Make a Joyful Noise

Year 12 Musical Excellence Prize

In a harmonious convergence of talent and opportunity, two Year 12 VCE Music students recently embarked on a remarkable musical journey at Pughouse Studios. This unique experience was made possible through a prestigious musical excellence prize, awarded to the gifted Drummer, Jerush Perera, and the accomplished Pianist, Yoshi Chivell, courtesy of the Virtual School Victoria (VSV). 

Inside the hallowed walls of Pughouse Studios, located in Thornbury, Melbourne, the students seized the chance to breathe life into their musical aspirations. The studio resonated with the vibrant sounds of jazz as the ensemble, led by Perera and Chivell, recorded three mesmerizing pieces. Two compositions by the illustrious Robert Glasper, known for pushing the boundaries of jazz, as well as another masterpiece by the exceptionally talented Esperanza Spalding. 

Adding their voices to this symphony of creativity, Vocalist Breanne Perera, and a Double Bass player – yours truly – contributed to the enchanting fusion of instruments and vocals. Guiding the sonic tapestry with precision was none other than Studio Engineer Niko Schauble, a revered drummer himself and a luminary in the Australian music scene. 

This extraordinary occasion would not have been possible without the dedication of Tim Nikolsky from VSV, who orchestrated this golden opportunity for the students. Watch this space for links to the recording in the coming months.

Scott Mealy

Secondary Music Teacher

What is Happening in Primary Performing Arts

We have had an exciting couple of terms in Primary Performing Arts. We love giving our students the opportunity to explore their God-given creative passions and it's always surprising to see who emerges with talents we never knew existed.

Last term Middle and Senior Primary students were doing Drama, which is also fun and usually pretty noisy – it gave the builders working on the new SP classroom a run for their money! Senior Primaries explored Theatre Sports, which are basically improvisational team games. They spent most of the time learning about how to make sure that the improvisers give each other ideas to work with rather than closing down the acting, and thinking about how to show character through voice, gesture and movement. One of the favourite games was Party Quirks, where characters enter a party scene, and the Host must guess what their character is. Sometimes the characters had a physical feature like an usually large nose, or they were a character from a movie (like Spiderman), or something totally ridiculous like a slow motion AFL player. A personal favourite was an SP boy who pulled off an amazing female YouTuber selling make-up. Senior Primaries have now moved on writing songs this term and we are using some great web software called HookPad to try out ideas.

Middle Primaries were working on using their voices to show character, and we did this by telling the stories of Dr Seuss using sock puppets, which they made themselves. As the students grew more confident, they were able to adapt their voices to suit their characters – even the narrator, who could have a very different voice than their own. Some of the performances were truly incredible and the attention to detail that the students showed in creating their puppets and telling their stories was wonderful. This term they are studying music from different countries in Asia and composing music to reflect the wonder of God’s created world by describing the view from the top of Mount Everest.

Junior Primary students worked on ensemble playing in Music in Term 2, and they learned to sing and play in time by following a conductor. They also learned to read different types of music notation – rhythm grids, letter names and music notes – and used this to help them learn their parts on the classroom instruments. This term they are doing Dance and Drama and to coincide with the school celebration of NAIDOC week we are looking at traditional Indigenous music and movement and comparing Dreamtime stories with our own Christian creation stories as described in the book of Genesis. They are also learning some Bush Dances, and this has been great for developing teamwork and moving in time to music – they love the challenge of seeing how fast they can successfully complete all the moves in time to the music tracks!

This term also sees our first Primary Music Recitals Concert, as we have too many students learning instruments to do a whole school recital. This means we can also showcase our Primary ensembles so please come along if you would like to see our Choirs, Senior Primary Band, and the Recorder Gang! We’d love a great audience as the students have worked hard to be ready for the performance.

Helen Metcalfe

Primary Music Teacher