Music plays a vibrant and important role in life at RSJ, and nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the school’s weekly enrichment programme. Designed to provide students with regular opportunities to collaborate, rehearse, and perform, the programme brings together a wide range of musical ensembles that reflect the diverse interests and abilities of our pupils.
The weekly enrichment programme currently includes a wide variety of groups and ensembles, and as of the year 2025/26 they are: choir, chamber choir, cello ensemble, jazz band, string orchestra, orchestra, percussion ensemble, band club, and two chamber ensembles. These chamber groups consist of a piano trio and a flute/viola/harp ensemble. In addition to these regular groups, another important enrichment activity takes place across both the Autumn and Spring terms: band rehearsals for the school production. This year’s offering has been a fun emo rock/pop-punk adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
All of our weekly musical groups and ensembles rehearse in preparation for two important annual performance events: the Winter Concert in December and the Summer Showcase in June. These events have taken place every year since the school first opened and have become much-anticipated highlights in the school’s calendar. They offer students the chance to perform for the wider school community, celebrate their progress, and experience the excitement of live performance. From choral works and orchestral repertoire to jazz standards and contemporary arrangements, these concerts showcase the breadth of musical activity taking place at RSJ.
The music enrichment programme is suitably differentiated to cater to all ages and abilities. The choir, for instance, is open to all pupils and provides a welcoming environment in which singers can develop confidence and ensemble skills. For advanced singers, the chamber choir offers successful auditionees the opportunity to discover new and challenging repertoire, sometimes in languages other than English or Japanese. For instrumentalists, the orchestra is one of our most popular offerings – currently with 31 pupils – with parts prescribed according to each pupil’s ability. This in large part has been possible due to the hard work of Ms. Reiko Kato, who assists each week in rehearsal, and who helps allocate the right parts to the right pupils. In the most recent Winter Concert, the orchestra opened the programme with two movements from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite as well as Grieg’s In The Hall of the Mountain King.
While the core musical groups are led by the school’s music staff, we are extremely fortunate to benefit from the expertise of our wonderful team of instrumental teachers who often lead some of the more specialised ensembles. Their involvement enriches the programme and allows students to learn from musicians with deep experience in their particular instruments. For example, Mr. Hammill has done an excellent job in kickstarting our Wind and Brass Ensemble. Under his leadership, the group has quickly grown in confidence and musicality, and it recently delighted audiences at the Winter Concert with his own arrangement of the festive classic Feliz Navidad. And then, just this term, we have been thrilled that Mr. Nagashima has been able to create a new group: the Percussion Ensemble. This innovative group explores rhythm through the use of several deconstructed drum kits, alongside additional percussion instruments such as congas and bongos. The ensemble has quickly become an exciting addition to the enrichment offering, whose debut performance we will look forward to very soon. In the meantime, our cello ensemble continues to perform and rehearse regularly, who are coached by Ms. Cesana-Hashimoto and Ms. Roseboom.
Overall, the intention behind the music department’s enrichment programme is that every member of the school, whatever their level of musical experience, should have access to meaningful opportunities to develop their musicianship. For students who are especially enthusiastic about music, the programme offers the flexibility to participate in multiple vocal and/or instrumental ensembles each week, which can be a formative routine for those young people who wish to go far in music.
Through its variety of ensembles, supportive teaching team, and regular performance opportunities, the RSJ music enrichment programme continues to nurture creativity, confidence, and collaboration. Of course, we are still a young and growing school, and I am excited to see how things will develop in due course.
