Music Showcase

You Can’t Stop the Music: Showcase!

This week, the music department delivered a night-of-nights with their incredible Music Showcase, featuring all the instrumental ensembles, some smaller groups, and a whole bunch of fabulous solo performers.

A big thank you to Caleb and Tori, our fearless Music Captains, and to Maddy and Bonnie, our Vice Captains, who emceed the night and guided the immensely proud audience through their musical journey. All four also delivered standout performances in the ensembles in which they play.

All the ensembles’ performances were outstanding, and the solos and small groups were sublime, ensuring the 200-strong audience enjoyed an unforgettable night!

Showcase is always inspiring for our junior students, whose musical journey has only just begun, as they bear witness to the excellence that can be achieved through individual practice, collaborative rehearsal, determination, tenacity and the support of a community of interest.

The night began with Junior Strings playing a tremendous string arrangement of Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’. The Senior String Orchestra then performed two fantastic pieces – ‘Wellerman’ and ‘Palladio’ – before the Chamber String Ensemble flexed their incredible skill with Brahm’s ‘Waltz’ and Karl Jenkins’ ‘Palladio’, all under the direction of the amazing Simon Howard.

Following this, we were treated to two incredible piano pieces – ‘Sealed Vessel’ and ‘Merry-Go-Round of Life’ – played by the immensely talented Isaac.

The larger-than-ever Chorale was next to take the stage, under the inspirational direction of Rachel Tunaley. They blew us away with their rendition of ‘Wishes’, before being joined by Steph on bass, Issy and teacher Andy Rousch on percussion, and teacher Matthew Evans on guitar to astound us with Vulfpeck’s ‘Back Pocket’.

After a short interval, parents and friends were treated to some more intimate performances from Norwood’s talented music students. Audrey, Lexi and Aoife treated us to some delightful harmonies as they sang ‘A Soft Place to Land’ from the musical Waitress. Next Emily was accompanied by Lexi on piano, moving us all with a delightful rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Songbird’. Then Alex brought their vocal powerhouse to the fore as they belted and purred ‘You Aughta Know’ by Alanis Morrisette and Glen Ballard. To round off our soloists, we were treated to some guitar shredding: Bryn played The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ on an acoustic steel string, and Jeremy tackled some Stevie Ray Vaughan with a rendition of ‘Riviera Paradise’!

We then got to see just how much can be achieved in one short year as Junior Band took to the staging area to perform ‘Bandroom Boogie’, under the direction of Jaaz Tobias-Quigley. It was jaw-dropping!

Our newest ensemble, Bell Brigade, flawed the room with an all-brass rendition of ‘What a Wonderful World’. The quintet – featuring Zetara on Tuba, Oren on Trombone, Hayley on trumpet, Caleb on French Horn and Lauren Innes on trumpet – was truly WONDERFUL!

The night ended on a note of elation as Concert Band played us out, under the direction of Lauren Innes, with ‘Defenders of the Realm’ and ‘Celtic Air Dance’. WOW!

There is also a bitter-sweet side to the night, as participants from the class of 2025 wave farewell to their Norwood musical adventures. This group of Year 12s are particularly impressive, having persevered through the online lessons of music in a time of COVID – thank you all for giving us so much excellent music!

Instrumental Music Class of 2025

Caleb S – French Horn – Concert Band, Senior Brass Quintet, 2025 Music Captain

Tori C – Violin – Senior String Orchestra, Chamber String Ensemble, 2025 Music Captain

Phoebe C – Flute – Concert Band, 2025 Production Orchestra

Daniel P – Clarinet – Concert Band

Cameron S – Cello – Senior String Orchestra, Chamber String Ensemble

Heath G – Violin – Senior String Orchestra, Chamber String Ensemble

Alex B – Voice – Chorale

Emily W – Voice – Chorale