Music

East Gippsland Music Festival

The East Gippsland Music Festival was a fantastic success. After four days of rehearsals, over eighty students from Bairnsdale Secondary College attended the Gala Concert in Orbost on the last Thursday of term. Our students performed in the combined junior, intermediate and senior bands, the string orchestra and the swing band. Bairnsdale Secondary Students made a significant contribution to this festival and we are very proud of their involvement. They looked fantastic and performed beautifully. Thank you to all the families for making the effort to transport students to the concert and to the staff for their hard work during the week. We are all looking forward to next year’s music festival.

String Program

Rosemary Iversen retired from Bairnsdale Secondary College at the end of last term. Rosemary has been working at Bairnsdale Secondary College since 2011, initially teaching cello and then taking leadership of the string program when Michelle Dogger left. Rosemary has made an enormous contribution to the music program here and will be missed.

This term we welcome Kees Dogger and Marianne Rothchild to the music program. Kees is no stranger to BSC, having recently retired from here. He is multi-skilled as a musician and we welcome him back to the music team. Marianne, a highly qualified and experienced string teacher is new to BSC. She will be juggling her time between Wild Cherry School and us and at this stage will be working with us for four hours on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Ally Orr will be taking over the string ensemble, assisted by Kim Green. Kim will be taking the junior string ensemble which will currently rehearse on Thursday second lunchtimes but may change in the next few weeks.

AMEB exams

The Australian Music Examinations Board is an independent organisation that administers examinations in music, speech and drama, including examinations assessing performance on various instruments. These practical exams are held twice during the year for country candidates. AMEB exams are a useful motivator for students and help students prepare for VCE exams. Students receive a certificate and grading for successful completion of the exam. To find out more, check out the following link.  https://ameb.vic.edu.au

Forms, which include the cost, may be obtained in the Music Centre. Students should discuss the option of doing an exam with their music teacher prior to enrolling. Students who elect to work towards an exam must commit themselves and practice on a regular basis to achieve a positive result. 

The closing date is August 8.