Music Matters

Term 3 has been a very busy in the music department, with the fabulous production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (as reported on in the previous newsletter), students involved in the State School Spectacular, the Victorian Schools Music Festival and the Spring Concert.

I was fortunate to attend the State School Spectacular at John Cain Arena on Saturday 29th August, which was spectacular, featuring students from State Schools across the state.

I congratulate the outstanding performances of DSC participants Eva P, Izayah K and Zack, who were featured singers; Lilla B, a featured dancer; Maeva K and Calum D in the State Schools Choir; Josh C, who was involved in lighting; and James C, who was involved in Vision. The performance opened with Izayah leading the opening song, followed by Eva featuring and sparkling in the next number. Zack lit up the stage first as a businessman in his first song and then as a nerd in 'Hip To Be Square'. The three of them were featured in numerous other songs throughout the high-quality show.

Lilla was fabulous as a featured dancer, and Maeva and Callum sang and moved their way through the show in the choir, including a featured piece on the main stage.

Of course, none of the show would have been spectacular without the backstage crew, including Josh and James working on the vision and lighting.

Congratulations to all of these students; the hours and hours of work that they put in made it an amazing show.

Auditions and expressions of interest for the 2027 State School Spectacular open in October.

The College Concert Band, Wind Symphony, Junior Jazz, Senior Jazz and String Orchestra all recently participated in the VSMF, gaining valuable feedback from and participating in workshops let by experienced adjudicators and educators. Further details below in student reports.

A very successful 2026 Spring Concert was held on Tuesday 8th September, with the concert divided into two parts, with a Junior 6 pm and a Senior 8 pm concert in the DSC Performance Centre. The concerts featured the College's large ensembles and Rock Bands with music from a large range of genres. Many of the large ensembles showcased works that they had prepared for the Victoria Schools Bands Festival, which they had performed at in recent weeks. All groups performed to a high standard and are a credit to the ensemble directors and the students who have put in the hard work to bring out the best in each of the ensembles. Thank you to all students and staff who were involved. Further details below in student reports.

Term 4 will also be busy with the Yr7 Music Try Out Evening on Tuesday 13 October, a series of Soirees in week 3 with Concert Band Soiree Tuesday 20 Oct., String Soiree Wednesday 21 Oct. and Rock Band Soiree Thursday 22 Oct. In November we will enter our two Junior bands, Soundworks and Stringworks, into VSMF sections. There will also be a number of performances at Yr 12 Valedictory and Mini School Presentation Events.

Junior Concert

The Junior Concert was a great success as all the seats were sold! Everyone participated wonderfully as all of them spent time from their busy school life to rehearse different pieces for their bands. The concert was accomplished thanks to all the members in Concert Band, Stringworks, Soundworks, Guitar Ensemble, Rock Bands, Junior Jazz, and the senior combined piece at the end. This is the first-year instrumentalists' second performance; they only had a few months to improve their skills and did extremely well in this concert. I am sure the audience had seen their huge improvements compared to the Winter Concert! Moreover, one of the big parts of the Junior Concert is the senior combined item performed by Senior Jazz and String Orchestra playing a piece called “Skyfall” by Adele; their strong performance was thanks to Sienna’s beautiful vocals. Once again, thank you to all the music teachers, instrument students, and their parents for supporting the music program and attending all the excellent events held this year! – Tinnie Siu

As one of the MCs of the junior concert and the person who arranged all the others, I had so much fun stepping up and speaking to the audience, having been more introverted beforehand, I felt as if I had become braver after this experience. I am so proud and thankful for all the year 8s (Sebby, Alicia, Tran, Chloe, Hyunseo, Satia) that helped and did MCing even when they were not that confident doing public speaking, they ended up doing an amazing job. I also participated in performing with Stringworks which I think I have grown a lot with over the past year as I have learnt a lot, and the first-year strings have all developed many different skills and techniques with their instruments. Stringworks’ performance was led by Mr Verco but also with the help of me and Ellie as we have learnt to self-conduct in preparation for future performances. Furthermore, I want to say a big thank you for all the music teachers, students and parents for making this concert possible, I had so much fun! – Anna Lau

The rock bands at DSC rose to the occasion at this year’s Spring Concert, with performances from Our Society, Laryngitis, Glonk, and more. They have one period a week to work with the amazing Mr Dean on songs they’ve picked themselves to play and perform. All the bands bring something different to the music scene at Doncaster, spanning from 2000s pop-rock to a repertoire of mostly, if not all, Metallica songs. The rock program sees students participate in instruments in a different genre and vocalists rise to the challenge, and they all enjoy it thoroughly. The bands are now tackling the challenge of the rock showcase, so keep a lookout! - Keira Pang

This concert had many special things. I played flute for Concert Band, and also got to play piano for Rock Band, so I was able to be part of two different performances. In Concert Band, I had a solo at the very beginning of Dance of the Ancient Spirit. I was really nervous but also excited because it was the first thing the audience was going to hear. When the curtains opened and I saw how many people were in front of me, I was a little overwhelmed, but it was also really nice to know that they were there to enjoy all the hard work our band, conductor, and teachers had put into the concert. I also got to learn a lot of new skills and face some of my fears, especially through performing in front of such a big audience. Being an MC for Soundworks and Junior Jazz with Hyunseo also gave me a chance to try something completely new. I really enjoyed seeing the audience’s reactions after we finished because they looked amazed by our efforts and how much we had improved. Overall, the concert was such a fun experience and definitely a core high school memory that I will never forget. It gave me more confidence, opened me up to trying new things, and made me much less scared of performing in front of people. I would definitely love to perform more in the future. - Satia

