On Monday 30th September, pupils from Sound Roots took to the stage at Balfour Junior School for a joyful and inspiring summer concert. Performing in two back-to-back events — first to an audience of parents, then to fellow pupils — the young musicians showcased their progress and passion in style.

The concert featured a wide variety of performances, including piano solos and ensemble playing from our keyboard, trumpet, tenor horn, and trombone groups. For some pupils, it was their first ever live performance — and despite a few pre-show nerves, every performer rose to the occasion with confidence and flair. Their efforts reflected weeks of committed practice and preparation.

Adding to the challenge, the concert coincided with an unexpected heatwave — yet pupils performed brilliantly under both pressure and temperature!

We are incredibly proud of all our young musicians for their hard work and musical growth this term. A huge thank you to families, staff, and the team at Balfour Junior School for their continued support.

We’re now looking forward to continuing our ensembles in the next academic year and welcoming even more young musicians into the Sound Roots community.

Kate has worked in partnership with Dynamics – The Medway Music Education Hub since June 2022 offering fully funded brass lessons at Balfour Junior School. From September, she will be teaching funded trumpet, tenor horn and keyboard sessions! These sessions will run on Friday afternoons. They are always very popular so please contact Ms Kember or the school office if you wish to apply for a space for your child. Instruments and a tutor book will be provided for your child to use for the duration of the sessions (usually limited to 30 sessions per child, with an option to continue studying with Kate privately after the funded sessions have ended).

For 10 weeks (split over terms 5 and 6) Kate is working in partnership with Dynamics – The Medway Music Education Hub to offer fully funded brass lessons at Balfour Junior School. We now have a mixture of trumpet, tenor horn and trombone students who have taken their first steps in learning a brass instrument. Kate is thrilled to have been able to instigate these lessons at BJS and has been really impressed at how well the students have taken to their instruments (which have been loaned to the students free of charge by Dynamics). We hope that this 10 week introduction will lead to an ongoing love of music and a some new recruits into this next generation of brass players!