Performing Arts

It has certainly been a busy end to Semester 1! Since the last edition of The Vine we have had the first Soiree Evening for the year, the VCE Unit 1 & 3 Concert, participation in a community concert at The Ringwood Salvation Army, Senior Ensemble Evening, Senior Music Assembly, Junior Ensemble Evening and Junior Music Chapel.

Soiree Evening

The Soiree Evening was a superb celebration of individual achievements in solo instrumental and vocal performances. A small group of Junior School students were very brave in showing their talents to a very supportive audience, featuring saxophone, violin, flute and piano. The Senior School programme was very full, featuring a wide array of instruments and an extremely high standard. The performances featured flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, piano and voice. The inclusion of an increasing number of brass and woodwind musicians performing at such a high level, alongside our wonderful piano, strings and voice students, made for a very entertaining evening with so much variety. The audience were certainly treated to something special!

Ringwood Salvation Army

The Junior and Senior Vocal Ensembles participated in a concert entitled Let Us Sing at the Ringwood Salvation Army. The Junior Vocal Ensemble displayed their enthusiasm and joy of performing in presenting spirituals and songs from movies. Their version of the Pentatonix Na Na Na was a particular highlight. The Senior Vocal Ensemble entertained the full church with their polished and emotive performances, which included a beautiful rendition of Both Sides Now, and the boys from the ensemble shared a little barbershop harmony. A highlight was the group’s presentation of Mercy Me’s song Greater, accompanied by cajón and violin.

Senior Ensemble Evening & Music Assembly

The Senior Ensemble Evening was certainly a celebration of all that has been achieved by each open and auditioned music ensemble in the Senior School. Sinfonia commenced the evening with a performance of a high calibre and set the tone for the whole concert. The Middle Years auditioned groups, Cantabile and Middle Years Vocal Ensemble, displayed their skills in some contrasting works. The Senior Concert Band excited the audience with their dynamic work, as they continue to grow in number and skill. Sforzando had the toes tapping and the Senior Stage Band is always popular, featuring Caleb P (10.4) as the vocal soloist. Forte showed the growth in the brass program and the Senior Vocal Ensemble performed at their usual high standard with contrasting songs from both the pop and musical theatre world. Camerata were exceptional and communicated the beauty of the music that was chosen. The Senior Choir featured four of their tenors in a beautiful worship song and then an amalgamation of two musical theatre numbers (Found/Tonight) in a fascinating arrangement. An amazing evening concluded with the 110-voice Senior Choir encouraging everyone to walk on sunshine!

The next week all the Senior Music Ensembles had the opportunity to share their music with their peers and teachers in the Senior Music Assembly. It was a morning of joy and excitement, and the performances were met with an enthusiastic and supportive response.

A full report of the Junior Ensemble Evening and Junior Music Chapel will feature in the next edition of The Vine.

Ringwood Eisteddfod

A group of students from the Junior School, who perform together in a group formed outside the school, experienced recent success at the Ringwood Eisteddfod. This is a fine achievement, and we congratulate them on their success. There have also been some excellent performances at Junior Chapel from a range of Performers of the Week. Year 5 presented a worship dance piece, featuring the name of Jesus, highlighting their own creative work in Performing Arts classes. Some chosen Year 6 students shared their own music compositions for their band instrument, displaying the skills they have learnt in class.

Students continue to prepare for examinations on their instruments, with the first group completing these in the last week. We wish every student the very best in these endeavours.

The Middle Years Production of Frozen JR. is inching closer to their performance dates. The excitement is building and I am sure that you will want to secure your tickets. The Junior School Production of Alice in Wonderland JR. has also commenced rehearsals and this will be their focus in the Term 3 Performing Arts program.

Thank you for your support in what has been a wonderful term of Music and Drama.

Jeffrey Clarke

Director of Performing Arts

VCE Unit 1 & 3 Music Concert

The students of VCE Music in Units 1 and 3 gave a very successful concert on the evening of Thursday 12 June in the BPAC Auditorium. 

Each student demonstrated two contrasting works, with great care of their use of musical elements to give character to their performances, which has been a core focus of their studies. It takes a lot of courage to perform live music in a formal setting, and each student met this challenge admirably, showing good control and etiquette on the stage.

The instruments and performers were: 

These students will be required to do the same for the VCAA at the end of Year 12, and these concerts are excellent opportunities to practice performing their repertoire. We look forward to sharing their music again in the Unit 2 and Unit 4 concerts in Term 4.

Aaron Chan

Senior School Head of Music