Senior Jazz VSMF:

On Friday the 4th of September, DCS’s Senior Jazz Band showed off their hard work at Hawthorn Arts Centre for the Victorian Schools Music Festival Jazz Ensemble Section, playing three starkly different pieces of the jazz and big band genre while providing students the opportunity to improvise and solo throughout the performance and workshop. The festival not only involved playing for an audience but listening to bands from other schools and getting to work with respected chief adjudicator, Roosevelt Griffin to elevate the band’s skills. The three pieces performed included Roger Schmidli’s The Usual Suspects, highlighting Jasper Che on tenor saxophone and Nathan Chow on alto saxophone; Slow Hot Wind, arranged by Paul Murtha, featuring Nathan as lead saxophonist; and lastly Tico’s South Side Rumba by Michele Fernandez with combined solos from Tinnie Siu and Isabelle Veevers on flute and Jasper on tenor saxophone once again. In the weeks leading up to this performance, the band has been led by Mr O’Connell every Tuesday afternoon alongside additional student-run sectionals. The band’s commitment and love of the jazz genre clearly came through that day and eventuated into a stellar performance and achieving a silver award for their efforts. - Sienna Margarejo

DSC’s very own Junior Jazz went to this year’s Victorian School’s Music Festival with the expectation of a bronze, so you can imagine how both shocked and excited they were when they won a silver! Safe to say, the road to getting their pieces to a performance-level standard was a journey. Their conductor, Basil, however, was very encouraging and helped the band practice and elevate their pieces. Junior Jazz performed “Duke’s Groove”, a score based on the chord changes of “In a Mellow Tone” by Duke Ellington, “Dreamsville”, a slow ballad that admittedly took a while to get but it was all worth it, and “Caravan”, a samba-half time swing number that they personally hold very close in their hearts. VSMF saw certain Junior Jazz members rise to the occasion, playing solos ranging from five bars to sixteen and even an almost two-minute-long drum solo. It was a great time for Junior Jazz, being exposed to such jazz talent and taking part in a mini-workshop with an adjudicator, but the most important part at the end of the day was spending time with our bandmates and having fun through music. - Keira Pang

String Orchestra participated in the Victorian Schools Music Festival on the 5th of August, under the amazing conductor Ms Walters. It was a great opportunity to play as an ensemble outside of our school concerts, and the students greatly appreciated the chance to eat a nice meal as an orchestra afterwards. The orchestra played three pieces, Angel City, Deep River, and Legend of the Dragon Chasers, and was adjudicated by Dr. Christopher Selby, whom the students were impressed to meet, as they play Dr. Selby's musical studies regularly. String Orchestra was very proud of their performance; however, it was bittersweet as many of the players are in Year 12 and this was their final VSMF performance. Overall, the orchestra achieved a Silver Award. - Micky Ruffo

Concert Band recently attended the Victorian Schools Music Festival, where they performed Dance of the Ancient Spirits and Celtic Air and Dance. After their performance, they received feedback from an adjudicator to help guide their future rehearsals and development. They earned a Silver rating overall, marking a solid result and a clear benchmark for their next steps as an ensemble. - Micky Ruffo

Senior Concert

The Senior Concert was, without a doubt, memorable. As MCs and graduating Year 12s, we'd like to start by thanking everyone who made this concert possible — from Mr Dean for heading it all, to Ms Howes for making it happen, to all our teachers, and to the parents who took time out of their own schedules to be there.

To our friends who played alongside us: this concert is a testament to many years of hard work. Its success went far beyond playing our best and seeing so many seats filled — it was a celebration of music and teamwork, and it was an absolute pleasure to share the stage with you.

The Senior Concert featured many bands, with special performances from VCE soloists Venessa and Micky. Our senior bands brought their best, and despite hectic schedules, we MCs had an absolute blast. To all the techs, lighting crew, and backstage helpers — thank you for making it all possible.

Wind Symphony, String Orchestra, Senior Jazz, and Glonk rounded out our repertoire, with a combined performance of Adele's "Skyfall" from String Orchestra and Senior Jazz directed by the incredible Hannah Walters. As performers and as individuals, it was such a joy playing alongside different bands.

Backstage was a party — a chaotic, laughter-filled celebration of our very last concert. Concert blacks, slices of cake, and ribbons embellished with music notes; being on stage was amazing, but it was backstage that truly made the night and the memories.

To the music department and the broader music community — thank you for the lessons we've learnt, the memories we've made and, above all,

Thank you for the music,

Year 12s. The Senior Concert was, without a doubt, memorable. As MCs and graduating Year 12s, we'd like to start by thanking everyone who made this concert possible — from Mr Dean for heading it all, to Ms Howes for making it happen, to all our teachers, and to the parents who took time out of their own schedules to be there.

To the music department and the broader music community — thank you for the lessons we've learnt, the memories we've made, and, above all,

Thank you for the music,

Year 12 Music Students: Xin, Maya, Flick, Andrelle, Adrian, Micky, Michaela, Riley, Henry, Vanessa.