Senior Piano Concert 2022
On Tuesday 17 May, the Tintern Grammar Senior Piano Concert took place in the CM Wood Centre at 7:00pm.
The concert commenced with a pleasant surprise from the Tintern Grammar piano teachers, Mrs Fiona Thompson, Ms Catherine Wilson, Mr Ben Taylor and Ms Heather McKenzie. These teachers played an arrangement of the much-loved Hedwig’s Theme from the movie Harry Potter, with not 4, but 8 hands on one piano!
After the teachers’ wonderful performance, the concert continued to a showcase of talent from our Tintern piano students. The repertoire of the concert covered a wide range of styles of music, from Classical to Modern, and had something to suit everyone’s taste.
The students performed with much virtuosity. A highlight of the concert was a Year 9 student, Jason’s performance of the well-known Moonlight Sonata, 3rd movement by Ludwig Van Beethoven, one of the most technically challenging pieces on the piano.
In conclusion, the Piano Concert was very enjoyable for both our performers and the audience. I’m sure everyone who attended the concert could hear how all of those hours of piano practice were worth it. Thanks again to the piano teachers for preparing the students and making the concert such a great success.
Helen Yang, Year 10
School Pianist 2022
Olivet Visit
On Tuesday 17 May, members of the Tintern Grammar Flute Ensemble and Clarinet Ensemble headed off at recess to the Olivet Nursing Home in Ringwood to perform for the elderly citizens there.
The performance began with the flute ensemble performing a well-known Irish air, namely Londonderry Air. After the flute ensemble’s performance, some of the students, including myself, had chosen to also perform a solo piece for the audience. The repertoire was very enjoyable for the audience, and the environment of the concert was very welcoming with a light informal atmosphere. The performance ended with the Clarinet Ensemble playing outstanding pieces.
After the concert we were delighted to receive some small thank you gifts from the staff at Olivet.
Helen Yang, Year 10
School Pianist 2022
Small Ensembles Concert
On Wednesday 25 May, Tintern held its annual Small Ensembles Concert. It was lovely to hear all of our wonderful small ensembles performing and having an opportunity to gain performance experience and share their musical talent with the community. It was a delight to be surrounded by the incredible energy from both the performers and the audience, especially succeeding the absence of concerts during the pandemic. We felt very grateful and fortunate for this opportunity to perform. Accordingly, this gave rise to a cordial ambience, abounding with warmth and support.
The concert presented an extensive variety of performances from the ethereal Scrolls String Orchestra and String Quartets to the sensational Oboe trio, whose performance was recorded as an entry in the Strike a Chord competition. The program also included the flute, percussion, guitar, saxophone, clarinet and Intermediate Jazz ensembles and the contemporary band ‘Bandana’ to bring the evening to a close.
I congratulate everyone on their incredible performances at the event. Thank you to all our performers and our dedicated Ensemble teachers who played a part in contributing to and making this event possible. Special thanks to Mrs Feenane, our Music Administrator, whose constant hard work behind the scenes plays a major part in the preparation for all of our concerts. We would also like to extend our thanks to the students’ families for attending and supporting the music community at Tintern. Based upon the encouraging reception from our audience, both the performers and spectators found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Natasha Gillam, Year 11
Choral Captain 2022
Cathedral Service 2022
On Thursday 5 May, Tintern Grammar held its annual Cathedral Service at St Paul’s Cathedral. The day started with members of the Tintern Grammar Chamber Orchestra, Concert Choir, Intermediate Choir and Chamber Choir heading in to the Cathedral for rehearsals. We were greeted with the sight of ‘Gaia’, a huge art-work installation 7 metres across floating before us. After rehearsing our items throughout the morning, we headed off to Federation Square for lunch, where we were rewarded with a few moments of glistening sun; a welcome change in this cold autumn.
We returned to the cathedral, the instrumentalists did some final tuning as the rest of the school community arrived and we were off!
For the processional, the Chamber Orchestra played Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, which featured beautiful sweeping melodies that rang through the cathedral. We sang hymns with the choir captains leading us and the Combined Intermediate and Senior Choirs sang On Eagle’s Wings. The gospel reading was read by School Leadership Team members in five different languages: English, French, German, Mandarin and Dutch. The sermon by The Reverend Doctor John Capper was about finding peace and harmony in the world around you.
A vocal solo, entitled His Eye is on the Sparrow, was performed by one of our choral captains, Ella Jones and it was truly beautiful. The School Leaders lead the church in prayer, while the Tintern Flute Ensemble played Londonderry Air, which matched the reflectional tones of the prayers. The Senior Girls’ Chamber Choir sang The Lord’s Prayer, and later brought the service to a close with John Rutter’s blessing, The Peace of God. The organ, which featured throughout the service was majestic and its full sound resonated impressively around the church.
We were very fortunate to be able to go to the city and have this experience at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Nishka Fernando, Year 12
Instrumental Captain 2022
Concerti and Orchestral treats ahead
Make a note in your diary of 15 June, as the date when four of our talented young musicians play a concerto movement each on stage with orchestra in the CM Wood Centre at 7.00pm. Entry to the event is free and further details can be found here . We highly recommend this as a feast of outstanding music and a great way to end Term 2!
