My name is Jess. I am a Year 8 music scholar at King’s High, and I play the harp, piano, and organ.
I have always loved music, and in particular the harp. I have successfully auditioned for the National Children’s Orchestra Projects three times, so when I was offered the scholarship, I was really looking forward to all the musical opportunities offered at King’s High, and I have found it to be even better than expected. In Year 7, the whole year takes part in an orchestra, which gives everyone the opportunity to try a new instrument in a concert. I really enjoy playing at lots of different concerts, both as a solo and ensemble performer. This year, at the whole school Christmas Carol Service at St Mary’s Church, I played the organ at the start of the service, which was a real privilege.

Being a harpist always adds an extra layer of complexity – not just the size of the concert harp, but many composers do not write specifically for the harp, and that can cause some complications! I am really pleased that at King’s High I am able to play in both the King’s High Orchestra and the FSO, which is the advanced Foundation Symphony Orchestra. I find the FSO really pushes me to stretch myself in an advanced ensemble setting, and to play at that standard last year at the Warwick Arts Centre in a packed 1,300-seater venue was really amazing. I also play my lever harp at the King’s High Orchestra, which is a less challenging setting but really fun to be able to play with some of my friends from my year and also involves different concerts.

I love playing in Accordia, which is the Year 8/Year 9 Scholar group. We play to a very high standard, which means the music is beautiful, and it is really fun to collaborate with other musicians who share what I enjoy creating. We were fortunate enough to win the Pro Corda Chamber Festival last year in the U12 category, which not only involved travelling to London to compete in the final, but then to play at Draper’s Hall at the winners’ concert, which was an amazing experience, and we were so proud of our achievement. We are extremely lucky that our group is run by the Director of Music, whose enthusiasm and commitment enable us to work so well together and have fun. He takes the time to compose our wonderful competition-winning music for us, so we do not have trouble trying to find suitable music for a harp, viola, violin, and flute!

Having a Director of Music who is so committed is brilliant, as he opens up more opportunities for us to use our strengths. The Accordia group is performing at the Key Stage 3 play this year, and two of us are composing parts of the music.

I am so grateful to be a music scholar at King’s and feel lucky to be able to embrace all the opportunities this offers me and to have supportive staff.