Generations in Jazz Success!
A huge thank you to the staff who accompanied over 40 of our student musicians to Generations in Jazz in Mt Gambier from Friday 3 – Monday 5 May. Lisa Clarke co-ordinated the trip, and she was ably supported by Karl McNamara, Tim Veldman, Blakely McLean Davies, and Patrick Wallace, who all did a great job of looking after the students and leading their fine performances.
Our Intermediate Stage Band were in the non-competitive Division 5 last year, after insisting they wanted to be in the competitive division this year, they worked hard and came away with a great result of 15/23. For these students, who are in many ways beginners in the world of jazz (and some of them beginners on their instruments), moving up a division in one year was a great achievement, and they were thrilled not to come last!
Senior Stage Band had another wonderful result. Having been in Division 4 last year and finishing in the middle of the group 12/25, they moved into Division 3, again after pushing themselves to move up, and have come away with 9/25. The students felt like they had won –their excitement over this achievement was obvious to all. It is not about winning for them, but about improving. They are already setting themselves the next goal. Division 2 next year apparently!
Our four combos did us proud and Blakely McLean Davies, Dave Bathgate and Joel Sena have worked to give these students such a different creative outlet. A relatively new initiative driven by the students desire to learn the craft of improvisation, we are excited to see where this is headed in the years to come.
The Trigg Combo came 17/23 and this is an improvement on last year’s result. The competition was fierce this year. The Nu Jazz band in the same division came 11/23 which they were about. This was their first time playing in the small combo division, so this is a fantastic result. There were only four points between the two ensembles, so it was a tight competition.
Results for the other two combos – Combo Blue and Combo Electric – in another Small Combo section are still to come as we discovered there were data entry problems and these problems have severely compromised the division results. Results to come.
Again, a big round of applause to the staff who gave their time to support the endeavours of our young musicians.
Piano Concerts
On Tuesday 14 May Tintern held its annual Senior Piano Concert, with Middle and Senior students performing an incredible range of works including pieces from the classical and modern eras. Our pianists had been rehearsing vigorously to perform on stage, practising their pieces to perfection, which was evident in their performances on the night, including some students who performed the incredibly challenging virtuosic works of Liszt and Rachmaninoff.
Many performers, whether they’re beginners or advanced musicians, have also been working hard towards their AMEB music exams, progressing one step at a time. For other students, it was their first time in the spotlight, taking their work in piano lessons and practice-at-home to the stage as a solo pianist, and I congratulate every one of them, for their bravery and courage.
It was so amazing to hear the beautiful sounds from our talented student pianists at this special event. Congratulations to all those who performed.
Sebastian Humphrys | Year 10 student and School Pianist 2024
Annual Cathedral Service
Each year our Senior and Middle School Choirs, Chamber Orchestra and a small ensemble make wonderful musical contributions to the Tintern Grammar Annual Cathedral Service at St Paul’s Cathedral. This year was no exception, with a highlight being the combined Choirs singing My Island Home accompanied by Murrundindi on didgeridoo.
Click here to read our Student Leaders reflections on the event.
Small Ensembles Concert
While we often hear from our larger ensembles, it’s not often that we hear from our smaller ensembles at Tintern, but they give students the opportunity to grow their skills in ways that larger ensembles don’t. Small ensembles play a very different role in our School and they can often be found playing prelude, background or atmospheric music, such as the flute ensemble’s performance at the Cathedral Service.
There’s no place to hide in a small ensemble and students are required to listen to each other, focus on intonation and timing, and really work together to create beautiful sounds.
On Wednesday 22 May, guests were treated to an incredible showcase of these ensembles at the annual Small Ensembles Concert. Performances included the Percussion Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Flute Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, Clarinet Ensemble, The Nu Jazz Band, The Trigg Combo, Combo Blue, Combo Electric, Senior Girls’ Chamber Choir and Scrolls String Orchestra.
As a member of a few small ensembles, I’ve found my confidence and ability to work in a group growing with every rehearsal and performance. Not only that, a big part of playing in the jazz combos is improvisation – something that requires an intimate knowledge of musical language and the trust in yourself and each other to come up with ideas on the spot.
All of these musicians work hard every week refining their skills as individual and group performers, and it was a delight to listen to them all perform!
Katie Howell | Year 12 student, Instrumental Captain 2024
Music lockers for hire
Student musicians and parents of these musicians are reminded that we have a bank of storage lockers in the Music Department for storing instruments during the day. Often students attend rehearsals in the morning, so popping an instrument into a locker for safekeeping during the day is worthy of consideration (as long as students remember to collect them at the end of the day so they can take them home to practise!). This allays the problem in some buildings of limited space to store instruments, especially larger ones (e.g. horns, saxophones, violins).
Lockers are available for a fee of $10 per term and the monies raised through locker hire are returned to the Friends of Music committee who then, in turn, support our musicians by funding events and equipment purchases.
Please email Di Woodhouse or call 9845 7837 if you would like further information. Or simply complete this hire form and return it to the Music Office
Alison Bezaire | Director of Music
