Music Update
The nine bands supporting our Year 12 VCE Music and 2nd Year VCE/VET Music students were very fortunate to receive expert coaching from College alumni Emma Volard and Jake Amy, alongside five of our own highly qualified teachers at our recent Bands Camp. Our students had a great couple of days making music together and applying the advice they received in preparation for their end of year performances. And we were excited to hear that Jake and Emma will be sharing the stage with Bumpy at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl this November as the support act for jazz superstars Herbie Hancock and Marcus Miller. This is the headline event for the 2024 Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Congratulations Emma and Jake! Go here for more information.
In other news, The Dropkicks, featuring Year 12 students Dean Lyle, Callan Spencer and Liam Fuery and alumni Esta Christensen, have been invited to perform at this year’s NYE on the Hill Festival. Well done to all of you!
And, after some great submissions from College music students, Archie Robson and Jasmine Turton have been invited to perform as support acts for College alumni Maddy May at an upcoming all-ages Freeza event. Congratulations also to College students (ifandwhen) Eve Oakley, Jemilla Prideaux and Aoife O’Connell and Finn Farley for their excellent auditions for this event. Bass Coast Freeza is a government-funded organisation, running all-ages, drug-and-alcohol-free events in partnership with the YMCA. The event with Maddy May is on Saturday 24 August from 4:30 to 8pm at the Phillip Island Board Riders clubhouse with live music, skate ramp, a food truck and buses from Cowes and Inverloch. Info about these events can be found at the end of this newsletter, in the Community Links.
Rob Turton
VET Music Teacher
Annual Music Camp
Term 3 has started with a bang in the Music Department. On Monday 29 July to Wednesday 31 July we held our annual Music Camp. This year we thought we'd try something different and take over the entire Performance Arts Wing (PAW) and hold the camp onsite. With over 70 students and 8 staff participating, we certainly used every nook and cranny of our beautiful building.
We were delighted to have Associate Profession Ken Murray from the Conservatorium of Music at Melbourne University join us for the first day to work with our Guitar Ensemble. Ken is a leader in his field and our students gained a lot from having him work with the ensemble and chat about music performance and all things ‘guitar’.
The purpose of our music camp is to provide students with an intensive music experience through rehearsals and workshops. With our Spring Concerts just around the corner, the camp is at the perfect time to put together our program for these very special events.
There were many highlights over the three days. The Music Captains dinner in the Canteen followed by their trivia night was a lot of fun. Well done to Music Captains, Jasmine Turton and Liam Fuery for all their work putting the evening together. The table tennis table in the PAW Foyer was a big hit and who could forget the endless supply of hot chocolate?
Well done to all students and staff involved for working so well throughout the camp. I know all the hard work will pay off resulting in outstanding performances at the Spring Concerts, as always.
Matthew Goss
Director of Music
Big Band at VSMF
On Thursday 1 August our Big Band took a trip up the highway to compete in the Victorian Schools Music Festival (VSMF) held at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. The Big Band is directed by Casey Thomsen and features students from Year 7 to Year 11. The band started playing together in November 2023 with most of the members coming through from the Year 5/6 Band Program. As the program grows, our band grows. For their performance, the band received a Silver Award. The College is extremely proud of the students for representing the school so well. The band performed Ulterior Motive (Doug Beach), You Are the Sunshine of My Life (Stevie Wonder) and Cerebro Congelado (Gordon Goodwin).
Big Band
Saxes
Alto 1 - Madi King
Alto 2 - Charlee Pedersen
Tenor 1 - Hayden Hopkins
Tenor 2 - Manning de Gooyer
Brass
Trumpet 1 - Keely Filsell
Trumpet 2 - Felix Fothergill
Trombone - Ambrose de Gooyer
Rhythm Section
Piano - Finn Campbell Walker
Bass - Gabriel Di Falco
Guitar - Flynn Dengerink
Drums - James Cameron
Percussion - Georgia Sanders
Matthew Goss
Director of Music
Luke plays the Beast
Newhaven College alumni, Luke Ward, has been given the honour of playing the title role of the Australian production of Beauty and the Beast. Luke graduated top of his class from VCA. In his first year since graduating, Luke landed the understudy of The Beast as well as key ensemble roles in the show.
Luke has played the Beast a fair amount since the show opened in Sydney. He was a Newhaven College student up until Year 10, when he left to study at Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS).
