♫ Musician of the Month ♫

New for this school year, as pupils come in and out of collective worship, they will have the opportunity to listen to a variety of different pieces of music. The children will learn about different composers and musicians, focusing on one artist or band per month, with the piece of music changing each week.

Therefore, pupils will listen to four pieces of music by the same composer or musician, enabling them to listen closely to the similarities and differences in a variety of pieces from the same artist. We hope that children (and parents!) find out something new, as well as enjoying and discovering some new and different styles of music!

Our Musician of the Month for December is arguably one of the most successful, influential and enduring musicians in the world, with hits in every decade from the 1960s up to the present day; the British singer, songwriter and pianist Elton John.

Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Middlesex in 1947, John started piano lessons at the age of seven, going on to win a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music just four years later.

In the early 70s, he met acclaimed songwriter Bernie Taupin to form what would go on to be one of the most successful singer-songwriter partnerships in history.

Legally changing his name to Elton Hercules John, decades of Gold and Platinum records followed, with a string of hits including Rocket Man, Crocodile Rock, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Pinball Wizard, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word, Are You Ready for Love, and I'm Still Standing.

In 1994, John scored the hit singles Circle of Life and Can You Feel the Love Tonight for Disney's blockbuster film The Lion King, and, three years later, performed a poignant rendition of his 1973 song Candle in the Wind, originally written in tribute to the film star Marilyn Monroe during an extremely moving performance in front of millions of TV viewers across the world at the funeral of Princess Diana.

John has performed in several tours and collaborated with several fellow well-known artists over the years, including John Lennon, George Michael, Kate Bush, Britney Spears and Stevie Wonder, as well as more recently Ed Sheeran and the boy band Blue.

John and exec-turned-filmmaker David Furnish were among the first gay couples in the UK to form a civil partnership in 2005, going on to marry in 2014 and having two sons born to the same surrogate mother, Zachary and Elijah.

With over 300 million records sold and a net worth of nearly £450 million, John continues to perform on the odd occasion to this day, having completed his final official tour in 2023.