The Arts

Tula Concert Series 

Term 1 Showcase

Last week saw our Instrumental and Choral Music students take to the stage for their first concert of the year. Our TULA Concert Series is always an incredible showcase of the depth of talent we have in our music program and our Term 1 Showcase certainly got things off to a good start. We started the night with the Big Band, directed by Ms Katrina Fawns, and their renditions of This Masquerade and Fly Me to the Moon on the outside stage in the JA Robertson courtyard. A feature of any big band performance is always the soloists - Jarrah H, Luca E and Reuben S-F improvised confidently for this performance.      

They were followed by Asymmetry who never fail to impress. Under the direction of Mr Jeff Jarrott, the percussion ensemble played the dynamic Catching Shadows followed by the dynamic cyclone which saw Stephen, Jayden, Ella, and Michael running around two central marimbas, playing across both, and whipping up a storm in the JA Robertson Hall. 

Next up were the Chorale who were joined by enthusiastic audience members for Connected and then were led by soloist Darcy into A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman. Both of these songs were inspiring and uplifting – the joy of singing together made even more special by the audience involvement. Thank you, Mrs Judy Collins, and Mr Carl Bundesen, for bringing us all together in song.

Mrs Nadine Dinnis then took the stage with Vivaldi Strings. Our youngest string students made a big impression with their performances of Can You Feel the Love Tonight and The Explorer. It is so impressive to see how far this group have come in such a short time and huge thanks must be given to the continuing and outgoing members of the ensemble who have supported the group in Term 1. 

Concert Band, under the baton of Mrs Carmen Forgan, then played Coronation Fanfare and As Twilight Falls. Again, this group consists of our youngest band students, and they were outstanding – playing expressively and confidently at their first concert for the year.

Our most senior strings, the Octet, then took to the stage undirected. They have been rehearsing with Ms Ruth Donovan during Time 4 each week and played Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque Suite: Passepied. Sarah, Ava, Zara, Peter, Alexandria, William, Bella, and Catriona did an incredible job of conveying the beauty of this Impressionist piece.

Ms Donovan was very busy also preparing the next ensemble, Amadeus Strings. This intermediate group have stepped up to the challenge of Mozart’s Dance Suite: Gavotte and Menuet as well the demanding Appassionato in E minor, performing with attention to the expressive devices and intricate harmonies.

Mrs Forgan then took to the stage with Wind Ensemble, our intermediate band. They also played two pieces – A Country Lullaby and Storm Warning – demonstrating the contrasting moods a band is capable of conveying with confidence and flair.

Next up was the Cello Choir. This group rehearse with Ms Deborah Davis every week but perform undirected which is a credit to their collaboration and connectedness. They played The Name of Life (from Spirited Away) and the rock song Demons which had everyone in the audience humming along.

Our senior band, Symphonic Winds then performed under the baton of Ms Christine Elsworth. It is always fantastic to see how far our young musicians have come on their journey – the earlier performances of Concert Band and Wind Ensemble showcasing the progression of skills and musicianship each of them has developed. They played the contrasting Celtic Ritual and Randall Standridge’s Affirmation which was my favourite of the night – uplifting and toe-tapping.

The final performance was from Paganini, our senior string students. They played the beautiful Berceuse from Faure’s Dolly Suite and Perseus to a rapt audience. Again, it is wonderful to celebrate the musical growth of these students over their time at school – they play with such confidence and flair.

A huge thank you the Music team – Katrina Fawns, Jeff Jarrott, Christine Elsworth, Ruth Donovan, Carmen Forgan, Nadine Dinnis, Judy Collins, Carl Bundesen, and Deb Davis for your wonderful performances. Our students are so lucky to have you leading and inspiring them. Big thanks to Ros Dargusch also for her support with front of house, videography, and supervising students in the hall. This enabled the IM teachers to focus on preparing their ensembles in the warm-up spaces. Thanks also to our wonderful parent support group, PoPArts, who provided food and drinks with their roster of volunteers. We are so grateful for your ongoing support.

Our next performances will be at The Gap Experience on Thursday 18th April, followed by our Fanfare competition entries on the 23rd and 24th of May. More details about these will be sent to students and their families soon.

Creative Generation 2024

Creative Generation – State Schools on Stage is celebrating 20 years this year and promises to be more spectacular than ever. This year we have three students who’ve been chosen from nominations all across the state to be featured performers. 

Choir

Evey (Year 7)

Congratulations to Evey who will be performing in the signing choir, the massed dance group as well as a featured vocalist and in the musical theatre ensemble. She will have lots of costume changes!!! 

Symphony Orchestra

Sarah (Year 12)

Congratulations also to Sarah who has been selected to play in the Symphony Orchestra as well as a violin soloist who will be featured in the production. 

Symphony Orchestra & Big Band

Jayden (Year 11)

Finally, congratulations to Jayden Fulwood who will also be playing in the Symphony Orchestra as well as featured as the drummer in the Big Band. 

Visual Art

Visual Art Studio Printmaking in Term 1 – with David Nixon finished last week with students selecting work for display in the Tula Gallery next term.  

A huge thank you to David for sharing his expertise, knowledge and guidance during Term 1 – the students experimented with expressive methods of printmaking and produced an extensive folio of monoprints and lino reduction prints over the 8-week period.

TERM 2 Visual Art Workshop

Enrolments now open for the Visual Art 8 Week program

Next term, we are offering an 8-week program for students to enrol in the OPEN STUDIO workshop. This workshop will allow students to work on projects of their choice—2D or 3D—and all levels of expertise are welcome. Students will be supported and assisted in generating and developing ideas and plans and using processes and techniques to resolve artwork(s) over this 8-week period. Please see the attached details and enrolment application.