Purcell Patron Julian Lloyd Webber Calls for Music Education for Every Child
Julian Lloyd Webber, renowned cellist, music education campaigner and Patron of The Purcell School, has renewed his call for every child to have access to music education in UK schools.
In a recent video message addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Julian urged the Government to make music education available to all young people, saying: “We used to have a music education system in the UK that was the envy of the world. Now we don’t. If you truly believe in equality for our children, please seize this moment and ensure that all our schools are filled once again with the sound of music.”
Julian also recalled Mr Burnham’s visit in 2009, when he was Culture Secretary, to the In Harmony Liverpool Philharmonic programme, which Julian founded in 2008. The visit offered an opportunity to see first-hand the transformative effect that access to music-making could have on young people.
His appeal forms part of a wider campaign supported by prominent figures across the music industry, including violinist Nicola Benedetti, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and artists Elton John, Adele and Ed Sheeran. Julian also helped establish the Music Education Consortium more than 25 years ago, alongside Dame Evelyn Glennie and Sir James Galway, to campaign for universal access to music education in schools.
We are proud to have Julian’s support as Patron of The Purcell School and to share his longstanding commitment to ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to experience the benefits of music.
Purcell Concerts Review
Live at Lunch – W/C 2nd November
Our Live at Lunch series continued this week with another varied programme of performances, spanning classical favourites, chamber music and original student compositions.
Monday’s recital opened with Hannah (Year 13, viola) performing the first movement of Hoffmeister’s Viola Concerto in D major, followed by Aleksandra (Year 11, piano) with Liszt’s Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto and Sufyan (Year 10, piano) performing Ravel’s Jeux d’eau.
On Tuesday, Khanui (Year 13, violin), Yakub (Year 13, violin), Ireh (Year 13, viola) and Jack (Year 13, cello) came together for the first movement of Haydn’s String Quartet in E-flat major. Bettina (Year 13, violin) then performed the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, accompanied by Ms Shah.
Wednesday offered a change of focus with a Composition Concert, showcasing original works by five student composers. The programme included Movement I by Marcus (Year 10), Song in a Mirror by Nemunis (Year 13), Discovery by Phoebe (Year 11), Bachwood Mac by Wonder (Year 7) and Horizon of the Southern Mountains by Tudor (Year 12). The composers were joined by fellow students on a range of instruments, including piano, saxophone, harp, voice, clarinet, cello, bass and electronics.
The week concluded on Thursday with Rebecca and Kate (both Year 13, guitars) performing Rebecca’s own composition, Between Resonances. Emily (Year 13, oboe) presented Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in D minor, followed by Carla (Year 13, violin) performing the first movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5.
Another rewarding week of lunchtime performances, celebrating the breadth of musical talent and creativity across the School.
Forthcoming Events
In addition to those highlighted events below, please visit our online Concerts and Events Guide here.
7 November – Lunchtime Concert, St James Muswell Hill
Time: 12pm
Venue: St James Church, St James’s Ln, Muswell Hill, London N10 3DB
Tickets: Entry is free, all are welcome
Purcell pianists perform a one-hour lunchtime concert at St James, Muswell Hill.
9 November – The Purcell School Jazz Musicians at Benslow Music
Time: 3pm
Venue: Benslow Music, Benslow Ln, Hitchin SG4 9RB
Tickets: Tickets are available here
The Purcell School Jazz Department presents an afternoon concert Benslow Music Trust.
The concert will be one hour in duration, followed by tea and cakes.
11 November – Remembrance Day Lunchtime Concert
Time: 1.10pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free to attend, no booking necessary
The Purcell Symphonic Wind Orchestra present a Concert of Remembrance.
Please do come and join us for this special concert.
13 November – Purcell Woodwind Players at University of Birmingham
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: Elgar Concert Hall, Bramall Music Building, Birmingham B15 2TT
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary
Purcell Woodwind students present a one-hour lunchtime concert at University of Birmingham’s beautiful Elgar Hall.
