Beaumont School Music Department

You will find the reasons for our choices on our personal blogs in due course, but below are our submissions to Radio 4's Desert Island Discs . Click on the teacher's name to go to their respective blogs (where the pictures are clearer). Mr Guinane : Miss Doan :

As well as this beautifully maintained blog, Mr Guinane started his own tumblr blog a few months ago on which he posts musings on music, education and personal interests, including coffee and classic cartoons! Not wanting to be left behind, I have followed suit and set my own tumblr blog too and again, post musings on music, education and other interests. So this the plan. All homework, information and Music Department business will continue to be posted here. However, in our GCSE and A Level lessons, we will both be encouraging wider listening and reading and we will do this from our respective tumblr blogs. You will see that both of the pages are very different and reflect our specific interests. In your spare time, if you want to listening something with clear structure, tonal functional harmony and lovely melodies, then visit my blog For the Love of Tonal Functional Harmony by clicking here. If you want to listen to music that was written in the 20 th century in a v...

On my way to school this morning, I was very excited to discover that Radio 4's popular programme Desert Island Discs will be finally allowing the public choose and submit their own! It's simple, which eight tracks would you take to your mythical desert island (no ipods/mp3s allowed!!). Along with the music, you are able to take one book (you are given the Bible) and a luxury item! Every week Kirsty Young interviews public figures who share with us their tracks and their reasons. Now it's your turn. Click here to submit your Desert Island Discs and watch this space to discover Miss Doan's and Mr Guinane's selections. Bet you can't wait...

The BBC Proms is once again running a Young Composers Competition. If you are interested in applying, please click here for more details.

Miss Doan has been busy on the planning committee of St Albans Young Musicians Competition 2012. Applications will be accepted from soloists and ensembles from students who live or go to school in St Albans. The four categories are: Solo instrumental Vocal Ensemble Classical Ensemble Popular Ensemble The first round will be by a CD submission and the deadline is 15th October. Application forms will be available soon so please look out for them and I will post a link to them on here too. It will be a great opportunity for you to perform so get practising! In the meantime, click here to see the preliminary information on the St Albans Abbey website. You might recognise some of our Year 11s in the photo too... Find us on Facebook by clicking here and follow us on Twitter by clicking here .

As promised, here is the YouTube video of Parry's Blest Pair of Sirens as performed at the Royal Wedding during the signing of the registers. As well as this glorious music, the camera work around Westminster Abbey is simply stunning.