Concerto Showcase
Tintern Grammar’s biennial Concerto Showcase held on Thursday 18 July was a delightful feast of excellent music. Four of our most talented musicians performed a movement of a concerto accompanied by either the Tintern Grammar Chamber Orchestra or the Tintern Grammar Symphony Orchestra. This year’s soloists were flautist Holly Fryer (Year 10), pianists Alison Yang (Year 11) and Alan Wu (Year 12), and violinist Clarisse Liew (Year 8), who performed works by Mercadante, Beethoven, Saint-Saëns and De Bériot respectively.
These four soloists had just a few weeks to undertake several meticulous rehearsals with the school orchestras before performing in front of a live audience. Congratulations must go to them for their stylistic and musical performances which were greatly appreciated by the audience. As well as the soloists, the students involved in the orchestras must be congratulated and thanked for all their hard work in preparing these works in such a short time period.
I would like to thank all the music staff who were involved in this wonderful occasion, not only for organising the event but also for their dedicated work with the performers and for being a part of the orchestra. A particularly big thank you is extended to our Head of Strings, Mr Tim Veldman, for co-ordinating the whole event and conducting the orchestras. It was most certainly an impressive event and one that will remain in our memories for the rest of our lives.
by Corey Robinson, Year 12
Wind Symphony takes out a Gold Award at the Victorian School Music Festival
On the afternoon of Friday 19 August, the Tintern Grammar Wind Symphony participated in the Victorian School Music Festival held in Deakin Edge at Federation Square. The students played alongside five other schools including two bands from Hong Kong. Each band was required to play a piece from a restricted list and we chose the dreamy piece ‘Hypnotic Fireflies’. We also had to play a piece of our own choice and we finished our performance with ‘Sirocco’, a very lively work. After the performance, the Wind Symphony participated in a small workshop with one of the judges who complimented Tiana McAsey on her beautiful flute solo at the beginning of ‘Sirocco’. He said that, overall, we played really well in both pieces. The Wind Symphony did extremely well, receiving a Gold Award for its performance, one up on the Silver Award it received last year. The Wind Symphony looks forward to participating in the competition again next year, hopeful that it will receive another Gold or even a Platinum award! We would like to thank Mrs Clarke for taking us to this event and for preparing us so well during our rehearsals.
by Maya Watt, Year 11
Jazz Band Performs at the Victorian School Music Festival
The Tintern Grammar Jazz Band headed into the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) on Wednesday 24 August to perform at the Victorian School Music Festival. After a few uniform hiccups (thank you to the Uniform Shop for sponsoring our trip to the city!), we loaded the bus, beat the traffic into the city and arrived ahead of time. The venue was a great space for us to perform and, after a brief warm up, we played three works for two adjudicators. We played well and then had a fantastic tutorial with Ross Irwin. During this session, Ross worked specifically on articulation in order to produce tighter ensemble playing and more rhythmic integrity. He gave some fantastic advice for ensemble playing in general and we came away with lots to work on in future rehearsals. The Jazz Band was awarded a Bronze in this section. This was our debut performance at the festival and we are very proud of the way we performed. We particularly commend Maya Watt for her trombone sensitive solo in ‘Tomorrow is Always a Good Day’ by Paul Clark.
by Lisa Clarke, Jazz Band Conductor
Senior Woodwind Concert
The annual Woodwind Concert is always a delightful evening of music. On Thursday 25 August, some 28 students performed individually and in small ensembles on the clarinet, saxophone, flute, oboe and bassoon. The performance took place in Area C of the CM Wood Centre to a large and appreciative audience. These instrumental concerts are very important as they give each student an opportunity to share a solo piece with family, friends and teachers and are a way of measuring the students’ improvement year on year. On this occasion, the audience was treated to a couple of staff items and students were able to see the experts in action. We thank Mrs Lisa Clarke, Mrs Sarah Hillier, Mrs Mary Glen-Norman and Mr Rowan Kidd for attending and supporting the students.
by Anne Bortolussi, Acting Director of Music
Kelson Quartet Performance at the Sylvia Walton Oration and Awards Evening
On Friday 19 August, the Kelson String Quartet performed at the Sylvia Walton Oration and Awards evening hosted by the Victorian Committee for the Australian College of Educators. This evening involved a College dinner and the conferring of significant ACE Victoria Awards, including the Sir James Darling Award and the College Medal. The quartet played background music during pre-dinner drinks in the Visual Arts Gallery Space and their repertoire and performance were appreciated by all who attended. Thank you to the students, Gavin Choong, Tara McAsey, Siobhan Muirhead and Alison Yang, for giving their time on a blustery, cold Friday evening to support this significant event in the history of Tintern Grammar.
by Anne Bortolussi, Acting Director of Music
