PASSIONATE and versatile musician Chris Foster aims to raise Dame Allan’s Schools’ profile as a ‘centre of musical excellence and inspiration’ in his role as Director of Music.

Mr Foster, a trained singer and conductor who joined the Schools in January, wants to ensure there are ‘stimulating, rewarding and surprising opportunities’ for all young musicians, regardless of age and musical abilities, preference or style.

He said: “It’s an exciting challenge to help devise and deliver a route from the Junior School right through to beyond the Sixth Form.

“As Director of Music, I have three main responsibilities to pupils. My job is to give them a foothold into music, allowing them to explore their own musicality; to develop their musical abilities further by providing opportunities in performance, composition and other musical activities; and to challenge perceptions of what music is and the role it plays, both in society and in the lives of young people as they get older.”

Mr Foster intends to strengthen links with local organisations and venues, including Newcastle Cathedral, the Sage Gateshead, and St James’ and St Basil’s Church, in Fenham, to ensure Dame Allan’s has a visible presence in the regional music community. This will create further opportunities for pupils to take part in competitions, festivals and external ensembles.

He also wants to create more opportunities for staff, Allanians, parents and friends of Dame Allan’s to become involved in school music.

He said: “I want to widen the profile of Dame Allan’s in local, regional and national spheres, moving towards a place where the Schools are recognised as being a centre of excellence and inspiration.”

Mr Foster’s own passion for music was nurtured from a young age. At 5-years-old he started to take piano lessons and later began to sing in his local church choir, in Leicester. Throughout school, he continued to sing and perform, while also playing clarinet, drums, and saxophone. At college, he performed and toured with an award-winning big band and concert band, and played the piano for a number of musical productions. He also trained, conducted and accompanied various youth choirs.

Between 2004 and 2007, Mr Foster studied Music at Nottingham University, conducting the chamber choir and philharmonia whilst there. He continued to sing, including as a Choral Scholar at Nottingham RC Cathedral, and went on to take a PGCE to teach music in schools.

Mr Foster brings with him a wealth of experience. He worked at schools in Lincolnshire and Cambridge, before a move to Trent College, in Long Eaton, as Head of Academic Music, and subsequently, Director of Music.

He played orchestral piano for the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra, has sung with several cathedral choirs, and studied for a postgraduate certificate in Music Psychology from the University of Sheffield.

He said: “I’m a musician with diverse interests and tastes myself, and incredibly passionate and enthusiastic about people making their own discoveries. At Dame Allan’s, the plan is to provide the widest framework of pathways for students to explore music, and to engender a lifelong love of music.

“My ultimate aim is that everybody leaves Dame Allan’s with an appreciation of their own capabilities, an enjoyment of the talents of others, an acceptance of ideas that others value that may be different to their own, and a curiosity to continue exploring different musical ideas, as well as having an understanding of their own preferences.”