Head of Music - Douglas Wootton

Mr Wootton directs the music at Parkgate House. He is a specialist in Early Years Music. Mr Wootton was musician in residence for the Arts Council of Great Britain in South Devon for three years, promoting proactive outreach activities in music and performing arts. He is a successful writer and composer of children’s musicals and is published by one of the world's leading publishing houses.

He continues to perform with his own ensemble, 'The City Waites', performing renaissance / baroque music and with whom he has recorded twelve albums. He has worked with all the major theatre companies including: The Globe, The Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre, as well as playing and recording with Sir Simon Rattle, John EIlliot Gardener, Sir Neville Marriner and numerous other orchestras. At Parkgate House Mr Wootton teaches music to all of the classes from Nursery up to Prep 6. Within his lessons he uses a variety of teaching methods to encourage a love of music making. Mr Wootton also offers private tuition for piano and guitar. Along with Mr Wootton, Parkgate enjoys the talent of Mr Neugarten, who is a renowned pianist. Private tuition takes place throughout the school day. Each child will be seen at a different time each week, thus keeping lesson disruption to a minimum. The nursery and reception children are taught to make a variety of sounds with their voices, bodies, found objects and instruments. They are encouraged to explore how these sounds can be changed and used expressively in response to a stimulus. The pre-prep children begin to control the pitch of their voices and instruments by moving higher and lower both in steps and leaps and holding the same note. They create melodic patterns and pitch to enhance their performances. The prep children are introduced to the recorder, where they are encouraged to create their own music and musical ability. The children explore how the elements of pitch, duration, dynamics and tempo can be combined to expand their music. At this stage they are introduced to written notation and the relationship between lyrics and melody.

Mr Wootton also directs the school choir which was placed second in the 'Harrods Young Musician of the Year competition 2004'.