Kippen Primary pupils from Primary 3, 4 and 5 had a great treat in November in the form of a day out at a ‘Heroes and Villains’ musical concert. As part of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s schools outreach programme, staff attended a training session and followed this up with a series of lessons centred on the musical programme they were to experience on the visit day. This included the popular Faure’s Pavanne, The Overture to The Magic Flute, A Night on Bare Mountain by Mussorgsky and some pieces by Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. To top the excitement, the audience had a visit from ‘Darth Vader’ himself, as the John Williams theme music from Star Wars played. We were also lucky to have a visit from two local professional musicians prior to the concert; Helen, a flautist and Duncan, a clarinet player with the R.S.N.O., came to demonstrate the range and tone of their instruments and to set the scene for the concert. As we have many talented musicians on our school roll, the duo were impressed by the children’s knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject. Maybe we shall see a few of them in the RSNO ‘pit’ in years to come. Many thanks to Annabel Gaywood, our parent helper and a violinist herself, for enhancing our musical tour bus experience on the day.
The Wee Vine 