by Judy Bartosy, Director of Music.
As the year slowly winds down, Musicland slowly winds up! Term 4 is always one of our busiest as we prepare for concerts and Year 12 Music exams.
The term started with farewelling our Year 12 Music students as they embarked on their practical exams. We then had our second music camp, with guest artist Geoff Achison, one of Australia’s world-renowned blues-roots musicians. Geoff workshopped improvisation skills with our guitar, bass and drum students who performed with him at the end of the day.
The Training Band participated in the Victorian Schools Music Festival at Hawthorn Town Hall. This was the first occasion on which the Training Band had taken part in the Festival, and the students really enjoyed the experience, especially being able to watch bands from other schools.
Presentation Night was again a huge success thanks to the hours of work put in by the students and teachers of the various ensembles. The Orchestra’s arrangement of Seven Nation Army was a big crowd pleaser, as was the New Orleans-influenced Stage Band presentation and the vocal item presented by the Year 12 music class band.
A week after Presentation Night we held our annual end-of-year concert, Q UP, in the theatre. The Chinese Ensemble played along with the String Orchestra in an arrangement of a traditional Chinese folk song and this collaboration worked very successfully. All the other school-based ensembles performed pieces that they had studied during the music camp.
Some ensembles were also involved in playing for school tours, the Grade 6 Parent Information Night and Orientation Day for the Grade 6 students.
In closing, I wish to thank the students and their families for the continued support of the music department and congratulate all the music staff on their wonderful work during the year.
See you all next year at one of our many events!
