Music Notes

A Musical Start to 2025 

In just the first week of Term 1, we have had performances, rehearsals and music lessons all going on like we never had a break!

It all started with the Huntingtower Symphony Orchestra performing at the Commencement Assembly on the first day of the term. They had an intense two-hour rehearsal the day before to learn new pieces of music. Since then, regular rehearsals have started for all Huntingtower ensembles, and attendance rates are already very high. Very pleasingly, the choirs have even grown bigger than before, and the instrumental ensembles have also many more students joining. Private instrumental lessons have started, and the Music Centre is alive with the joyous sounds of music making once again.

Music Information Enquiry Form 

For those students who haven’t registered their interest in learning an instrument or are ready to join an ensemble but are unsure about how to begin, they can complete an online enquiry form here: https://forms.office.com/r/nZcpG8yJuP 

Music Staff News 

The Music Centre welcomes two new staff members to the team. This follows the recent departure of Ms Jade Tsai (Violin) who has taken on full time employment elsewhere, and Ms Nichaud Munday (Flute) who reluctantly stepped aside to pursue professional performance goals.

Mr Tom Silvester comes to us as a highly recommended Violin and Viola teacher, and boasts an extensive professional performance, teaching, conducting and composing career. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from Oxford University.

Ms Alyce Faith brings a wealth of experience as a teacher and performer of the flute. She has a Master of Arts in Performance (Royal Academy of Music), Bachelor of Music in Performance with Honours (Melbourne University), and Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music Diploma in Music Teaching (LRAM, Distinction), Royal Academy of Music, London. Our flute students are indeed very fortunate that Alyce has joined us at Huntingtower.

2025 Calendar of Music Events/Rehearsal Schedule 

Students can collect a hard copy of the Important Music Dates from outside the Director of Music’s office.   

Mr David Mowat

Director of Music

Choirs

Our first music rehearsal of the year kicked off on Friday 31 January with an energetic and enthusiastic new group of Year 7 students. The Middle School Choir has grown to over 100 members and Friday afternoons are shaping up to be the highlight of the week. A reminder to all Year 7 and 8 students with treble voices: you're all welcome to join the Middle School Choir – no audition or experience is required. Singing for 50 minutes each week is a great way to unwind after a busy week; it is not only socially and mentally stimulating but also a wonderful stress reliever.

We were equally excited for our first Senior Choir rehearsal on Tuesday 04 February. With 200 students in attendance and new repertoire in hand, the group already sounded fantastic! We are still looking for additional tenor voices so if you’re a secret singer in the senior school, we’d love for you to join us—everyone is welcome!

We formally welcome Mr Sungpil Lee as our new accompanist on Tuesdays and Fridays. He is an incredibly valued member of our team already and brings a wealth of experience as both an accompanist and as a clarinettist. We thank Mr Chris Nolan for his work with our Senior students on Tuesdays, most notably, with our VCE Chamber Choir students. Chris is taking a six-month break from choirs to focus on his PhD and we wish him all the best.

To our dedicated VCE students, we encourage you to stay involved in music ensembles throughout your final years. The benefits of regular singing, both for mental well-being and as an escape from study, are invaluable, especially in these final years of schooling. Last year, over half of the cohort of Year 12s were involved in music, many in multiple ensembles and managed to successfully balance the commitment with their academic pursuits. We strongly encourage all VCE students to continue participating in music ensembles and other co-curricular activities at Huntingtower.

If you're interested in joining any of our choirs, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or any member of the choral team!

Ms Kayla Sims

Head of Choral