On Saturday 10th February we welcomed over 140 primary school children into school along with their parents, grandparents and teachers for a day of music making. This event was piloted last year and after such a positive response from local primary schools it seems set to become an annual celebration of music in the local area.

The day began with orchestral and wind band workshops led by Mrs Barbara Palmer and Mrs Sarah Pugh to which all the children were invited to take part. After learning ‘Trumpet Minuet’ and an arrangement of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ in the orchestra and ‘Jive’ in the band workshop each school then presented their own performances. There were performers from St Andrews Fontmell Magna, The Abbey Primary, Shaftesbury Primary, Motcombe  Primary and Wardour Catholic Primary and they presented a wonderful variety of music, ranging from string ensembles to a marimba solo.
 
Many participants joined us for lunch which was followed by a choral warm up led by Mrs Barbara Palmer. The afternoon came to a close with performances from Motcombe and Abbey choirs leaving us all with the certainty that music is positively thriving in the Shaftesbury area at primary level. The day was characterised by a real sense of enjoyment from the children taking part who took away a bag of sweets and a certificate as a reward for their efforts.