Music Matters
Player Profile:
Hannah Walters
Who:
Hannah Walters
Teaching Role:
Upper Strings Teacher and Ensemble Director
What instruments do you play?
Violin and Viola
When and how did you start learning to play musical instruments?
I was seven years old. At the time, my older sister had begun learning the bassoon at the beginning of high school. I looked up to her and would often listen to her practice. She introduced me to lots of recordings and would teach me things about music. Together we managed to convince my parents to sign me up for violin lessons.
What ensembles or bands have you performed with?
The Aida Piano Trio, Fremantle Chamber Orchestra, Ambrosia Ensembles, Australian Youth Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the Hobart Discovery Orchestra. I've also accompanied bands by performing in string quartets with Katie Noonan, Timothy Nelson and William Barton.
What are your favourite pieces or genres to perform?
I love all works by Ysaye (his violin and cello duo and Violin Sonata No. 3 are my favourites), Bach's Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin and works by Max Richter as well. Do yourself a favour and listen to 'Recomposed' by Richter if you haven't heard it!
Who have been the most significant influences in your musical career?
My sister and my teachers.
What is your most memorable performance to date?
Performing for Queen Elizabeth and a room of political leaders at a CHOGM event was interesting. Although playing Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring' and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with soloist Joshua Bell and the Australian Youth Orchestra in the Berlin Konzerthaus would have to be top of the list.
What other non-musical hobbies or interests do you have?
I like longboarding. I broke my elbow a couple of years ago on a downwards slope in Hobart and since then have been doing less of this. I also love the ocean, camping, hiking and being around animals.
How would you like to be remembered by your past students from over the years?
Kind, passionate and fun.
If you could, what advice would you give to your teenage self for your musical journey ahead?
Have the courage to put yourself in situations where you feel a little uncomfortable. Don't be afraid of making mistakes and instead embrace what you can learn from every experience.
What is your favourite food to eat?
Potatoes in any form.
MUSIC MATTERS
Congratulations to everyone in the Music department for finishing our first complete term without lockdowns for two years! It has been so good to be able to hold regular lessons and rehearsals on site and see and feel the buzz around students being able to play music together again. We are very excited about our new Year 7 Instrumental recruits. They are all so keen and getting fantastic early results. Our Senior Strings and Senior Jazz bands performed brilliantly at the school open night and our Soundworks and Stringworks students had a fantastic time at their Turbo days, with their first performances to their peers. String Orchestra, Wind Symphony and Concert Band have been rehearsing solidly and will have their first performances early in term 2. Rock Program and Guitar students will have their first lunchtime performances very soon.
Music Camp
Monday 23rd May – Wednesday 25th May, we are holding our annual Music Camp at Camp Oasis in Mt. Evelyn. All Music students apart from the Guitar students* are expected to attend what is now a legendary music department tradition. Students will work on their pieces for the Winter Concert in their ensembles and even work on a massed item. In between rehearsals, students will have heaps of fun participating in the camp activities such as Flying Fox, Climbing Wall, Archery, Candle Making and visiting a Reptiles Room. One of the highlights is the Tuesday night talent quest which always uncovers some hidden talents. Look out for the event on compass very soon and payments can be made through compass as soon as it is published. We’re looking forward to having everyone there, continuing to build our Music community.
* The guitar students have their own guitar day to prepare for the Winter Concert.
Turbo Day pics and video
In our last edition of the Newsletter, we included our report on our two turbo days. Here is some video of the Soundworks rehearsal the week after Turbo Day. They are playing their version of a Jazz standard called “C Jam Blues” (in E flat). They certainly remembered everything they learnt at Turbo Day J
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wpei4WUl4N1b0p9a7x8u6OGWM9sUo9NB/view?usp=sharing
Use your child’s Microsoft account to access this link.
Take your instruments home over the holidays
Don’t forget to take your instruments home over the holidays and try and find some regular times to practice.
Rescheduling instrumental lessons
Just to clarify for those new to our music program. Instrumental lessons are scheduled on a rotating basis to avoid students missing time from the same subjects every week. We understand that sometimes however, lessons are scheduled when an assessment may be happening in the regular class. If this is the case, students need to inform their instrumental teacher early of the clash. The instrumental teacher will then make every effort to move their lesson to another time. This is usually possible if there is enough notice, ie at least the day before the lesson. Most students know of their assessment dates in plenty of time to allow for this.If for any reason the lesson time can't be changed and the student has to miss that week's lesson, it cannot usually be made up. Instrumental teachers are only at Doncaster for one or two days per week, so rescheduling can be tricky. Our instrumental levies are an overall service charge which includes as many lessons and rehearsals as you can attend (up to 40 each) plus expenses such as music purchases, photocopying, equipment maintenance and other experiences such as Turbo Days, Concerts, Primary School Tours and Workshops. Incredible value for $450.If you have any further questions about this or any other matters, please don't hesitate to email me at Nicholas.Dean@education.vic.gov.au
Have a wonderful break everyone.
Nick Dean
Instrumental Music Coordinator