Ensembles, Productions and Concerts

Music Ensembles are run by specialists, and are wide ranging. We have:

African drum ensemble

Choir

Junior Guitar ensemble

Senior Guitar ensemble

Jazz Band

String Ensemble

Wind Quintet

Sr Jazz ensemble

Wind Band

Each of these runs during lunchtime, and all abilities are welcome. Where there are Junior and Senior ensembles, students are guided by the ensemble leader as to which would be most appropriate. These are free to join, and usually work towards performances in the main concerts throughout the year.

We also take our ensembles into the wider world with some regular trips. We often take students to the National Film and TV School in Beaconsfield, where they are performing in front of the cameras in a TV studio. We recently took our African Drumming ensemble to Sky Studios in London, where they performed a fantastic piece as part of a variety TV show. 

The main concerts are the Autumn Soloists concert, the Christmas Celebration and the Spring Concert in March which acts as a showcase for the department. The production of these concerts is always led by Music technology students, who actively work alongside the Director of Music and Music Technology, to learn about the sound, lighting and staging of major productions. The 'AV team' consists of boys from a variety of age groups and experience, but gives opportunity for hands-on learning, as well as leadership opportunities for some.

Our biggest production in the year is our musical production, which has always been something JHGS prides itself on. In recent years JHGS debuted The Phantom of the Opera, as the first school in the UK to licence the show. Blockbuster performances include Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, We Will Rock You, Beauty and the Beast, Scrooge!, and many more.... Students can be involved backstage as well as act, and we regularly have over 100 students involved in some capacity. Wycombe High School girls join our boys to form the cast and crew, and we always pull out all the stops to make the performances as professional as possible. These usually alternate between whole school productions for year 7-13, and senior productions for year 10-13.