This year again we have had numerous students competing in the Glasgow Music Festival.  All the students should be incredibly proud of their performances.  A special mention must go to two pupils:

Lewis Graham S6 winner of the Ailie Cullen Memorial prize which is awarded to the performer who, in the opinion of the adjudicators, gives the most outstanding performance of the festival.

Anna Ghiro S1 winner of the Hugh S Roberton Memorial Trophy which is presented to the most outstanding performer, under 14 years of age, in Vocal and Instrumental classes.

Other prize winners were:

Lewis Graham S6 winner of Woodwind and Brass Concerto

Lewis Graham S6 winner of the Woodwind and Brass Solos – Premier class

Lewis Graham S6 and Andrew Vettraino S6 (clarinet/bassoon) winners of the Instrumental Duets class

Alex Gajic S1 winner of the Piano Solos C class

Elliot Ferguson S1 winner of Woodwinds Solos B class with James A Ross S1 second and James R Ross S1 third

Trad. Band second place in the Folk Group class

Callum Robson second place in the Ragtime and Blues Piano Solo class

Lewis Graham S6 second and Andrew McCroskie S6 third in the Modern Woodwind and Brass Solos

Anna Ghiro S1 second and Jamie King S1 third in the Woodwind Solos A class

String Orchestra  third place in the School String Orchestra class

Senior Concert band third place in the School Concert Bands A class

Tom Simmonds S2 third place in the Violin C class

Campbell Lang S4 third place in the Woodwind and Brass Sonata class

Our annual Young Musician competition is taking place this evening in Music Studios 1 and 2 at 7pm.  Tickets are on sale at the door at the price of £4/£2 concession.  This is always an exciting event with a fantastic standard of performance on a wide range of instruments.

The dates for the music practical examinations are:

Tues 23rd and Wed 24th February

Tues 1st, Wed 2nd, Thurs 3rd, Tues 8th and Wed 9th March

Timetables are on display in the music department.

Congratulations to S4 pupil Tom who won Young Drummer of the Year 2016 at the weekend.  This is Tom’s third year of getting into the final and we are delighted at his further success this time. Click on the link below for more information.

Young Drummer of the Year 2016

Congratulations to S2 pupil Connor Black who has been awarded a place with the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.

The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland is a non-competing cutting edge performance pipe band for 10-25 year olds, established, developed and administered by The National Piping Centre, the World Centre of Excellence for the study and promotion of the Great Highland Bagpipe.  Launched in 2002, the National Youth Pipe Band is the first and only organisation of its kind bringing together Scotland’s most talented young pipers and drummers at a national level. Membership is drawn from the whole of Scotland; its pipers and drummers come from an array of different competing pipe bands and musical backgrounds.

Congratulations to S2 pupil Ben Drake who has got into the NYO Inspire Wind Ensemble this year.  This project is open to students aged 13-19, at Grade 6 standard or above. The philosophy behind NYO Inspire is simple: to give breakthrough experiences of orchestral music to teenagers of all backgrounds, both as musicians and as audience members.

Ben also has been invited to play with the Grampian Youth Orchestra on their 2016 Summer Tour.  They will be performing in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

An exciting year ahead for Ben.

The Nat 5 and Higher music prelim practical examinations begin next Monday 11th January and run to Thursday 21st January .  Click on the links below to see the timetables for each week.

2016 Music Prelims Week 1

2016 Music Prelims Week 2

Congratulations to S1 pupil Elena Guevara Rose who has got into the NYCGB.  Elena is the first pupil from Williamwood to get into this choir.

The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland is an organisation which provides a variety of orchestras, jazz bands and training ensembles for students aged from 8 to 25 years old.   We are delighted that a large number of Williamwood pupils again have received places in a wide variety of these ensembles for 2016.    The pupils involved are:

NYOS Symphony Orchestra:

Campbell Lang S4 – Bassoon

Andrew MacLeod S6 – Trombone

Ethan Skuodas S6 – Percussion and timpani

Senior Orchestra:

Alice Beglan-Grant S5 – Bassoon

Sophie Boyd S4 – Violin

Chloe Ghiro S3 – Violin

Chris Vettraino S4 – Oboe

Junior Orchestra:

Ben Drake S2 – Bassoon

Josef Heidinger S2 – Bassoon

Jamie King S1 – Bassoon

Finlay Overend S3 – Trombone

Aalia Shah S2 – Violin

Congratulations to S1 pupils Anna Ghiro and Jamie King who both have got into the Under 13s orchestra on bassoon.