From Monday 2nd – Wednesday 4th April, 40 St Machar pupils and 4 teachers went on a trip to London town.  The trip was a joint venture between the Music and Design & Technology Departments and was organised by Miss Tanner.  At 5.oo on a wet Monday morning we embarked on our 13 hour bus journey with singing all the way from the pupils (and attempts to sleep by the staff).  On arriving in London we went to see Shrek the musical at Drury Lane Theatre starring Kimberley Walsh, Neil McDermott (a “hottie” according to many of our pupils…) and Richard Blackwood.

On Tuesday the Design & Technology group accompanied by Miss Tanner and Mr Hughes Hallet went to the Victoria and Albert museum and undertook a design workshop, while the Music group accompanied by Miss McPherson and Mr MacGregor attended a song in performance workshop.  The workshop took place at Pineapple Dance Studios and was led by a West End music director.  He remarked that the pupils were fantastic to work with as they were quick learners and all willing to give it a go.  They had a lot of fun and sounded fantastic!  They then enjoyed a question and answer session with Jonathan Stewart, a West End performer who is currently playing Pinocchio in Shrek.  After a tour of the Drury Lane theatre the pupils all met up again and went to see Wicked starring Matt Willis at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the evening.  It was an outstanding show which received a standing ovation, and many of the pupils were blown away by the amazing performances.

On our final morning we went for some scary fun at the London Dungeons which created several hilarious moments before heading back home to Aberdeen again.  The pupils were fantastic fun and the trip was enjoyed by all.

The Our House fundraising concert organised by Hannah and Aidan Corrigan took place last night.  The pupils raised over £1200 which is a fantastic amount so thank you to all of you who helped to support it.  The concert was a showcase of some of the phenomenal talent we have at St Machar Academy and it was fantastic to see the rising confidence of our youngsters.  The performances were described as “outstanding” on Northsound Radio this morning, and the concert made the news headlines again with an interview with Hannah and Aidan.  Thanks to all the pupils and staff who helped out and supported the concert and once again, a huge congratulations and well done to Hannah and Aidan and all the pupils who performed last night and made it such a success – you are all absolute stars!

As many of you will know, we sadly had to cancel our school show “Our House” last December due to unforeseen circumstances.  However, we are pleased to tell you that the pupils’ hard work and effort has not gone to waste as we are now going to put on a concert which will include some of the musical items from the show.  The concert is being organised by senior pupils Hannah and Aidan Corrigan to raise money for Cash for Kids, Instant Neighbour, Somebody Cares and Aberdeen Lads Club.  As well as numbers from “Our House” the concert will include several vocal solo’s, duets and dance items by some of our extremely talented pupils and performances from our Junior and Senior Glee Clubs.  Pupils from Woodside Primary School will also be performing as our guests on the night.

The concert will take place on TUESDAY 27TH MARCH at 7.00 in the school hall.  Tickets cost from £2 – £5 and can be purchased by contacting the school or on the door on the night subject to availability.  Looking forward to seeing you there

Rock lunch time has been launched on Friday lunch times in the Music Department.  Come and jam with Mr Robertson on guitar and Mr Crossan on bass guitar.  This is open to pupils of all ages and experiences.  The only requirement is a desire to rock out.

The dates for the SQA final performing exams for all Standard Grade, Intermediate 2 and Higher Music candidates are as follows:

THURSDAY 9TH MARCH + FRIDAY 10TH MARCH

THURSDAY 15TH + FRIDAY 16TH MARCH

The full timetable is up in the Music Department notice board but if you are a parent or guardian who wishes to know the exam times, please feel free to call the school.

All pupils must report to the Music Department straight after registration on the morning of their exam.  Pupils must be prepared with any instrument, music or CDs they need.  Full school uniform must be worn to the exam.  If any pupil is absent on the day of their exam they must get a medical note from a doctor covering them for the day of the exam.  This is required by the SQA and must be provided in order for the exam to be rearranged where possible.  Good luck!

Word is spreading fast about our Glee Clubs and we have been asked to participate in several performances this year. We recently sang in Union Street and took part in the parade for the Christmas festival where the lights were switched on. We have also been asked to perform in John Lewis on Thursday 1st December, the Trinity Centre reindeer parade on Sunday 4th and for some business lunches at Chevron. These are fantastic opportunities for the pupils to perform and so far they have done the school proud.

Recently we took a group of our Advanced Higher, Higher, Intermediate 2 and Standard Grade pupils to see a concert by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra as part of their Maestro Music project. Two of our pupils were lucky enough to get the opportunity to perform Beethoven’s 5th Symphony with the orchestra. Rebecca Lindsay from S6 was chosen to play flute and Beth Nicol from S4 was chosen to play violin. This was a fantastic experience for them to rehearse and perform as part of a professional orchestra. The pupils who watched the concert also enjoyed seeing a live orchestra.

Rehearsals for our school show “Our House” are well underway.  We have a fantastic cast and crew of talented, enthusiastic and committed pupils and staff, working hard both onstage and behind the scenes to ensure that we put on a great show.  Rehearsals are running during lunchtimes and on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school from 3.30-5.00 and the songs, dances and acting are shaping up well.  The show will run from Tuesday 13th – Friday 16th December.

The Glee Club at St Machar has become so popular that we have had to split into 2 Glee Clubs, both of which run on Wednesday after school from 3.30-4.30 in the Music Department.  The original Glee Club is run by Miss McPherson, Miss Gardener, Mrs Robertson and Miss Tanner, while the 2nd Glee Club is run by Miss Barrie and Mrs Porteus who are training them up well.  Our journey to St Machar Glee Club domination has begun with some up and coming performances this term.  Two of our Glee Club members, brother and sister Hannah and Aidan Corrigan performed at a recent open day at Clan.  This led to us being invited to perform at a womans guild event at Northfield Parish Church on Monday night, followed by a performance at the Beach Ballroom on Wednesday 28th September at the Aberdeen City Council Children and Young Person Services Awards.  This is a huge honour for the school and we are sure that the Glee Club will do us proud.  We are hoping to start looking for sponsorship next so we can design and buy customised t-shirts for our performances.  Watch this space for details of more up and coming performances.

On Friday 9th September pupils at St Machar were treated to a special performance by new up and coming band “Luminites”.  The “Luminites” are a five piece band consisting of a guitarist, keyboard player, beatboxer and singers/rappers and was described as being a cross between N’Dubz and Mumford and Sons.  They are backed by A&R legend Hugh Goldsmith (whose credits include Take That) and are managed by Blue’s former manager Daniel Glatman.  As part of our new Curriculum for Excellence Music course the entire S2 cohort were invited to attend the concert which took place in the school hall, in order to experience being in an audience for a musical performance.  The “Luminites” performed several songs, signed autographs and participated in a question and answer session with the pupils.  It is safe to say that they left St Machar with an army of new fans and we wish them well on their road to success.