MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Victorian Schools Music Festival

On Tuesday the 8th of August, The McClelland College Concert Band competed as part of the Victorian Schools Music Festival. The VSMF invited school bands and orchestras to perform in some of Victoria’s premier performing spaces and our students were thrilled to be able to play at the Hawthorn Arts Centre.

Being a large ensemble of mixed ability (made up of some 37 students from year 7 through to year 12), it was not an easy task as the music was rather demanding, fast paced and quite involved... The competition appeared to both scare and inspire majority of the students into conducting regular home practice sessions. The students demonstrated tremendous growth in their playing abilities since receiving the pieces at the end of term one.

The Band performed to an audience made up of students and teachers from other schools across the state and to a panel of two adjudicators. They then received an on-stage workshop from the visiting chief adjudicator (from the United States of America). Students also benefited from listening to a number of other bands perform pieces of a similar level.

I would like to thank our wonderful team of Instrumental Music Staff for their tireless efforts, assistance and ongoing passion towards teaching and sharing their unique insight with our students. We have rehearsed the parts within our student’s lessons, held sectionals (often sacrificing our lunchtimes to do so) and held after school rehearsals to run the pieces as a band. Especially effective was a rehearsal day that we held on the holidays which admittedly did involve pizza, soft drinks and free dress….

All of our young musicians are to be congratulated on their hard work leading up to and during this performance. As their band director, I could not be prouder of their efforts to date. This experience has and will continue to be a wonderful learning opportunity for all parties involved.

Mr. Eric Budd, Head of Music