Music

Musician of the Year

A wonderful night with 10 amazing performances by Amelia Knight, Meaghan Ferguson, Jess Penrose, Zach Vanstone, Crsipin Smythe, Aidan Fryer, Milla Houghton, Suilven Byrne, Lucy Cornish and Haley Goddefroy all vying for the glory of being the 2015 Musician of the Year.

This year's adjudicator was Adam Yee. Adam is a composer, teacher and current President of the Association of Directors of Music in Independent Schools (ADMIS). He is a graduate of the VCA, Melbourne University and the RMIT Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory. He has been a contributor to VCE curriculum development since 2005, and is a frequent presenter at subject association conferences. Adam’s fifth opera, Carmilla, was work-shopped by Victorian Opera/Chambermade in September 2012 and is scheduled to open at La Mama in December 2016. He is currently Head of Music at The King David School in Malvern and is a PhD candidate in the Education Faculty of Monash University where he is researching music education and Media Ecology.

The performers presented 2 contrasting pieces to a packed Music Centre and all played to a very high standard. The Music Support Group put on a lovely spread of goodies while Adam deliberated on the prize winners. 2nd Runner Up went to Amelia Knight (Contemporary Voice) and 1st Runner Up to Lucy Cornish (Classical Piano) who will both be presented with $100 prize and medal at Awards Night in December. The winner was Crispin Smythe (Classical Voice) who performed The Vagabond from Ralph Vaughan Williams 'Songs of Travel' and Die Forelle (The Trout) by Franz Schubert. Crispin performed with maturity and poise and his win was well received by the audience. Crispin will receive a $200 prize, medal and his name will be added to the Musician of the Year Honour Roll.

Congratulation to all students. Keep practicing and enjoying your music.