Music News  

Centre Stage

The Music Department presented its annual ‘Centre Stage’ concert on Wednesday 21 August at 7:30pm in the Endeavour Centre. This concert showcased the talents of all Music students from Years 7-12. The focus of the night was ensembles, where both extra-curricular and class bands/groups had the opportunity to play.

The Year 8 Band started the night with the classic rock song ‘We Will Rock You’, and the Middle School Band followed with a rendition of the Star Wars theme. The Junior Vocal Ensemble sang ‘Seasons of Love’ from the musical Rent, and the Year 9 Band entertained the audience with some Abba songs from ‘Mamma Mia’. The Show Band performed pieces that they had prepared for the ABODA band contest and the Senior Vocal Ensemble sang a medley of Aretha Franklin songs. The night concluded with a set from the Senior Jazz Ensemble, which featured some fast paced jazz and lots of improvisation.

Supper was enjoyed afterwards by both the audience and the 85 student performers. It was great to see the breadth of talent across the year levels, and to see the progression of students from beginners to those who were more experienced.

Catherine Stanley

Music Learning Leader

ABODA Band Competition

On Thursday 15 August, the Endeavour College Show Band, directed by Mr Daniel Wooldridge, competed at the ABODA (Australian Band and Orchestra Directors' Association) Festival at Westminster College. The band consisted of approximately twenty students from Year 9 to 12. We had been preparing for the event since the Cabaret night last term and performed the test piece ‘A Hobbits Dance and Hymn’, plus our own choice, which was a medley from 'Beauty and the Beast'.

After-school rehearsals and lunchtime practices in smaller groups allowed each member to improve their playing and performance of the pieces before the event. On the day, we were entered into an intermediate division with nine other Adelaide high schools and received a bronze award for our performance. Despite not winning the competition, we enjoyed the opportunity to play in front of an audience of other students from different schools, as well as in front of adjudicators who provided constructive feedback.

We were also able to watch the other schools’ bands and make observations about how they compared to us, and further skills that we could develop.  Because this year is the first time that Endeavour has entered a band into this competition, the Show Band is looking forward to the opportunity to refine their skills and participate again next year.

Amelia Bearman

Year 11 student