Young musicians join Royal Military School of Music for orchestral play day at Highfield

Forty-four young musicians from five local schools joined the Royal Military School of Music at Highfield School in Liphook, Hampshire, on Tuesday 6 October 2026 for an orchestral play day culminating in a concert for parents. Held as part of Highfield’s partnership with Haslemere Festival, the event gave children at different stages of learning the opportunity to rehearse alongside professionals and experience performing as part of an orchestra.

Pupils from St Bart’s, Beacon Hill, Camelsdale and Liphook Juniors joined Highfield’s own young musicians, with 45 visiting adults from the Royal Military School of Music taking part. Set within 175 acres on the borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex, the independent day and boarding school provided the setting for a day that took pupils from rehearsing in small groups to performing together as a full orchestra for their families.

Following a welcome from Jessica Harman, Highfield’s Director of Music, the young musicians spread out across the school for rehearsals led by Highfield’s peripatetic music teachers. The chapel filled with the sound of strings under Helen Downham’s guidance, while Sarah Craven worked with woodwind players in one of the school’s music rooms. Brass and percussion took over Highfield’s theatre with Matt Gunner as preparations for the afternoon’s concert got underway.

On the music stands was the theme from The Traitors. Pupils also tackled March of the Toreadors and music from Pirates of the Caribbean, preparing pieces they would perform together later that day.

Sarah Craven, who also directs Highfield’s orchestra, had arranged the music especially to suit the children’s different abilities. The flute players, for example, had four parts of varying difficulty. This allowed a child near the beginning of their musical learning to play alongside a more experienced instrumentalist, with each contributing a part suited to them.

Jessica Harman previously explained the ambition behind the project: “We want more children to experience making music together, whatever stage they’re at, and to feel that the orchestra is somewhere they belong.”

After lunch, pupils gathered in the school’s theatre for a full orchestral rehearsal conducted by Captain Ben James of the Royal Military School of Music. Under his direction, the parts they had practised that morning came together, giving the children the opportunity to hear their place within the full orchestra.

A parent helper from one of the visiting schools said: “I can’t believe how much they’ve done in a day. The progress they’ve made is quite amazing!”

Parents arrived later in the afternoon for an impressive marching band demonstration by the Royal Military School of Music, also conducted by Captain Ben James. The performance brought the sound and spectacle of a military marching band to Highfield, giving pupils and their families the chance to see professional military musicians in action. It also marked the Drum Major’s first event since joining the Royal Military School of Music two months earlier.”.

The afternoon concluded with a concert featuring the pupils and the Royal Military School of Music. Families heard the children perform the pieces they had worked on throughout the day, now playing together as one ensemble.

One Highfield parent said: “What an incredible opportunity for the children. I can’t quite believe what I’ve just witnessed – I feel quite emotional.”

The collaboration reflects Highfield’s connection with military families, whose children can find a familiar school base through its boarding provision when parents’ service commitments involve time away from home. Bringing neighbouring schools together with military musicians also formed part of Highfield’s wider community outreach, helping more local children experience orchestral playing.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield School, said: “There was a wonderful buzz around the school, but the significance of a day like this reaches beyond the final applause. A child who has practised their part alone suddenly hears where it belongs in something much bigger. They discover that the orchestra needs their contribution, however simple that part may be. That experience can stay with a child long after the music has stopped, changing what they believe is possible for themselves.”

The young musicians will now work towards a gala performance at Haslemere Hall on Saturday 22 May 2027 as part of Haslemere Festival Youth Music 2027.