This term 24 students from Pembroke Academy of Music went on a trip to Cambridge, for a day of musical workshops, as part of our longstanding connection to Pembroke College.

We were kindly hosted by the talented Pembroke College Choir and Music Director/ Tik Tok superstar, Anna Lapwood, who led the children in a whole day of fun interactive music workshops.

The day started with the opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and warm up their bodies and voices for the day. Students got to play some musical games and learnt some new songs with the choir, to which one student discovered “singing isn’t terrible”, and actually can be quite fun!

The visit was also an opportunity to share with an audience the students’ vocal performance of ‘My Favourite Things’, which they had been hard at work rehearsing over the previous term.

Fuelled by a lunch break, the students were taken on a short tour of the city to see some of the famous landmarks before returning for more music.

By far the biggest highlight for the children was the opportunity to see an organ up close and learn more about this grand instrument. Every PAM student got the opportunity to play the organ for a few minutes on their own, as well as to play an improvised duet with Anna. This was a really special moment for the students. On the journey home, when asked what they enjoyed the most, the chance to play the organ with Anna came up again and again.

To conclude the day, the students from PAM and the college choir all gathered together to perform their newly learnt songs, which are still being sung weekly at PAM now!

A big thank you to the seven adults who helped chaperone, our wonderful PAM staff for coordinating the trip and all the students and staff at Pembroke College for welcoming and hosting us. The college choir students took great care of the PAM students, who came away with more confidence and a greater enthusiasm for music.

To be able to showcase a little part of their hard work this term for an audience, and to get to experiment and have fun with music for a whole day, was incredibly valuable for our young musicians.

If you would like to support our musical students in their next performance, make sure to mark your calendars! The 26th June 2024, is the date of PAM’s summer concert, featuring new music from our talented young musicians and our PAM Composer in Residence.

If you would like to find out more about PAM or get involved please click here.