Performing Arts News
TONES AND I: Visit to MGC
On Thursday the 15th of July, the Australian singer ‘Tones and I’ visited MGC to perform a preview of her new album ‘Welcome to The Madhouse’ and speak about her journey on becoming a singer, from busking in Byron Bay to international success. We were lucky enough to have this opportunity, due to an MGC alumni, Charlotte Johnston, who is ‘Tones and I’’s personal assistant. ‘Tones and I’ was kind enough to make time to take photos with students, and there was also merchandise on display for students to purchase. On behalf of MGC, we are extremely fortunate to have them both visit, as it provided us students with a greater perspective of what it’s like to work within the music industry. Due to MGC’s large music department, we hope that many students will follow in their footsteps.
We would like to thank Lori Perry, Anne Corry and Wen Chin for assisting in making this amazing event become a reality, and our Year 8 & 9 Deans and supervising teachers for their support.
Alara Selçuk 8F / 2021 Middle School Humanities Captain
We all shuffled into the gym, tingling with excitement, the Year 8's and 9's and members of the music program were lucky enough to preformed to by Tones and I last Thursday, just before the lockdown. She performed an amazing set that included her hit song, Dance Monkey, as well as track off her debut album, Welcome To The Madhouse. Welcome to the Madhouse was released last Friday:
As her unique voice and wholesome songs echoed around the gym, we were enthralled and listened contently. Tones and I also shared the inspiration behind her name and how she writes a song and answered many more questions. A really memorable part of the concert, was when she talked about show she went from busking to topping charts over the world. She is a really humble person, and we are very grateful to her, her assistant Charlotte Johnston, crew, and Ms Corry and Ms Perry for organising this wonderful experience. Flaunting my new Tones and I t-shirt has been a lot of fun. 🙂
-Freya Swannell
A Visit From Francois Tetsaz
On Tuesday, 22nd June, MGC was honoured to have Francois Tetsaz speak to our VCE music class about his journey as a Grammy award winning composer, music producer and collaborator.
Francois talked about his journey from performer as a percussionist to becoming a composer and producer. Topics covered included “what makes a good song?” and Franc used “Somebody I Used to Know” as an example of one of his songs in his long standing collaboration with Wally de Becker, which captured the zeitgeist.
Franc discussed how to include hooks and address universal themes such as a relationship breaking up, as well as addressing how to become discovered and distributed. He encouraged students to be active listeners and to take advantage of creating music now, as students! We thank Franc for his time and for inspiring us.
Vocal Showcase
Congratulations to our fabulous vocal students, MGC Choir and Acapella Choir who managed to squeeze in a live performance hours before going into lockdown. It was two years in the making, and what a night of music making it was! Thank you to our dedicated vocal teachers Ellyce Calder and Susan De Jong for preparing their students, to Anne Corry for accompanying the Choir, and to Sylvan Dorney and Beth Barrass for kindly allowing us to use the Library as a performance space while the Auditorium is under construction.
This year, the 2021’s vocal showcase was filled with excited heartbeats, mellifluous tunes and uplifting cheers! Without all the efforts and hard work from everyone, we could not have had a better result than hoped for. All the performances starting from the MGC Choir all the way to the A’Capella Choir were out of this world! The people who will never get enough credit for making this function happen are Ellyce Calder, Susan De Jong, Anne Corry and Wen Chin. In these last months of preparation in song selection, practicing up and down the rollercoaster of these uncertain times and finding the perfect time and venue for the function didn’t come out of nowhere! If we can pull off an incredible showcase under the influence of all that is happening, imagine how much more extraordinary the future vocal showcases will be.
Audrey Ahmed 8A
Upcoming Instrumental Soirees
With the constant uncertainty surrounding lockdown, unfortunately we are postponing the Strings Soiree and Guitar and Drums Soiree yet again. This is especially disappointing as our students have been working so hard towards it. We will focus our attention to Term 4 instead, and look forward to sharing their performances with you. Please stay tuned for more updates.
House Production
