Winter Music Concerts

For the first time in what feels like an eternity we were finally able to host a Music Concert – the 2022 Winter Music Concert! And it was most certainly a resounding success!

Taking place across two nights – Wednesday 1 June and Thursday 2 June – the two Winter Music Concerts featured a wide variety of acts and performances. Concert 1 showcased performances from Swing Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Brass Quartet, Nice Band, and other assorted soloists and duets. Concert 2 showcased performances from World Music Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, Choir, Percussion Ensemble, and other assorted soloists, duets and groups. It was inspiring to see everyone involved enjoying each night and taking part in as much as possible!

Both nights were absolutely fabulous, with the relaxed yet joyous energy about the audience and the performers reciprocating across the nights. To see such a diverse range of performances showcasing a wonderful assortment of groups and soloists, it made for a fantastic two nights of music-filled fun for all.

And whilst it’s great to hear about the success of the Music Concert from us Music Captains, who better to hear it from than some of the wonderful musicians themselves? Please read forth and enjoy the inspirational reflections provided by just some of our many fabulous music students…

This year’s concert ran very smoothly and it was overall a fun and enjoyable experience with so many amazing performances from a vast selection of students at Koonung (even featuring some of the music staff too). It was inclusive of all year levels and showcased many different talents, which resulted in a great evening.

What I most enjoyed about the Winter Music Concert of 2022 was the togetherness of the night. What I mean by this is, how it brought all the performers together. The environment was so friendly and easy-going that everyone was laughing and having a good time, whilst also cheering each other on and showing so much support. It brought everyone together, from all year levels and parts of the school.

A huge thank you to all those involved in putting it together, particularly the Music Captains whose comedic and well-put chatter between performances as well as just general organisation made the night a huge success.

- Taneka (Piano & Voice)

I think that the winter concert went really well and was very enjoyable. It was a lot of fun playing music on-stage for a full theatre again.

The most enjoyable part of the concert for me was being back on-stage performing for such a great audience (after so many cancelled concerts), with an awesome group of really supportive people.

The event was organised really well with a great team of staff and students helping out not only on the night, but also helping to organise the event prior to the day. So a big thanks to all of the people involved!

- Brianna (Tenor Saxophone & Chorister)

I was kind of nervous before the concert, but when we started playing, it just went away. It was so fun because I knew the songs really well, so I didn’t have to focus on them, I could just focus on being there.

The most enjoyable part of the concert for me was that it was really fun being up on stage for the first time and playing with the rest of the band.

- Emma (Clarinet)

The Winter Music Concert was brilliant and a wonderful experience to get back into. I enjoyed finally being able to perform properly for the first time after the long COVID hiatus and showing off our skills that have developed over the last few years, and being able to share the music that I love to listen to and play, to the audience.

The whole event was run very well and efficiently, and contributed to the Concert being a great night. Everyone who performed in the concert sounded amazing, and all should be especially proud with the performances of themselves and their respective groups/bands!

- Ronak (Clarinet & Alto Saxophone)

This year’s winter music concert went smoothly, especially considering there hasn’t been a music concert for almost three years. The most enjoyable thing about the concert for me was hearing the repertoire from the other solos/groups. We didn’t always get a chance to hear others during the regular school week but hearing about all the acts was really cool – and everyone sounded amazing!

I’d also like to thank the Music Captains, Keiko and Jack, who did really well MC-ing the concerts for the first time. This was the first time the concert was split into two nights as well, so having such resilience has been great to see!

- Carina (Flute)

The 2022 Winter Music Concert was an absolutely fantastic event and most of all it was so inspiring to see all the music students, staff and others enjoying playing and performing a wide variety of different pieces and styles to such an involved and amazing audience!

I found it really enjoyable finally being able to perform to an audience such a large assortment of repertoire, and seeing the abundant expressions of joy, laughter and musical passion on everyone’s faces throughout the night – that shared connection amongst all – really made the night for me, as I’m sure it did for others too.

