Music

One of the greatest gifts that children have is their creativity, and The Heritage Private School encourages all students to build on their talents, both in class and in their spare time. The School’s sound-insulated music rooms serve the students well in their music lessons, training and rehearsals for the various musical activities and events that take place at The Heritage Private School. The School’s outdoor amphitheatre is also a wonderful and evocative setting for staging musical events.

Extracurricular musical activities run after school for both Primary and Secondary School students. There is a Primary School Choir which meets weekly for Year 3 to Year 6 students who wish to join, and there is also a Secondary School choir for Year 7 to Year 13 students. Along with the School Orchestra, the Choirs perform at many school events such as the Secondary School Concert, the Christmas Fete and the annual Christmas Carol Service at St Catherine’s Catholic Church in Limassol. The Choirs and the Orchestra are all free clubs.

In addition to the traditional forms of music, the Secondary School also has a Rock Band, which meets weekly and practises for performance at various school events. Any Secondary School student interested in joining needs a short ‘audition’ and initial interview. Each year the School hosts a Rock Festival, where soloists, duets and bands from The Heritage as well as from other schools perform. Money raised is used for buying resources used by the school bands, such as guitars, amplifiers, cables and keyboards. The School Rock Band also enters the Cyprus School Wave Rock Festival competition, as well as participates in other local events.

The Music Department believes that the best way to improve musical ability is to begin learning a musical instrument. Lessons after school from visiting teachers are therefore available for piano, guitar, drums, violin, saxophone, clarinet and trumpet. Lessons in the Theory of Music are also available, and students can take the ABRSM examinations (http://www.abrsm.org/). Students at The Heritage Private School enjoy great success in GCSE, AS and A Level Music, as well as in the other external music theoretical and practical examinations, and students have progressed to degree level studies in Music and Music Technology.

Trips are arranged by the Music Department for students studying Music at GCSE, AS and A Level, and one recent example is a six-day visit to Vienna to see Mozart’s House, the Vienna State Opera House and various other cultural/musical sites.

The School actively encourages all students who wish to share their musical talents to contribute to school life and events. For example, in additional to formal planned performances, each Secondary School Assembly begins with a musical item, and any student is welcome to offer a musical piece for this weekly meeting.