Fostering a love of Music, Drama and Art - For Life
Music, drama and art are at the centre of life at Loretto. The School has a strong reputation in instrumental and choral music going back to Loretto's foundation in 1827. The choirs have made a number of CD recordings and have had considerable success in national music competitions, and our pipe band competes successfully at a national level.
It is not surprising that more than 60% of our pupils take individual music lessons.
The Junior School Choir has recently been runners-up in the BBC Songs of Praise competition after performing live on BBC1. The Senior School Chamber Ensemble and Small Choir have performed in the National Music for Youth competition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Art is taught extensively from the Junior School upwards and is very popular. Loretto offers a broad fine art curriculum to pupils at GCSE and A-Level. Boys and girls achieve strong art examination results, and regularly enter national and local art competitions.
Music
The Music Department at Loretto is a busy and vibrant place. There is a full time Director of Music and two part time staff. There are 23 visiting music teachers and a full time piping instructor who teach approximately 200 music lessons a week.
The musical calendar is broad and varied. The department produces music for over 50 events a year including chapel services, music drama productions, the Scholars¹ Concerts, Songfest (an inter-colour singing competition) and social functions. The Senior School Chamber Ensemble and Small Choir have performed in the National Music for Youth competition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2006 we opened a brand new recording studio complete with live room, and we introduced Music Technology as a curriculum subject.
The quality of music in chapel is outstanding. We have an exceptional organ built by Kenneth Jones in 1988 and Loretto has a tradition of singing hymns and anthems in harmony with the entire School.
Pupils can opt for Music as a two year course at GCSE (OCR), and then a two year Music A-Level or a one year Music Technology AS-Level course. Despite our high GCSE results, Music is non-selective and any boy or girl can opt for it. Currently around a third of the Fourth Form take music GCSE. Loretto also offers Associated Board exams and Rock School exams.
Out of the 15 pupils recently entered for Associated Board music exams, 4 achieved distinctions, 5 merits and 6 passes.
Some biographies of members of staff and more details on the curriculum are provided under Music in the Academic section.
Parents and visitors are always very welcome to attend our musical, drama and art events. For further details, go to Events on our home page or contact the School on 0131 653 4455.
Drama
Drama, heavily supported by our Douglas Hutchison Fund, plays an important role in life at Loretto, and most pupils have opportunities to perform on stage.
Drama and Theatre Studies are taught for GCSE, AS and A2 curriculums and results are very strong. Several pupils recently gained the outstanding distinction of gaining full marks in Drama and Theatre Studies performance modules. In 2005 83% of pupils sitting Drama and Theatre Studies at AS- and A2-Levels achieved A and B grades. A good stock of drama students go on to Drama Schools or Universities.
Ambitious recent drama productions include Shakespeare¹s Twelfth Night and plays by Dario Fo and Stoppard.
Dancing is also very popular with many pupils participating in highland, hip hop and jazz dancing.
Parents and visitors are always very welcome to attend our musical, drama and art events. For further details, go to Events on our home page or contact the School on 0131 653 4455.
Drama Staff Bio:
Simon Lowe
Simon Lowe took a degree in French and German at Christ Church, Oxford and then completed a Certificate of Advanced Studies at Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 1978-79. Here he studied composition with Buxton Orr, Patrick Stanford and Alfred Nyman, piano and musical theatre. During this period he was musical director of West Kent Youth Theatre, for whom he composed a number of shows.
In 1983 he became resident musical director of Manchester Library and Forum Theatres, where productions included Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd, Cheeky Chappie, Drums in the Night, Follies, Pacific Overtures and March of the Falsettos, which transferred to the West End for one of the shortest runs in theatre history. He orchestrated the West End premiere of Kander and Ebb's The Rink and was musical director of Four Guys Naked from the Waist Down at the Donmar Warehouse. He was not one of the four guys.
He was musical director of the national tour of Hello Dolly, starring Dora Bryan and in 1988 he became musical director of Apollo Leisure's national tours. He rehearsed and conducted the first national tour of 42nd Street and this was followed by a two year tour of Barnum. In 1992 he was musical director of the national tour of Pirates, with Paul Nicholas, Michael Ball and Bonnie Langford.
At this point, the appeal of touring faded and Simon took a PGCE and a post as teacher of French, German and Music at Loretto School, Musselburgh, where he has been based since 1994. There he has written and produced numerous musicals, including Oliver, Godspell, Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods, Tin Pan Ali, Pendragon, Starseeker, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Sparkleshark and The Kissing Dance.
Art
Loretto offers a broad fine art curriculum to pupils at GCSE, AS and A2 syllabuses (OCR) with pupils having opportunities to explore painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, textiles and 3D design to a high level. Overall, recent art results have been impressive with over 90% gaining A* - B grades in 2003-2005.
Our three teaching staff are highly qualified and passionate about their subject. They each have a broad skills base which allows for innovative practice within their classrooms (see website for biographies).
A number of specialist workshops take place each term on Wednesday evenings including Life Drawing, Photography and Textiles. We also open the department after academic lessons for activity sessions for all pupils and take full advantage of our location by making regular visits to Edinburgh galleries.
The Art Department has 6 studios and a dark room. We have facilities for pottery and sculpture including a kiln and equipment for working with stone and wood. The Loretto Art Gallery hosts occasional exhibitions by pupils and staff. The Upper Sixth have their own studio which allows them to work in an atmosphere similar to an Art College.
Our full Expressive Arts brochure can be downloaded here (pdf). Some biographies of members of staff and more details on the curriculum are provided under Art and Design in the Academic section.
Parents and visitors are always very welcome to attend our musical, drama and art events. For further details, go to Events on our home page or contact the School on 0131 653 4455.