Percussion Department

The percussion department offers tuition in orchestral percussion and drum kit. Students have a individual class, which focuses on the leaning aspects specific to the instrument, and an ensemble class, which focuses on developing group playing skills. The ensembles for percussion and drum kit students are the wind bands, the stage band and percussion ensembles.

Drum kit tuition focuses on preparing students to be able to perform in a wide range of musical styles that reflect the performing trends in today’s musical world. Much of the tuition utilises backtracks so the students can play as if they were playing in a band. The advantages of this are numerous, but a very important aspect is learning to play in a realistic setting. Material is drawn from a variety of syllabi for the greatest variety of material. These syllabi include Trinity Guildhall, Trinity Rock and Pop, and Rockschool.

Orchestral percussion students have the full gamut of percussion instruments to learn. Mallet percussion, timpani and snare drum are the main focus for orchestral percussion students. A full set of percussion instruments is available for tuition and practicing, and a wealth of repertoire, built up over the last three decades ensures that all aspects of percussion playing can be covered. In addition there are hire instruments available for students to practice at home. The percussion ensembles deal with group playing and developing listening skills, but also provide students with the opportunity to learn techniques for the many other percussion instruments they may play in wind bands or other ensemble settings.

 

4th Term Percussion Concert 2018

 

 

 

 

The idea for this concert was to have as many performers playing at the same time. We had the Senior percussion ensemble with some guest performers from the Rustenburg High School percussion ensemble, the UCT percussion ensemble and a couple of past students and other guests. This large group performed six items, including arrangements of pop classics and themes from movie soundtracks. The Junior and Intermediated ensembles performed with additional support from the UCT percussionists and for some of the juniors, this was their first ensemble concert experience. The UCT ensemble entertained with two humorous items that help set the tone for the upcoming school holidays. A special thank you goes out to Frank Mallows, who provided assistance in preparing the programme, supplied some instruments and contributed to the conducting duties.

 

RGHS Percussion Assembly

On Monday 16 April, the duties of entertaining Rustenburg Girl's High School during assembly was handed over to the percussion department. The close relationship between RGHS and Beau Soleil meant that this was a great opportunity for some of our percussionists to perform percussion ensemble music for a whole school of 900 pupils! The Beau Soleil Senior Percussion Ensemble performed a ragtime quintet and Beau Soleil students Carla Daniels, Tanatswa Pepukai and Rebecca Eccles also featured in the Rustenburg Percussion Ensemble.

1st Term Percussion Concert 2018

This concert started off with snare drum solos from two of our youngest percussion students. They were accompanied by the UCT percussion ensemble, a slightly nerve-wracking but hugely beneficial experience for them! The programme included a fine performance by the Intermediate ensemble of a drum line inspired piece, "Drum Check" and a ragtime piece performed by the Senior ensemble. This piece, "Rainbow Ripples", is an arrangement by the famous xylophone specialist Bob Becker, member of the Nexus Percussion Ensemble. The UCT percussionists also treated the students to a polished performance of "Gainsborough" by Thomas Gauger, another well-known percussionist/composer.

David West

Head of the Percussion Department 

david@beausoleil.org.za

Percussion Gallery

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The Drum Kit Exposé


This annual event is a performance based workshop that features elements related to the drum kit. It takes place in the third term each year, straight after the end of term percussion concert.

In 2011, past pupil Mike Horne was invited to do a shared workshop with Heinrich Goosen. At the time, it was only planned as a one-off event, but the response was positive and planning started for a second event the next year.

The 2012 and 2013 editions were focused on reading music, a skill that is becoming increasingly important in professional drummers working in the music industry worldwide. Paul Bothner Music provided assistance in the form of additional equipment and prize give-aways.

The involvement of Yamaha Music SA and SoundOut, along with the continued support from Paul Bothner Music, in the productions from 2014 onward has enable us to put on a professional production with top quality sound and impressive lighting displays. There is always a theme for each production and the workshop is more performance based, with at least 4 drummers performing in each show. in more recent events we have been using more live musicians, rather than just pre-produced back tracks. Yamaha's involvement has stretched beyond back-line support. They have provided a full drum kit as the main give-away for 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017. Paul Bothner Music and Zildjian have provided sponsorship in the form of cymbals, sticks and other items at each of these events. Please look under "Percussion News" for individual write-ups of each event.