Music
Music Notes
European Music Tour Success
The Huntingtower 2023 European Music Tour to Italy that departed and returned during the June/July holidays was heralded as a great success. The 49 students and 6 staff thoroughly enjoyed the touristic and musical experiences embedded in the itinerary, and all the complex logistics happened without a hitch. The ambitious inclusion of 10 performances in the two weeks proved to be not only achievable, but it was a key part of the success of the tour.
The audiences all applauded enthusiastically after having enjoyed an impressive array of repertoire from our core groups of Tour Chorale and Tour Orchestra, each with well over 40 students involved in each. In addition, we incorporated a ‘VCE Choir’, a String Orchestra, and a Concert Band within many of our concerts.
We performed in amazing towns and venues, each with their own character and acoustic. We performed (in chronological order) in Civitavecchia, Rome, Assisi (2 concerts), Perugia, Florence, Montecatini, Venice (2 concerts) and Cremona. When we weren’t performing, we enjoyed absorbing the history, the culture and the culinary delights that is so abundant in Italy. We were also able to connect musically with the language, composers, instruments, and conventions that are a big part of being a musician.
There will be a more detailed report of the tour in the next edition of the HT News Magazine.
Music Staff News
We welcomed two new music teachers to our Music Centre this term: Mr Mike Tsotsos and Ms Mia Berlin. Mike is a highly qualified and experienced percussionist and drum kit player who will be energetically imparting his skills as a percussion tutor and leading the revamped Percussion Ensemble on Wednesdays.
Mia, also teaching at Huntingtower on Wednesday, is a highly proficient violinist who is a graduate of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School. Mia happens to also be a former Huntingtower Student having undertaken her primary years, and made her start as a violinist, in our Junior School before attaining a place at VCASS. Mia also teaches Violin and Viola at Melbourne Girls Grammar as well as performing in Corpus Medicorum Orchestra.
We warmly welcome both Mike and Mia to the HT Music Centre, and we look forward to their contributions to the musical lives of our students.
Events for Term 3
Term 3 is shaping up to be quite busy with numerous competitions and performances for many of our ensembles. Our entries in the upcoming Monash Youth Music Festival include the Senior Chamber Choir, Middle School Strings, Middle School Concert Band, and the Huntingtower Symphony Orchestra. In addition, our Senior Concert Band, Middle School Concert Band and Senior Chamber Choir are entered in the Victorian Schools Music Festival. We eagerly await the results of many hours of rehearsals and wish the students all the best with their performances.
The term will culminate with the Spring Concert on the evening of Thursday 14 September, which will showcase all our vocal and instrumental ensembles in the same concert in the PAC. More information on this concert will be shared soon, but please place this event on your family calendars.
Mr David Mowat
Head of Music