Year 8 Performing Arts Night
Students in Years 8A and 8D presented an entertaining night of music, dance and drama on 23 November in the CM Wood Centre. The evening opened with a stirring rendition of ‘Bonnie Dundee’ played on bagpipes by Zeb Lyons. The musical offerings also included a range of solos from Margaret Pywell (French horn), Fintan McCrave (vocal solo), Coby Mill (piano solo), Ben Apsey (electric guitar solo) and Zoe Forbes (flute solo, accompanied by Ashleigh Dowling on piano). We also enjoyed a saxophone duet performed by Amanda Samarasekara and Bianca Settle, two memorable band items from Bottom Line (Lachlan Hoorn, Cecelia Hubbard, Mark Simounds, Harry La Canna) and Silver Lining (Tara Carson, Ashleigh Dowling, Madison Edwards-Turner, Angel Tully) and an appealing percussion quartet item (Tara Carson, Alice Church, Ashleigh Dowling, Leah Stuchbery).
Both classes combined to share with the audience some of their learning from core-curriculum music classes about the music of West Africa, which included a welcome song, ‘Kilele’, featuring call-and-response singing lead by Ashleigh Dowling, Madison Edwards-Turner, Ben Li and Angel Tully and opening drum solos from Alice Church and James Zagame.
There was also a traditional West African dance accompanied by drums and a final call-and-response style group drumming item. During the semester, both classes learned about the traditional methods by which Africans pass on their music from generation to generation and the important place which music has within the day-to-day lives of the African tribes.
