MUSIC NOTES
May has been a very busy month for the Music Department.
GUITAR GROUP
Congratulations to our guitar group who performed at the Frankston Special Development School on Tuesday 1 May. Lu Yang (Year 8), Karu Handoyo (Year 11), Shaun Nichols (Year 8), Nathan Walker (Year 11) and Paul Keane (Year 11), led by Mr Bob Wijnschenk, gave such a fantastic performance that, at one stage, the whole audience was up and dancing.
FLUTE CHOIR
Congratulations to our flute choir who performed at the Frankston Susono Friendship Society’s Japanese Fair which was held on the Senior Campus on Sunday 6 May. Led by Mrs Pauline Coates, Sophie Richardson (Year 11), Alicia Zhang (Year 9), Chloe Chiappa (Year 12), Chloe Chia (Year 10) and Bethany Yeuong (Year 8) gave a lovely half hour performance to a large and appreciative crowd.
NATIONAL STAGE BAND AWARDS
On the weekend of Friday-Sunday 4–6 May our Senior and Intermediate Stage Bands went to Mount Gambier to attend the Generations in Jazz National Stage Band Awards. Attended by 5,100 students and over 600 teachers, this competition is now one of the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, the focus being jazz in its many forms.
Both our bands gave great performances and did really well in the competitions. Our Senior Concert Band, who were in Division 2 (there were five divisions for stage bands) came sixth overall and our Intermediate Stage Band came fourth in Division 4, receiving an honourable mention. Four boys, Matthew Coulter (Year 12), Whitley Gerlach (Year 12), Josh Burt (Year 12) and Prosha Veresov (Year 10) entered themselves in the ‘small combo’ section and came fourth, a remarkable achievement as this was entirely their own work with no teacher input. Matthew Coulter, our music captain, was selected to perform with the Division 2 super band on trumpet, a great achievement.
More than just a competition, the students also attended workshops and listened to performances from professional musicians such as James Morrison and Patti Austin, one of the leading jazz vocalists in America today. On Saturday night they had a full concert from Cat Empire, which practically turned into a dance party. It is interesting to note that of the six performers in Cat Empire, five attended Generations in Jazz with their school bands, including the bass player, Ryan Munroe, who is a past Frankston High School student.
As an aggregate this is the best we have ever done at Mount Gambier, and I would like to congratulate the students in each band.
In the SENIOR STAGE BAND we have:
Year 12 students-
Ellison Baumann,
Josh Burt, Beth Byrnes,
Matthew Coulter,
Ivana Deam,
Whitley Gerlach,
Linus Maxwell-Gould,
Fern Nicholls,
Alex Pixton,
Year 11 students-
Jerry Cheng,
Karu Handoyo,
Victoria Middlebrook,
Melanie Tiong,
Liam Wilkinson,
Year 10 students-
Maya Rich-Danks
Lachlan Hayes,
Maksim Kuzminykh,
Ryan Pfleger,
Prosha Veresov.
In the INTERMEDIATE STAGE BAND we have:
Year 11 students-
James Kim,
Brigid Newton,
Year 10 students-
Serge Dinkha,
Branden Green,
Abinu Lal,
Jackie Mandarino,
Hayden Richardson,
Daniel Rogozinski,
Year 9 students-
Matthew Baumann,
Nissi Cai,
Abigail Ermel,
Finn Hester,
Finn McTaggart,
Malena Rudolph,
Matt Tang,
Arthur Watson,
Year 8 students-
Laura Brumbaugh,
Otis Antreou
Shaun Nichols.
A big thank you and congratulations to Mr Bob Braithwaite who did all the work with the bands, and a big thank you to Mrs Sally Bredin and Mr Rob Mattessi for helping out with the trip.
GUITAR LESSONS
The Music Department has two vacancies for beginner guitar. If you are interested in learning to play guitar please come and see Mr Sharp anytime in the Music Centre.
COMING UP..
Tuesday 19 June
Our Senior Concert Band will be joining McKinnon Secondary College and Bentleigh Secondary College for a combined concert.