Music News

Dear Parents/Carers and Music Students,

We are half way into term 2 and the instrumental music program is humming along nicely. It’s great to see new enrolments still happening throughout the term. It’s never too late to learn an instrument and join the music program. Congratulations to Brian Gorwell who has just commenced lessons on guitar with teacher Ryan Lestrange and Lara Duncan Berkelmans who has just started playing the violin under the direction of string teacher Donna Stemberger. Starting this week until the end of term 2, we will give students an opportunity to have a few lessons/trial on an instrument of their choice. If it suits them we can provide them with information to take home to their parents. We would love to see more students take up a musical instrument.

East Gippsland Music Festival

Music students in our concert bands and string ensemble will be participating in the East Gippsland Music Festival held at Bairnsdale Secondary College in the last week of term 2. Combined rehearsals take place on different days with students from Bairnsdale SC, Orbost SC, Lakes Entrance SC, Swifts Creek P-12 College and all of their feeder primary schools. It is a productive week of music making. Our students will depart the College at 9am and will return in time for  buses in the afternoon. Music has been given out to students involved. Teachers have started working on their parts during lessons in preparation for the workshops. A Gala Concert commencing at 7pm will be held on Thursday 23rd June in Boucher Hall at Bairnsdale SC. All music rehearsed during the workshops will be performed at the Gala Concert. Students involved will receive a letter with all information about this event later this week.

Year 8 Classroom Music

Teaching music in the classroom is still new for me as my background was purely teaching instrumental music and conducting various ensembles such as concert and swing bands. I continue to enjoy the weekly challenges, trying to engage all students regardless of the topics covered in our curriculum. Our students are amazing and I am always overwhelmed with their positive attitude in having a go. Besides students completing many work tasks they have experienced playing keyboards, guitars, bass guitar and drums. They can all read pop charts and they have also memorised lots of chords. We are currently working on an “Instruments of The Orchestra”, task. All students are engaged working really well in class. The day we looked at brass instruments some of our students had a go playing a trumpet. Boyd Tappenden was a natural producing a great tone. See photo. I haven’t convinced Boyd to play as yet but I’m not giving up! From time to time, I like to revisit our classroom expectations and College values. Students in both 8A and 8C completed a comprehensive list of rules up on the whiteboard. It was a productive session and it was great to see all students having a say.    

On behalf of instrumental music staff Kimberley Gardiner, Ryan Lestrange and Donna Stemberger and I, enjoy the rest of the term.