♫ Musician of the Month ♫

As pupils come in and out of collective worship at Bosbury, they have the opportunity to listen to a variety of different pieces of music.

Through this, 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.

Pupils will therefore 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 March is a global icon and quite possibly THE greatest singer in the history of rock music, the British singer and songwriter Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991).

Lead vocalist and pianist of the iconic rock band Queen throughout the 70s and 80s, Mercury not only boasted a powerful four-octave vocal range, but also possessed an extraordinary stage presence and persona as an extremely flamboyant, theatrical and charismatic rock frontman.

Mercury heavily influenced the artistic direction of Queen, writing a string of worldwide smash hits for them including Somebody to Love, We Are the Champions, Don't Stop Me Now, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and of course, the nearly six minutes-long 1975 masterpiece, Bohemian Rhapsody.

Mercury's 21-minute performance with Queen during the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in the summer of 1985, a masterclass in stage presence, audience engagement and pure musical power, is still widely regarded as being one of the greatest live performances in rock and musical history as a whole, captivating an audience of 72,000 in the stadium as well as millions at home worldwide.

His career was tragically cut short at the age of just 45 when he died in 1991 from complications from AIDS, having been diagnosed with the disease four years earlier during a time when the condition was still relatively new to the medical fraternity and therefore caused a large amount of panic and concern worldwide.

An iconic and revered showman for over twenty years, Mercury became a strong symbol of AIDS awareness during and after his death, with a tribute concert being held at Wembley in benefit of AIDS charities five months after the rock legend passed away.