Music Camp

Intensive rehearsals and team building fun at Lake Dewar

On the morning of Wednesday 22 May, the Intermediate Concert Band, Intermediate String Ensemble, and Choir all departed for Music Camp. Students from Years 7-11 travelled together to Lake Dewar Discovery Camp in Myrniong. The hour-long coach ride and Tetris-style packing of the buses were worth it for the lovely scenery and the three days of music and fun that followed.

We arrived at Myrniong at around 10 and were shown to our rooms. Then we broke off into our musical groups, which we spent most of the day practising with. Rehearsals were broken up by morning tea, afternoon tea and lunch (provided by the wonderful Lake Dewar Camp staff) as well as a walk around the lake. Everyone had lots of fun, and we were all quite tired by the end of the day – which was rounded off by a lively session of evening trivia lead by Ms Frost.

The second day easily lived up to the first, with a morning of rehearsals and an afternoon of activities lead by the camp staff. We were split into groups across ensembles, and everyone had a great time with the various team building and puzzle-solving challenges. That evening was a definite highlight of the camp: the talent show! There were lots of entertaining performances, including an ASL rendition of ‘You Are My Sunshine’, some very talented covers of popular songs, a jazz improvisation group, and a dance. The supervising music teachers also joined in and performed a delightful rendition of ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’.

The final day of Music Camp ended on a high. In the morning, we packed up and vacated our rooms. We had another practise session – and then finished off the trip with a concert! The band, string ensemble, and choir all performed a selection of the pieces they had been working on. They were all magnificent, and it was clear that everyone had progressed in leaps and bounds - both at their individual instruments and as cohesive musical groups. After that, everyone helped with Tetris Part 2 – The Return to School, and loaded our bags, instruments, and selves onto the bus. The coach ride seemed to fly by and before we knew it, we were back in Northcote.

Music Camp is amazing every year – and 2024’s trip didn’t disappoint. Each day’s mixture of rehearsal, socialising, musical games, and activities balanced out really well. Everyone put so much hard work and effort (which was clear to see in the performance!), and we all got to know each other better. Overall, it was a brilliant experience, and we would all would like to thank Ms Brogan, Ms Frost,  Mr Bayne, Mr Woodhouse, Ms Sherrin and Mr Legge for all their hard work organising the trip and supervising us.

Saskia Clarke, Year 10