Friday 21st June was International Make Music Day and Castlebrae Community Campus wanted to celebrate in style by having a Concert in a Castle. The school held a concert in Craigmillar Castle with over 70 young people performing across a 2-hour programme of music. The school prides themselves in partnerships and the afternoon was also supported by Scottish Chamber Orchestra and canapes made and served by pupils working with Edinburgh Food Social. Pupils from Castlebrae, Broughton High School, Stockbridge Primary and George Watson’s College performed for an audience of around 200 people over the 2 hours. The concert was started by a rousing performance from George Watson’s Pipe Band who played on the Castle Ramparts. There were then performances from Castlebrae Concert Band alongside Broughton High School and Stockbridge Primary School, Tinderbox Jammin’ Band in the Castle’s Courtyard whilst in the Great Hall there were performances from the newly formed String Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, SCO Musicians and school and adults choirs.
The school has an active Music Department which has been going from strength-to-strength over the last 2 years. The Choir, which is supported by The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, was started last August and has continued to go from strength-to-strength having performed at the Council Chambers in December and at the Scottish Parliament as part of the SCO 50th Celebrations in May. The new String Ensemble group was introduced this session after the school decided to buy-in violin instruction to make sure pupils have the opportunity to learn the instrument. We are hoping to continue to grow and have aspirations of forming a Pipe Band – we were delighted to be awarded some funding from Cash for Kids, Music for All and Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust this week to help us start this project and are looking forward to purchasing some instruments in the coming months with this funding. We hope to be able to take advantage of the newly reported Piping and Drumming instructor that CEC are hoping to hire in the coming months if approved.
Head of Instrumental Music for City of Edinburgh Council
“It was a pleasure to be invited to this incredible example of partnership working in this stunning medieval venue. Arranged by the indefatigable Sarah Duncan, from Castlebrae Community High School and across the city, the talented cast of musicians, from professional musicians right down to Primary 6, presented an incredible variety of musical styles in celebration of World Music Day. This is an experience that the performers and audience will not forget for a long time.”
Sarah Duncan, Head of Expressive Arts at Castlebrae
“Music is so important to many of our young people. Not only are they learning skills, but music also supports them developing social skills and supports their overall wellbeing. I am delighted to be able to celebrate Make Music Day alongside our partners in the spectacular backdrop that is Craigmillar Castle and share our young people’s talents with their local community. What a fantastic way to end the term! I can’t wait to see what we can achieve next year and look forward to our new projects.”
