During the academic year, we organise a diverse 
calendar of concerts. They vary enormously and give as many children the opportunity to perform as possible. These concerts usually take place in the Chapel or the Sports Hall and act as the focal point of performance both for all the instrumental groups and for children keen to perform on their own. The programme of performing activities is chosen carefully to respond to the needs and talents of the musicians within the School at any specific time. We are always grateful to all the instrumental teachers for their support at these events and the parents who come and play too.
Here is a selection of concerts we normally host during the School year.
Christmas Cheer
This event was introduced for our Choirs to share all the exciting Carols they have prepared for the Carol Services.
We invite a number of friends to Cheam from local elderly day centres. They come for an afternoon of Carols and Tea. The event is always a great success and a valuable outreach project in the community. It is so important for children to learn to share their own music making.
Concerto Concert
This is a very special Cheam tradition and a wonderful opportunity for the children. We invite a small group of senior musicians to play with an invited orchestra, The Cheam Camerata, of professional musicians, teachers and friends. The children really enjoy this amazing experience and perform with such confidence.
Scholars' Concert
At the start of the Spring Term, we organise a series of recitals for our Music Scholars. This gives them the opportunity to play all their Scholarship material to an invited audience of family and friends before they go off to the Public Schools concerned. This is a very valuable performance experience for them.
Although we try to make it as positive and supportive as possible, they often find this occasion more daunting than the real event, playing to people that they know. This in itself helps to build their confidence for their auditions.
Old Boys’ Day/Grandparents’ Day
During the course of the year there are a number of public events that take place at Cheam, often to invited guests.
These usually encompass a musical performance element – a mini ‘concert’. It gives children the opportunity to play solos in a supportive environment.
Choral Concert
We host this special concert in a year when we are not planning a musical. This is another exciting Cheam opportunity for the whole school to work with a professional orchestra.
We organise a wonderful programme of choral music with pieces that are really designed to be performed with full orchestra. This is a special Choir formed for the occasion of parents, staff and friends joining our two senior Choirs to tackle the main repertoire. In recent concerts we have performed Vivaldi Gloria, Faure Requiem, I was Glad, Zadok the Priest and a fabulous selection of English Choral Music with works by Vaughan Williams, Rutter, Chilcott and Hawes.
The programme is enriched with our Junior Choirs having the chance to sing with the orchestra. The Choral Concert is an amazing evening and the most incredible experience for singers of all ages. We are so grateful to the Cheam Activities Fund who have very generously sponsored this event in recent years.
CAF Dinner
Once a year the Cheam Activities Fund holds a special fund raising event. This is an important occasion for a charity that works so hard to support so many different events at Cheam. The Music Department is very grateful for their assistance and financial help. They have subsidised musicians going on specific music courses and helped with Choir Tours.
We are delighted to provide light background music before the meal takes place. The Dinner is usually held in the Sports Hall and the Jazz Band adds another dimension to the evening.
Jazz Evening
This is a unique event to showcase our Jazz Band and enable the children to entertain their parents for a special dinner dance. We enhance the band with a few professionals and friends to share the experience. With the help of some wonderful and enthusiastic parents we transform the Chapel into a Jazz Night club. The parents bring a picnic supper.
This is a wonderful evening with the band normally playing two full sets of music with vocal and instrumental solos, trying to encourage their parents to dance the night away! Cheam at its best.
Soirée
This is a very poignant moment for all our Leavers. It takes place after their Common Entrance and gives them the opportunity to share their talents with their parents in an intimate environment. The evening is a mixture of poetry, prose and music and is held on the Loggia.
Summer Concert
This concert takes place in the Sports Hall right at the end of the Summer Term. All the various choirs and instrumental ensembles perform and the programme climaxes with the full orchestra.
It is also a wonderful opportunity for our senior musicians and music scholars to perform for the final time at Cheam. This Concert is the climax of our musical calendar.
As well as the main concerts listed above, we host a series of one-off events at Cheam given by visiting professional groups. In recent years we have been fortunate to host an educational visit by the Cardinall's Musick, a fabulous brass quintet and African Drummers.