Primary Music Department 2025/26: Year in Review

What a spectacular, melody-filled academic year it has been. As the curtains close on the 2025/26 term, the Primary Music Department looks back with immense pride at everything our pupils have achieved. From individual instrumental milestones to grand ensemble masterpieces and dazzling stage productions, our students have filled the campus with energy, creativity, and resilience.

Our young musicians have maintained an incredibly packed calendar this year, showcasing their talents at every turn. The musical journey began early in Term 1 with our regular Friday Music Moments, which gave students from Year 1 through to Year 6 their first opportunities of the year to perform for their peers. We quickly transitioned into major community events, celebrating our cultural diversity with a vibrant Deepavali Celebration in October. As the festive season approached, our students spread joy across campuses, participating in the Whole School Christmas event at EP Campus and delivering a magical evening of music at our annual Carols by Candlelight at JB.

Term 2 brought even more opportunities for individual and group growth. January saw the opening of applications for the prestigious Young Musician of the Year competition, alongside the wonderful Reception Sing Week. We welcomed the Lunar New Year with an energetic campus celebration in February, which was quickly followed by unique showcase events like the high-energy Year 5 Battle of the Bands and our community Hari Raya Celebration in March.

Term 3 served as the grand finale to a brilliant year of performance. April began on a high note with the competitive Young Musician of the Year Final and the creative Year 2 Blast Orff performance. May was equally busy, featuring the Pre-school Sing Week, the Year 1 Big Sing, and a final round of termly Music Moments. All of this hard work culminated in our major ensemble showcase at the Term 3 Concert ‘Level Up Live!’ in early June, leading directly into our show-stopping Primary Production of Aladdin KIDS. It was a true masterclass in collaboration, blending acting, singing, and stunning choreography. Watching the children raise their game for a packed auditorium was the perfect reward for months of backstage dedication.

To celebrate the rich cultural and musical diversity demonstrated across all these events, we are also thrilled to officially announce the release of this year’s Founder's Day EP. Instead of letting the incredible work of our Extra-Curricular Performance Activities happen solely behind closed doors, our ensembles stepped into the studio to record a permanent archive of their hard work. The EP features exceptional tracks from the Junior Choir, JB Choir, Junior Strings, JB Orchestra, Gamelan Ensemble, and Guzheng Ensemble. This collection beautifully bridges traditional heritage instruments with classic orchestral and choral arrangements, serving as a testament to what can be achieved when a community champions the arts.

Whether you want to rewatch the show-stopping numbers from Aladdin KIDS, catch up on the highlights of our termly concerts, or stream the brand-new Founder's Day EP tracks as the perfect summer soundtrack, everything has been compiled for you in one digital space. You can explore the audio and video archives on our JB Music Gallery.

An incredible year like this does not happen in a vacuum, and it requires an extraordinary amount of teamwork. A heartfelt thank you goes out to our phenomenal Primary Arts team, our exceptionally dedicated individual music tutors, the class teachers who supported transitions, and the parents who practised lines, listened to scales, and cheered from the front rows. Most of all, congratulations to our brilliant students, who are the true heartbeat of this department. We wish you all a wonderful, restful, and music-filled summer break.

Tomos Nicholls
Head of Primary Music