Special Interest Music Report

July 07, 2017 0 comments

The highlight of the Term 2 Music Calendar was the participation of the Playford International College EPIC Stage Band in John Morrison’s Big Band Blast Jazz Festival held in Port Macquarie from Friday June 2 to Monday June 5. More about this fantastic event is included below.

Lindsay Warner from the schools Auction Idol program invited our music students to perform at the Auction Idol Grand Final which was held at Pulteney Grammar on Thursday May 25. Matthew Snelling, Peter Moore, Sharni Carter and Emille Collins provided superb background music for this important event. Their performances were very well received and much appreciated by Lindsay, who would like to have our musicians perform at more events in the future.

The Adelaide North Primary Music Hub mid-year concert was held on Tuesday June 6th to a large group of parents, family and friends of students participating in the program. Congratulations to all the students who performed so brilliantly and thanks to the Playford International College Music staff, IMS staff and HPI tutors for their valuable contribution to this concert. And a very special thank you to the Primary Music Hub manager, Mrs Trenbirth for her fantastic organisation of the event.

Auditions for the SA Primary Schools Festival of Music were held in the Music Centre on Thursday June 8th. Congratulations to the EPIC Stage Band, BackBeat Marching Band and Amber Rogers for their selection as assisting artists for 2017. They will be performing on the Entertainment Centre stage in September. Ten soloists will present a Foyer Concert, and the ANPMH Orchestra was also selected to present a Foyer Concert. Congratulations to all students who will be performing at this event.

On Wednesday June 14 the Year 11 Recital Night was held in G20 where students performed their Solo Performance and Performance Special Study repertoire. The Wind Ensemble also performed 4 pieces at the beginning of the evening. Congratulations to all students on their performances. Congratulations also to Year 9 and 10 Solo Performance students along with the Electric Guitar Ensemble for presenting their repertoire at their Recital Night which was held on Tuesday June 20. All performances were confidently presented and of a high standard.

The Combined SIMC 40th Anniversary Concert was held at the Adelaide Town Hall on Thursday June 29. This was an absolutely amazing concert and congratulations to the Vocal, Orchestral, Stage Band and Brass students who took part in this very special anniversary event.

Students in the Wind Ensemble are busy preparing for their participation in the Victorian School Music Festival which will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday August 1 and Wednesday August 2. Under the expert direction of Mrs Trenbirth the ensemble will be performing 10 minutes of repertoire at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. We wish them every success in this exciting national event.

Big Band Blast

The Playford International College EPIC Stage Band and the Sax Attack Saxophone Ensemble were fortunate to participate in John Morrison’s Big Band Blast held in Port Macquarie, NSW. Only 30 bands are invited to participate nationally, as well as NZ, and the EPIC Stage Band with 16 students from years 9 – 12, accompanied by Ms Leahy, Mrs Trenbirth and Mr Jordan, was again the only band from SA. We stayed in fabulous cabins right on the river front at the picturesque Sundowner Tourist Park.

We performed at the Panthers Club on Saturday afternoon, on one of 4 stages set up within the club for Bandamonium. The Stage Band and the saxophone ensemble performed a set together for around 50 minutes. The special invited guest for the BBB this year was Denis DiBlasio (http://denisdiblasio.com)and we were incredibly honoured that he sat in on one of our pieces ‘Shakey Ground’ and performed an awesome solo on flute!

On Saturday night we were treated to a fabulous Swing concert called ‘Back to Basie’ featuring Denis DiBlasio (baritone sax and flute) Ross Irwin (trumpet) from Cat Empire, and the 3B Horns with John Morrison and Ed Wilson, composer/arranger and co-founder of the hugely successful Daly Wilson Big Band. The concert also featured Australian Institute of Music amazing young musicians who were absolutely incredible and truly inspiring.

On Sunday morning all the musicians participating in the jazz festival, together with some locals, took part in a festive New Orleans-type Street Parade, with over 500 musicians marching along the riverfront, all playing the same songs. It was certainly a lot of fun and a wonderful musical experience for everyone!

In the afternoon we attended an improvisation workshop in The Glasshouse with Ross Irwin and Dennis DiBlasio, and a performance by Judy Bailey’s band, Jazz Connection.

Students observed a range of high quality band performances, performed in a different setting to a diverse audience, worked together as a team and supported each other, as well as worked responsibly as individuals, and also experienced being part of the wonderful Port Macquarie community for a few days.. Congratulations once again on being outstanding ambassadors for Playford International College.

Congratulations to all students on their fantastic performance and a big thank you to Mrs Trenbirth and Mr Jordan for their invaluable support throughout the trip.

Janice Leahy

Deputy Principal/Head of Music/Director EPIC Stage Band

 

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