Music Camp

This term, Norwood’s instrumental music students participated in the annual music camp held at Oasis Camp in Mount Evelyn where they got to knuckle down and practice with their music ensembles for three days, on top of also doing lots of exciting camp activities and of course eating lots of delicious food provided by the camp staff!

Our music captains Aoife Fegan, Bonnie Murray and Jett Smith along with Hayley Tonkin did a fantastic job leading the camps ‘Trivia Night’ which featured difficult questions and mini games which involved picking up pasta with your teeth, making a toilet paper outfit, guess that song and a nail-biting spelling bee. Congratulations to the winning team of Ryan T, Dylan K, Conor B, Josh L, Leah T, Indi B and Amelia D!

During the day we also rotated between a variety of activities including candle making, crafts and the flying fox where the students could switch off their brains for a bit and blow off some steam. 

A highlight of camp is our disco night which we held on the final night of camp. The hall was adorned with balloons, glow sticks and colourful costumes and featured our very own music tutor Mr Dema as the DJ who successfully got everyone singing, dancing and walking the runway! 

On the final day of camp, all the ensembles performed what they had worked on for one another before packing up the buses and heading home. A special thank you to all the staff who were involved with music camp this year: Melissa Cherry, Matthew Evans, Lucy Filor, Maria Camilla Camperos-Galdano, Luke Dema, Jaaz Tobias Quigley, Lauren Innes, Andrew Rousch, Sandra Fraraccio, Cynthia Kennedy and Dean Dernikos. The students performed at a very high standard, and we’re excited for them to perform these pieces for you at out Music Showcase Event which is being held on Wednesday, 9 September. 

We hope to see you there!

Music Captain Bonnie Murray

Exciting times for the string ensemble as our Year 7 musicians joined the group for the first time. These students put in a lot of effort to pick up the music, and it was amazing to see all they were able to achieve! Strings worked hard on their new piece ‘Tangerine Rag’, further brushing up their skills on some old pieces, which they were able to perform at our camp concert. Huge congratulations to Maria Camilla Camperos-Galdano for surviving her first Norwood Music Camp, under her direction our ensemble is truly able to shine!

The junior and intermediate bands have been making great progress these last few months, which was made all the more evident by their performances at camp. Intermediate band led by Jaaz Tobias-Quigley opened our concert with a flawless rendition of ‘Tassie Tiger Tango’, mastering a challenging piece with ease. Our junior band’s commitment to music has been admirable, and their performance of 'The Argonauts' and 'Oh when the Saints' was even more impressive, as they played under a new conductor! Well done to all our younger musicians, your performances at camp have shown that our music program will never lack passion or dedication and a special thanks to Luke Dema for leading junior band and Matthew Evans for stepping in to conduct the performance. 

Music Captain Jett Smith

Music camp was a great opportunity for Jazz Band to rehearse together for a longer period of time and have fun playing together in a more casual setting. The band delved into Roy Hargrove’s Strasbourg St Denis under guidance from Mr Jaaz Tobias Quigley, learning how to solo and create melodies over the chord changes. This culminated in their first performance in front of an audience, a tense but rewarding experience for the whole ensemble. Be on the lookout for an upcoming performance during RUOK day in week 9, as well as at showcase.

Concert Band led by Lauren Innes was able to knuckle down on the piece On the Edge of Tomorrow by Micheal Sweeny, navigating its ever-changing tempos and sudden thematic shifts. This included time for sectional rehearsals, which allowed students to learn and improve through support between one another. Additionally, Concert Band improved their rendition of the Australian national anthem, rehearsing alongside Chorale in preparation for upcoming assemblies. 

Music Captain Aoife Fegan

At music camp, Chorale learnt two new pieces: Gold from the musical 'Once' and Linger by the Cranberries (accompanied by stunning solos from Ellen S and Audrey G). Gold is Chorale's first a cappella piece, which has encouraged students to develop even more sophisticated blending and aural skills – performing it after only two days is a testament both to the talents of our students in Chorale and the expertise of Rachel Tunaley, Norwood's singing teacher. For the first time, we also had Lucy Filor (director of upcoming Sister Act) join us to run production rehearsals during the camp, working on songs and scenes alike. Sister Act will be running on the 27, 28 and 29 August at Karralyka Theatre, where you will be able to see the tremendous amount of effort students have put into the show come to fruition!