By Miss Goodsell, Director of Music

In Year 7 students have the opportunity to learn an ‘endangered instrument’ subsidised by the school. The students were excited to hear the sounds of the oboe, bassoon and viola over the last week, learning how the reed makes noise, how the viola has the same strings as a cello and how many octaves a bassoon has. The students will now be able to try the instruments in small groups before starting lessons after half term. 

In September 2018, a new ‘Endangered Instruments’ initiative was introduced at NHEHS to help build a more balanced orchestra, as some orchestral instruments are slowly dying out in favour of the more popular ones, such as the violin or flute. Through this scheme, Year 7 are offered half a term free instrumental music lessons, half a term subsidised lessons in addition to a subsidised instrument loan for the year.

The project is in its fourth year with many graduates from the program doing very well. Two of our bassoon players are doing their Grade 5 two years after starting and are in the Symphony Orchestra and one of our viola players is doing her Grade 7, four years after starting viola through the project.