Programme:
Poulenc Sonata for Two Clarinets
Mozart Serenade No.12 in C minor, K388
Louise Farrenc Sextet in C minor for Winds & Piano, Op. 40
Further information is available here.
18 November – Purcell Songwriters Concert
Time: 1.10pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary
This Concert will celebrate the creativity of Purcell’s songwriters, featuring the school’s Commercial and Popular Music composers.
25 November – Reich@90 Concert
Time: 7.00pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary
In Autumn 2026, The Purcell School will mark Steve Reich’s 90th birthday with a term-long celebration exploring one of the most influential musical voices of the past century. Taking place in parallel with wider international celebrations of Reich’s work, the project will bring together performance, composition, production, songwriting, jazz and commercial students through the school’s Centre for Creative Practice. Across the term, students will engage with Reich’s distinctive musical language through workshops, lectures, seminars, and collaborative creative projects.
The project will culminate in a mini-series of concerts and events presenting key works by Reich alongside a series of world premieres by Purcell students and staff responding to his output. Repertoire will include works such as Radio Rewrite, Quartet, Nagoya Marimbas, Electric Counterpoint and Clapping Music, with student responses ranging from chamber and percussion works to electronic pieces, collaborative rewritings, and online releases. The project will also acknowledge Reich’s dialogue with popular music through performances of Radiohead songs connected to Radio Rewrite, creating a broad, interdisciplinary celebration of influence, reinterpretation, and new creative work.
26 November – Cedars Village Afternoon Concert
Time: 2.30pm
Venue: Cedars Village, Finch Green, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire WD3 5GL
Tickets: Limited ticket availability, email concerts@purcell-school.org to enquire
Purcell’s Jazz and Pop students perform a 1-hour afternoon concert at Cedars Village in Chorleywood.
30 November – Middle School Strings Concert
Time: 1.30pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Free admission, no booking necessary
Please do come along to watch our Middle School Strings perform works by Mozart and Bernard Herrmann.
2 December – St Mary le Strand Lunchtime Concert
Time: 1.00pm
Venue: St Mary le Strand, Strand, London WC2R 1ES
Tickets: Admission is free and all are welcome
Join us at the historic church of St Mary le Strand, in the heart of London, for a relaxed one-hour midday performance by Purcell Six-form students.
The programme will feature solo works for guitar, piano, cello and saxophone.
2 December – Session Bands Concert
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required
Do come along to our Session Bands Concert, featuring the school’s Commercial and Popular Music musicians playing music from the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and 90’s.
5 December – Purcell Choirs at St John the Baptist Aldenham
Time: 11.30am
Venue: St. John The Baptist Church, Church Lane, Radlett WD25 8BE
Tickets: Admission is free, with a retiring collection
We are delighted to return to St John the Baptist, a beautiful church in our local community. Led by distinguished mezzo soprano and Purcell staff, Dr Chloë Allison, students will be performing the repertoire studied over the Autumn term, alongside some festive music to celebrate the holiday season.
7 December – Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral
Time: 5.00pm
Venue: St Paul’s Cathedral, St Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required
8 December – Brass Christmas Concert
Time: 1.10pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required
9 December – Jazz Department Concert
Time: 7.00pm
Venue: CP Hall, The Purcell School
Tickets: Admission is free, no booking required
The Purcell Jazz Ensembles team up with Saxophone star Brandon Allen to play an evening of exciting and eclectic Jazz. The 1st half of the concert will feature Brandon playing his own compositions and arrangements with the Purcell Jazz ensembles, and the 2nd set will feature a very exciting performance of John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass album from 1961, with Brandon playing the part of Coltrane. This is part of the celebrations of John Coltrane’s 100th anniversary.
10 December – Leicester International Music Festival Concert
Time: 12.00pm
Venue: Hansom Hall, 50-54 Belvoir St, Leicester LE1 6QL, UK
Tickets: Tickets are available here
Purcell students are invited back to the Leicester International Music Festival to perform as part of its lunchtime concert series. This year’s concert will take place in the historic Hansom Hall, the temporary home of the festival, which is reputed to have hosted concerts by both Franz Liszt and Ignacy Jan Paderewski.
