Flute, Baroque Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Contra Bassoon, Saxophone, Jazz Saxophone and Jazz Studies, Recorder, Baroque Studies.
Chetham's Woodwind Department is a dynamic and thriving place for talented young woodwind players. We have around sixty students who follow a challenging and comprehensive programme. They have individual lessons with some of the finest woodwind players in the region (see music staff), attend weekly technique/reed making and performance classes to polish and build up a high technical ability, strong sense of creative imagination and performance experience.
We have a vibrant chamber music department which enables students to work in Wind Quartets, Octets, Dectets, Trio and Quartets, as well as Piano Trios, String projects, duos with harp and guitar as appropriate. Some recent projects have included the Mozart Gran Partita, the Dohnanyi Sextet for clarinet, Beethoven Oboe Trio, Mozart Piano Quintet, Brahms Clarinet Quintet and Stravinsky Octet.
We have an active Baroque Department featuring a regular Baroque Concert Series in the school's Fourteenth Century Baronial Hall. Groups consist of Baroque trios, recorder consort, and larger ensembles. In the past this department has included players of recorder, viola de gamba, lute, baroque guitar, baroque flute and Harpsichord.
Chetham's Jazz Programme allows our saxophonists to have individual lessons on jazz saxophone, jazz theory lessons, improvisation sessions (in trios and quartets) and Big Band. They also attend a weekly jazz saxophone technique class.
Our Woodwind players take part in our Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Chetham's Symphony Orchestra and Chetham's Sinfonia. We also run a successful saxophone choir.
We have a prestigious body of woodwind alumni who are now successful professional musicians including Katherine Bryan, Lynsey Marsh, Andrew Nicholson, Sarah Burnett, Wissam Boustany.
The Woodwind Department holds annual Outreach events for young students in the local community and for local musicians and teachers. This year we held an exciting Woodwind Primary Schools day and in the past have held specialist days for flute clarinet and double reeds drawing on the expertise of our current staff and visiting guest artists.
Visiting artists who have given Masterclasses recently have included:
Flute
Andrea Olive (Italy)
Gitte Marcusson (Sweden)
Wissam Boustany (Lebanon)
Daniel Pailthorpe
Saxophone
Rob Buckland
Andy Scott
Recorder
Peter Holtslag (Germany)
Rachel Brown
Oboe
John Anderson
Clarinet
Tim Lines
Bassoon
Nicholas Hunka
