Music
We’ve Hit the Ground Running!
Ensembles and Orchestras
Within the first seven days of Term 1, we have had performances, rehearsals and music lessons all taking place as if we never had a break!
It all began with the Huntingtower Symphony Orchestra performing at the Commencement Assembly on the first day of the term, after an intensive two-hour rehearsal to learn four new pieces of music on the previous day. Regular rehearsals have commenced for all ensembles with very high attendance rates being a pleasing factor for our ensemble directors. The choirs have eclipsed their previous membership numbers, and the numerous instrumental ensembles have also experienced a healthy growth in participation rates.
Some of our ensembles have undergone a slight name change: Middle School Concert Band and Middle School Strings have now bee renamed Intermezzo Concert Band and Intermezzo Strings respectively. This reflects the reality that some of the members of these ensembles can also be members of the Junior and Senior Schools and acknowledges that this cohort of students are in a phase within the ensemble skills development journey of between novice and experienced. Our recently introduced ‘Jazz Band’ has continued to expand to the point that it is closer to the instrumentation of a standard ‘Big Band’, so it too has been undergone a rebadging to ‘HT Big Band’.
Mr David Mowat
Head of Music
Choirs
With an energetic and enthusiastic new cohort of Year 7s, our first music rehearsal for the year commenced on Friday the 2nd of February, where the Middle School Choir expanded to 104 students! Fridays are indeed looking to be the highlight of the week for Year 7 and 8 students! A reminder to all treble voiced students in Year 7 and 8, that you are ALL welcome to join this wonderful ensemble – 50 minutes of singing each week is an excellent way to decompress after a busy week: it is social, mentally challenging and good at combating stress.
Equally as exciting was our first Senior Choir rehearsal on Tuesday the 6th of February. With 180 students in attendance, new repertoire distributed, students were sounding exceptional already! We are however, on the hunt for some additional tenor voices – if you are a secret singer in the senior school, please consider joining us! All are welcome.
To our wonderful VCE students, our aim is to continue to encourage participation in music ensembles throughout your final years of study. As mentioned above, the positive outcomes from singing regularly to assist with mental health and engaging in activities that provide joy outside of study are never more important than in the last few years of school. Our recently graduated class of Year 12 was very involved in the music program and in most cases, they were involved in multiple ensembles. There were 31 Year 12 students in Senior Choir last year, all of whom balanced this with their study load. I would encourage all VCE students to continue their involvement in music ensembles and the wider cocurricular program on offer to them at Huntingtower.
If you are interested in joining any of our Choirs, please get in contact with myself or any of the choral team!
Ms Kayla Sims
Head of Choral
Music Information Night
Students who are new to Huntingtower were provided with the opportunity to explore the options of instruments and ensembles on Thursday night. We had over 100 people attend, with the Symphony Orchestra providing a brief performance and individual demonstrations of their instruments. It was a bit of a squeeze to get everyone into the Orchestral Room, but it was a very successful event. We were blessed to have the support of our key music suppliers, Fine Music, put on a display of instruments and purchasing options. If anyone who couldn’t attend the information meeting would like further information about our exciting music offerings, then please email music@huntingtower.vic.edu.au.
Mr David Mowat
Head of Music
2025 European Music Tour – Information Meeting
20 Feb at 6:30pm
As announced last year, the planning for the 2025 European Music Tour to Germany, Austria and Hungary is well underway, and the opportunity to find out more about the tour and sign up for a place on the tour is now upon us! The meeting will be held in the Orchestral Room on Tuesday 20 February at 6:30pm. Students who are currently in Year 7 through to Year 11 and are current and ongoing members of at least one Huntingtower ensemble are eligible to apply. An overview of the tour can be found here: https://euromustour25.my.canva.site.
It would be appreciated if attendance at this meeting is registered at the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/kPTQ5zTT2Y. If attendance is not possible but you would like to receive all the information after the meeting, then use the same link and indicate non-attendance and the information pack will be sent out to you via email soon after the meeting.
Mr David Mowat
Head of Music