Newsletters
Scroll down to read our latest news from this half term, or follow the buttons below to view our previous newsletters from this year.
Summer 2024
Residential Trip
On 10th May we took 68 students to Winmarleigh Hall near Preston for a weekend music residential. The students were wonderful and they enjoyed activities at the centre including the giant swing, orienteering, vertical challenge as well as plenty of music! There was a fabulous String ensemble, Wind band and brass group and all the students gave a tremendous performance on the last day – Have a look at our twitter to hear their performances. We love our residential opportunities, its so wonderful to watch our students develop new friendships and gain in confidence away from home. We are already planning our next trip in May 25!
Chethams Trip
On 18th May 22 of our students joined us in a trip to Chethams Music School in Manchester. We are proud to have a wonderful partnership with Chethams Music School and we spent the morning playing side by side in the Carole Nash hall with the Chetham’s students. Our students were warmly welcomed by the Chetham’s students who introduced themselves on our arrival and made sure that each TMS student had a buddy next to them to support them in playing the new pieces. We know that this kind of trip can be really inspiring for our students and hope that it has triggered some extra practise this week! Our string students have been invited to visit in the Autumn term and we are very much looking forwards to organising this.
Congratulations, Rory!
We are so delighted to congratulate our fabulous tuba player Rory who will be starting Chetham’s school on music in September.
Rory started playing the Tuba with TMS at his primary school Brooklands Primary school where we piloted a special lower brass programme to promote tuba and lower brass. We have a number of trombones, baritones , euphoniums and 2 tubas in our ensembles now as a direct result of this intervention! We are looking forwards to hearing all about Rory’s new school in September. Well Done Rory!
Kate Valentine's Diploma in Trauma and Mental Health
We are delighted to share that our instrumental coordinator and inclusion lead, Kate Valentine has successfully completed a Diploma in Trauma and Mental Health Informed Schools (Practitioner Status) with distinction! Having completed the course, we look forward to bringing in the key skills to inform and empower staff to respond effectively to vulnerable children/ young people who have experienced trauma and/or mental health issues. We look forward to developing trauma-informed practice at Trafford Music Service and bringing cultural change resulting in a mentally healthy community for both adults and children.
Greater Manchester Youth String Orchestra
Fifteen fabulous string players (9 violinists, 2 violists and 4 cellists) from our ensembles attended their third rehearsal weekend for the GMYSO on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May. They are working hard to prepare an exciting and challenging programme for the Greater Manchester Hub Celebration concert at the Bridgewater Hall on Sunday 23rd June at 3pm. We are very proud of all our string players, and our other musicians who represent Trafford in the GM ensemble and who are excellent ambassadors for Trafford Music Service. We are delighted that Leader of the Council Tom Ross and Trafford’s Director of Cultural Transformation Maria Bota will be attending the GM celebration concert to support our amazing students.
Staff Training
We are committed to offering high-quality continuous professional development training to all of our teaching staff. We have a jam packed day of training on Friday 7th June featuring a two sessions delivered by specialist trainers.
Young Sounds UK will be delivering their ‘Identifying Musical Talent and Potential’ training, covering their inclusive classroom approach and how to apply their 8 Facets of Musical Potential.
Andy Vass (award winning author of many publications regarding classroom management) will be delivering a bespoke session aimed at preparing tutors with a toolkit of classroom management techniques specific to music education.
Coming in September…
From September 2024 we’ll will be offering ‘Rhyme & Chime’ music sessions for 0-4 year olds and their parents/carers. Sessions will be held at The Claremont Centre from 10.30-11.15am every Wednesday (term time only) at a cost of £7 drop in or £6 pre-booked block. Please keep an eye on social media for more information.
Upcoming Events
Early Years Network Meeting
Lime Tree Primary Academy
Thursday 23 May 2024
16:00 - 17:15
Trafford Singing Festivals
Waterside Arts Theatre
Tuesday 2 July 2024
Summer 2024 Concerts
Royal Northern College of Music
Sunday 7 July 2024