Baby Grand Piano's Birthday Celebrations

Students and staff were treated to a brilliant performance by Australia's best concert pianist Simon Tedeschi on Thursday to celebrate the 10th birthday of the school's baby grand piano.  Here are a few comments from the students:

"Mind-blowing, incredible, inspiring, awesome!"
"Best pianist we've ever seen"
"I loved that he played with the percussion group and included the students,  He was great at improvising"
"He was awesome!  He knew all these different songs and did tricks and cool stuff"
"I liked the variety - he told us about different composers and stories about his life, he played a duet with Miss Wills and included the students in his playing"
"It was amazing how he could move his fingers so fast"
"It's amazing how he remembers everything by memory"
"I was speechless!"
"I didn't like it . . . I LOVED it!!"

WEST BEAT at the Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival

Congratulations to the students in WEST BEAT on a fantastic and lively performance at the Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival on Saturday. Your performance was sensational and very much enjoyed by the audience. Thanks to all our supporters.

Visit from Ringwood Secondary College Bands

On Wednesday 29th October Ringwood Secondary College visited the school with 150 of their music students on their Annual Band Tour. We were entertained by various bands and choirs which included some audience participation.

Jesse being serenaded

Tom conducting the Junior Band

Students enjoying the concert

Our Baby Grand Piano is turning 10

In the week beginning the 10th November the school will be celebrating the 10th birthday of our Baby Grand Piano.  The Yamaha piano was won by the school in 2004 in the ABC Classic FM Grab the Goanna competition.  The celebrations will include a number of events.  Some current students will play the piano at Assembly on Monday 10th November, and past students have been asked to play during lunchtimes through the week.  Our main event will be a performance by one of Australia's finest pianist, Simon Tedeschi. Simon will play for the school on Thursday 13th November and he is very excited to be a part of the school's piano celebrations.  Simon will also be giving a performance for the community on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm.  This will be held in the auditorium at Wangaratta Christian Fellowship at 2-6 Tavern Terrace.  This performance is a ticketed event.  Adults are $30 and students are $20. Tickets can be purchased through the school office.  Simon's program for this evening will be mainly songs by Gershwin, a 20th Century Jazz composer. You can check out information about Simon at www.simontedeschi.com

Term 4 in Music

A lot of exciting things are happening in music this term.  Here is a list of dates and events to remember.

• Monday 20th October - Heart Beat 5 week program begins (Neuro-Support Drumming)
• Wednesday 29th October - Ringwood Secondary College Band are playing for the school
• Thursday 30th October - Music Count Us In day where the whole school will sing 'Paint you a song' at 12.30pm along with thousands of other school students across Australia
• Saturday 1st November - WEST BEAT performing at the Jazz Festival at 11.30am
• Monday 3rd November - New Generation Jazz Concert at WPAC for 50 students
• Friday 7th November - Victorian Opera performance of Hansel and Gretel at school
• Monday 10th - 14th November - 10th Birthday celebrations of the school's Grand Piano

Heart Beat Performance

On Monday 1st September Heart Beat gave a demonstration to the school.  Heart Beat is a program that has been running in the school for the past 5 years.  Our senior drumming students work with adults who had suffered some form of brain injury.  The students are partnered with an adult and assist their participation in the various rhythm exercises they are taught.  Each program runs for 5-6 weeks for one hour each week. At the conclusion of the program the group gives a demonstration or performance of what they have learnt throughout the program. The students involved in the Heart Beat program are to be commended for their commitment, compassion, and responsibility.  It is an innovative program for our school to be a part of, and teaches our students that they can positively contribute to their community and have a lasting impact of other people's lives. Here are a few photos of the performance.

Choir success at the Albury-Wodonga Eisteddfod

Congratulations to the Middle School and Senior School Choirs who recently performed at the Albury-Wodonga Eisteddfod.  Both choirs sang extremely well and represented the school with pride. The Middles School Choir achieved 2nd place in their section with their performance of Epo I Tai Tama E and You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile. The adjudicator commented on their beautiful tone, exactness of rhythm, articulation of the words and their harmony.  The Senior School Choir was also awarded 2nd place in their section, however this was later reviewed by the adjudicator who deemed that the choir had come equal 1st place with Albury Public School. The adjudicator praised the Senior Choir for their precise singing, pure tone, phrasing and expression. The Senior Choir was also awarded the 2014 Albury North Rotary Prize for Best Primary School Choir. This award was quite an achievement. Well done to the choirs on their excellent work!

Senior School Choir

Middle School Choir