Performing Arts News
Patterson River Secondary College
Year 8 Concert Band Excursion
It was such a wonderful day to be out at the Arts Centre in Melbourne.
Meeting at the station, we enjoyed relaxing on the train before heading to the Melbourne Concert Hall. We were incredibly happy to find our seats in A reserve – a fabulous place to see the Orchestra up close!
Performing the ‘Welcome to Country” by Deborah Cheetham, we enjoyed hearing the sounds of our country and respecting the place we were visiting. The program commenced by introducing the sections of the orchestra and locating the composer of the next piece. The composer, one of the percussionists, wrote a beautiful piece about Australian birds, titled “The bird’s voice.” Rob Cossom took us on an adventure of one bird finding its’ place in nature. Next up was “Peter and the Wolf” The irreverent story of Peter and his menagerie of animals. This special MSO production has been developed to bring the imaginative world of music alive, with the addition of puppets. The puppeteers were amazing and brought humour, adventure and joy to this performance. It might be a wolf eat duck world out there, but this production of Prokofiev’s story shows us that with enough help from their friends, a boy and a bird can work together to catch a wolf and save the day.
From here we visited the Australian Music Vault at the State Theatre – this was an interesting place to explore the many artists and bands that make up the Australian music industry. A favourite here was downloading hits from the ‘60’s to today.
Lunch by the Yarra River was delightful, enjoying the winter sunshine and the company of our band friends.
An enjoyable day was had by everyone, with many of our students displaying the school values of Excellence, Community and Respect.
Annual Spring Concert
The Annual Spring Concert was held at the College on Tuesday 17th September. Music students and staff were delighted to play to a sold out audience in the Performing Arts Centre for the evening show. The bands rocked as usual and we are, as always, very proud of our students and their many talents. Congratulations to all the students who performed and helped to create a wonderful night!
A special mention goes out to our graduating Year 12 instrumental music students who have now played their very last concert. These students have diligently supported the program throughout their time at the College and continue provide inspiration for the up and comers below them. As they begin to study for their final exams, we would like to thank them for their commitment and wish them the very best of luck.
Len H, Jade B, Jessica H, Grace B
