifully and Oliver in year 5 showed us Chanson on the alto saxophone.

Lucas in year 6 then wowed us with a Rondo by Dussek on the piano, followed by some flashy playing by Amy in year 5 on the violin with Air Varie by Dancla.

We had Jazz clarinet from Michael in year 6 with Hackensack by Thelonius Monk and an impressive finale with our prizewinning Elizabeth in year 5 playing Clair de Lune by Debussy.

It was a wonderful afternoon. Congratulations and thank you to our fantastic musicians.

Pupil Elizabeth's Winning Weekend

Year 5 pupil and talented pianist Elizabeth went to Ealing Festival on Saturday and Mill Hill Festival on Sunday where she won 1st prizes for the three classes she entered for: