Music News
Victorian Schools Music Festival - Wind Symphony
On Tuesday 25 August, The Nossal High School Wind Symphony embarked on a journey and attended the Victorian Schools Music Festival at Hawthorn Arts Centre. The entire bus ride there was filled with chatter and laughter as excitement enveloped us. Before leaving, we had one final rehearsal and went through the pieces Creed, Superheroes Are Us and Italian Feast. And before we knew it, we had already arrived at the centre.
Truth be told, we were rather nervous at first as we clambered up the stairs hauling our heavy instruments behind before dumping them in the room and heading back down to watch the other schools. Through this experience, we got to hear what other bands on a similar level to us sound like and how they play. This included how they listened to their conductor and the emotion they put into every piece. It was truly eye opening and soon it was our turn.
After tuning in one of the backrooms and going over sections we were still slightly unsure of, we walked onto the stage and took our seats.
The hot stage lights above beat down on us and it got really warm. However, we still persevered and played all three pieces. We then received feedback from one of the adjudicators who combed through our mistakes and told us what we could work better on next time. It was very interesting to hear what he had to say about our performance and I’m sure it will definitely help us a lot in the future.
We then hopped on a bus and headed back to Nossal where we learnt that we were awarded bronze. This event could not have happened without the hard work of Mr. Greg Marks and Ms. Elisha Olivers and I could not have been prouder of all my bandmates.
Kiara Zhu
Year 10 Student
SEVR Intermediate Band Festival
On Monday 31August, thirteen of Nossal’s wind musicians made their way to Carrum Downs Secondary College to participate in the SEVR Intermediate Band Festival, accompanied by Ms Budd.
Throughout the day, we worked together with 130 musicians from other secondary schools across Melbourne's south-east, and, by the end of the program, we managed to play and record three entirely new pieces. However, this festival not only provided us with a significantly stronger musical insight and experience, but, more importantly, it allowed for everyone to meet and socialise with students from other schools, with people coming in from all year levels as well as different musical backgrounds and history.
In particular, the guest clinician Quinn Kellock led us through the pieces with his excellent conducting and insightful feedback. Quinn is a low brass specialist with over ten years of conducting experience, and his strong passion for music shone through with his friendly and easy-going attitude, making the whole event feel welcoming to everyone attending from the beginning to the very end.
Overall, this festival was a wonderful opportunity to make memories, meet new people, and enhance our musical knowledge and technique.
A special thank you to Ms Budd for making this memorable event possible for us!
Ella Liu
Year 11 Student