I’d also like to extend a huge thank you to all those involved across each night, and of course congratulations to all the musicians who performed in the concerts – you were all so wonderful!

- Jack (Trombone & Piano)

Of course, we would like to extend a massive thank you and a round-of-applause to all who performed in the Music Concerts, of whose names are too numerous to mention in this article – names of those involved in each of the concerts can be found in the accompanying images of the respective programs below.

We would also like to thank all involved in the successful execution of each night, including those involved in lighting/sound and backstage whose efforts were most greatly appreciated – James Panchmatia, Jeremy Ball, Ruby Earl, Jamie Tite, Ava Booth, Francis Healey, Jack Stabek, Keiko Rice.

And a special thank you to all the instrumental teachers and staff involved across each night – David Forward, John Wanner, Kathryn Rogers, Joshua Verco, Adrian De Luca, Catherine Narayan, Rachael Kane, Curtis Reardon, Sue Cook, Peter Martin, Gillian Ross, Helen Galouzis, Gail Munro, Helen Briffa, Penelope Latham, Andrew Mangonis, Stephanie Grant, Miriam Saward.

We couldn’t have done it without you all, thank you!

Jack Stabek

Music Captain

The countdown is on....

Preparations for the musical “The Sound of Music” are in full swing and it promises to follow the long history of very entertaining and enjoyable plays and musicals created by the production team and students every year. Here is a small taste of the amazing talent of the cast, click on this link to watch! ( https://vimeo.com/716641042 )

Having a great audience brings great energy and satisfaction to all the students involved, please spread the word to your friends and family members and make sure that you book your tickets soon! Sessions are 21-30 July, with a matinee on 24 July.

Book now through this link: https:/cf/www.trybooking.com/BZTIC or go via trybooking.com, click “Buy tickets” and search for “The Sound of Music”.

If you’d like to get more involved in the musical family it would be great to have you! Both the play and musical happen because of a lot of work done by teachers, students and parents behind the scenes – we’d love more people to join our teams and help wherever or however they can. Please get in touch with Katherine Harding (0420 939 008) or Tania Tolliday (0448 641 277) if you’d like to find out more!

The Election success!

This year, Koonung’s annual production was ‘The Election’, By Don Zolidis.

‘The Election’ is a comedy that involved our very own Year 11 stars, Will Ellis and Jesse Pickering, as the competing leads, Mark and Christy, battling in a funny and engaging election for student body president. Involving Karl (Mark's best friend), Gina (a 30-something year old slick businesswomen), Kyli (an eager news reporter who loves public controversy) and the rest of the amazing cast, this year witnessed heated debates and highlighted how many votes money can buy. As always this year’s play was a huge success.

We wish to congratulate and thank everyone involved in producing this year’s play. Ex-students, Noah Jones and Lauren Smith, returned as assistant directors to apply their incredible talents. Another ex-student, Brianna Litte, collaborated alongside Ms Su, as production managers to make sure every character felt fabulous in their superb costumes and makeup (as well as having our amazing props onstage). Peter Martin, our set designer, created the most amazing set as usual. Our wonderful parents, Jo Healey and Katherine Hadji-Michael, managed a group of fantastic backstage crew to ensure our set was on and off stage when needed. Our bio box crew Will Paul, Lachlan Tolliday, Rose McKinnon and Frankie Healey brought the stage to life with amazing sound and light design.

Finally, Thank you to Mr Hodkinson for directing and bringing ‘The Election’ to life. His final Koonung play was an amazing one and everyone involved could not hold more gratitude for his continuous support and efforts.

Of course, a massive thank you to everyone who came along to watch the production, we couldn’t have done the show without you.

Caelan Litte Chester (2022 Drama Captain and Gina McMasters)

Year 8 creativity at work....

Take some time out to listen to two imaginative compositions from Year 8D students, Zoe Newbury and Stephanie Barnes:

International Student Program