Showband
 

 

This Band is the “show piece” Concert Wind Band which is under the guidance of Musical Director Miss Rachel Morton, the Academy's Head of Music. From 1995 until July 2007 the Showband was under the musical direction of Mr Simon Platford. This Band is the top band within the Academy and comprises approximately 65 pupils – who all attend the Academy.

The Showband play a wide variety of music by a diverse and specialist range of composers. The Showband are rated as one of the best wind band of its type within the country – having won many prestigious prizes in recent years. The most notable achievement of the Showband was the recent Outstanding Performance Award presented to the Showband at the 2006 National Festival of Music for Youth which represented the fifth consecutive occasion (and their sixth award in seven years) that the Academy had won this coveted prize. This is an unprecedented achievement as no other single school within the School's National Wind Band Category in the Music for Youth Festival has achieved the same degree of success.

In 2007, the Showband achieved a Gold Award at the New York Wind Band Festival in March 2007, where they were awarded a Gold Award having received individual marks of 91, 92 and 99 resulting in an overall average mark of 94 out of 100 which represented one of the highest average scores achieved in the Festival's history. In fact the individual score of 99 also represented one of the highest scores ever achieved in the Festival. As a result of their performance in 2007, the Showband returend to perform in the Showpiece Evening Concert at the Evening Showpiece Concert at the culmination of the New York International Wind Band Festival in March 2010. Subsequent to their excellent performance this year the Showband have received another invitation to perform at Washington DC Wind Band Festival Showpiece Concert in March 2013.

 Achievements 

Music for Youth
National Festival - Royal Festival Hall, London	Outstanding Performance Award - 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006
	Highly Commended - 1998, 1999 and 2007
	Finalists - 2001
Regional Participants	2008 and 2009
Schools Prom - Royal Albert Hall, London	Performances - 2000, 2003 and 2005
National Concert Band Festival Regional Festival	Gold Award - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Silver Award - 1999
National Festival	Gold Award - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 Silver Award - 2009 Showband did not participate at the National Festival in 2007 due to participation at the New York Wind Band Festival. Consistent Outstanding Achievement Award - 2002 and 2005
World Music Contest Kerkrade, Holland	Gold Medal (1st Prize) Wind Band 2nd Division - 2001and 2005 Silver Medal Wind Band 2nd Division - 2009
World Youth Music Festival Zurich, Switzerland	1st Prize - A2 Concert Division - 2005
London International Wind Band Festival The Anvil, Basingstoke	Gold Award - 2005
New York Wind Band Festival Carnegie Hall, New York	Gold Award - 2007