ALUMNI NEWS

Make The World A Better Place

Chris Dite (Cohort 2003)

In Term 2, students in Years 7-10 were given the opportunity to take my Philosophy class, 'How to Make Trouble and Influence People'. Discussions veered wildly and enthusiastically through some of the toughest topics on the planet. Students looked at the housing crisis, metaphysics, the Black Panthers and the Black Lives Matter movement, life-or-death philosophical thought experiments, the Aboriginal tent embassy, Einstein, robotic rights, Nietzsche, animal liberation and time travel.

Whether it’s been teenagers leading rent strikes in early 1900s New York, young LGBTIQ people struggling for basic rights in the 1970s or homeless people fighting for public housing in Melbourne today, our students have seen how important philosophy and ideas are to anyone who wants to change the world! It was my pleasure to offer this Elective again in Term 3." 

Next term I am offering  'Gazing into the Abyss', a 8-week immersive philosophy game. Think The Walking Dead, the Hungers Games, The 100…. some of the most popular entertainment out there at the moment involves young people making tough philosophical decisions in difficult circumstances. For this end of year philosophy elective, we’re diving headfirst into dystopia. You’ll be playing a character (partially of your own creation) in a class structured like a game. It all plays out in the not-too-distant future, where the big questions present themselves on a constant basis, nothing is what it seems, and all you can do is collectively reason your way to survival.

Distinctive

Jane Sawyer (Cohort 1977) 

You might like to catch the last 2 days of 'Distinctive' in The Barn Gallery at Monsalvat curated by Skepsi Gallery, which includes a small body of Jane's works from her recent succesful exhibition 'Rain Shadows'.

September 3 to September 18

Time: 11.00am - 5.00pm

Venue: The Barn Gallery at Monsalvat

Jane's lovely surprise about Rain Shadows was that No. 2 son Max Bonifacio (Cohort 2015) (AKA “Lunicuss") composed some fabulous music that accompanied the show. You can listen to this great piece via soundcloud here.

If you are interested in attending some workshops or classes you can visit Jane's website www.slowclay.com

Concert Pianist

Tristan Lee (Cohort 2003)

A great opportunity to join in the great musical tradition

celebrating the music of Schubert and his contemporaries.

Concert no. 1:  Schubertiade: From Winter to Spring. Thursday 22 September 6.30pm.

Young tenor Douglas Kelly and pianist Tristan Lee join the great musical tradition of the Schubertiade with a modern twist, featuring Britten's 'Winter Words', some of Schubert's most well-loved lieder, and Beethoven's springtime setting 'An die ferne Geliebte' on Thursday 22nd September 6:30pm at fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne.

Doug and Tristan were semi-finalists in the recent Mietta Song competition, and Doug is also a finalist in the Herald Sun Aria competition.

Tickets available online at www.fortyfivedownstairs.com or by calling 96629966

Concert 2 -  From Darkness to Light. 

Thursday 29 September, 6.30pm.

The first half of this recital consists of two masterpieces written in very trying times. Despite battling declining health, Schubert composed his Fantasia in the final year of his short life. At times funereal and at other times breathtakingly beautiful,  Fantasia is a work of genius, and one of the most strikingly original and important works for piano duet. The second work, performed by Tristan Lee, is Prokofiev’s turbulent Piano Sonata No. 7 of 1943.  The second half of the program commences with Schumann’s passionate and romantic Sonata Op. 22 performed by Gintaute Gataveckaite, before concluding with another masterpiece of the duet repertoire, Ravel’s exquisite and uplifting Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose suite).

Tickets available online at www.fortyfivedownstairs.com or by calling 96629966