MUSICAL NOTES

Grammarpalooza

The second Thursday of Term II was the date for Grammar Rock’s annual night of nights – Grammarpalooza! As always, this was a fantastic event featuring many energetic, powerful and original performances from a range of groups, including Junior, Medium and Senior Rock, Bar of Soap, WD40, and Sunday Week. Grammarpalooza veterans Straight Outta Paddington didn’t disappoint and one of the highlights of the evening was the item from the Music Committee. Congratulations go to all of the performers and special thanks to Mr Timothy Derricourt for once again producing a fantastic night of rock’n’roll!

Australian Combined Schools Music Festival

In the second-last week of Term II, thirty-eight boys and staff headed to Adelaide for the ACSMF, hosted by Westminster School. Once again, Grammar had a significant presence in each of the three ensembles formed for the festival (Orchestra, Concert Band and Choir) and the boys had the opportunity to work with professional guest conductors, as well as instrumental and vocal tutors from the twenty schools involved in the festival. The final gala concert, which was held in the Westminster School auditorium, was a huge success. Most boys were billeted with local families, with the rest experiencing boarding school life in one of the school’s boarding houses. All of the boys had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed both the musical and social opportunities the festival presented. The next festival will be hosted by Brisbane Grammar School and Brisbane Girls Grammar School in 2027.

Term II Concerts

Our two large concerts were held on either side of the Half-Yearly Examinations. The first featured a number of our junior ensembles, including the Stringendo, Corelli and Concertante string ensembles, and several percussion, brass and jazz groups. The second concert was a special evening as it was the farewell concert for our outgoing Headmaster, Dr Richard Malpass. He selected much of the music that was performed on the evening by a large range of College Street ensembles including the Grammarphones, Alastair Mackerras Chamber Orchestra and School Orchestra. Dr Malpass joined Big Band for one final performance, playing the flugelhorn solo in one of his favourite pieces, Three On One. We were very excited to welcome an ensemble from each of the Preparatory Schools – Maffey Strings from St Ives and the School Orchestra from Edgecliff. The evening culminated in a rousing performance by the combined Grammar choirs, including our wonderful SGS Community Choir, accompanied by AMCO, of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah. Towards the end of Term II, a concert featuring the School’s woodwind ensembles was held in the Alastair Mackerras Theatre. Performances were heard from Flute Choirs, Oboe Ensembles, Clarinet Choir and Saxophony.

Band Tour

The Band Tour to Barradine in Northern NSW set off on the first weekend of the Term II holidays, with around forty-five boys touring. The band performed concerts at a number of small primary schools and local community halls in the region. They were very well received by the communities they visited, and the boys enjoyed performing a wide range of repertoire and demonstrating their instruments to local students, many of whom had never heard a large concert band perform live before. This is a wonderful annual community outreach initiative, and the Music department is very grateful for the financial support provided by the Music Association.

Guitar Concerts

Two special guitar concerts were held in Term III. The first was a combined concert for guitar ensembles hosted by Ascham, with performances from a number of groups from Ascham, Cranbrook and Grammar. The concert finished with an impressive piece that combined over one hundred and twenty guitarists from all three schools. This was a wonderful opportunity for our guitarists to collaborate with musicians from other schools and it has become an annual fixture on the musical calendar. The second guitar concert was held in the beautiful acoustic of Big School and featured solo and small ensemble works performed by over twenty of our guitarists.

Form V Competition

The annual Form V Music Competition was held in Term III, featuring finalists in the Vocal, Instrumental and Jazz sections. As usual, the standard was extremely high, with finalists being selected from heats held in the preceding weeks. Guest adjudicators Andrew Robertson (jazz) and Simon Kenway (vocal and instrumental) had a particularly tough time choosing winners from a very well-prepared, talented and musical group of Form V boys. It was a thrilling evening of exceptional music-making and in the end, prizes were awarded as follows: First Place Jazz Section: Brock Soedirdja; First Place Vocal Section: Ian Bierer; First Place Instrumental Section: Isaac Chow (piano), Second Place: Dylan Colombis (violin), Third Place: Tarith Kumarage (marimba). Congratulations must go to all the boys involved in this competition for their outstanding performances.

Term III Concerts

Concert A was held in early Term III, featuring many of the School’s concert and jazz bands. Of particular note was a stunning performance of several movements from Stabat Mater by Pergolesi by a combined choir from all three campuses including the Carter Chorale (Edgecliff), St Ives vocal scholars and the College Street Junior Vocal Ensemble. They were ably accompanied by Sheldon Strings, under the direction of Dr Koen van Stade. The second concert of the term featured many of our senior ensembles. This is always a special concert in the calendar as it marks the final College Street performance for Form VI. The programme contained superb performances from AMCO, School Choir, Big Band and Wind Ensemble and culminated in a thrilling rendition of Kodály’s Dances of Galánta by the School Orchestra, under the baton of Mr Joshua Clarke. This was a wonderful concert that highlighted the outstanding contribution of the Form VI musicians to the music programme at College Street.

HSC Recital Day

On Sunday 31 August, Form VI Elective musicians performed their complete HSC performance programmes. This was a wonderful opportunity for friends and family to hear them play with their accompanists and fellow ensemble members. Boys enrolled in the Music 1, Music 2 and Music Extension HSC courses performed across three venues throughout the afternoon.

Percussion Eisteddfod

At the start of Term III, the inaugural Sydney Grammar School Percussion Eisteddfod was held in the John Vallance Hall. This was an initiative by Grammar’s Head of Percussion, Mr Iain Scotland. It was a hugely successful event, with performances by eighteen ensembles representing ten schools from across NSW participating. Percussion ensembles from all three Grammar campuses performed and several were awarded Gold Awards. Given its success, this will become an annual fixture on the music calendar.

Jazz Messengers Concert

The first of a new series of jazz concerts was held in August. The inaugural Jazz Messengers Concert featured Australian jazz musician Professor Adrian Mears, currently a professor of trombone at the Basel Musik Academie, Switzerland. Pupils in the jazz programme enjoyed the opportunity to attend an afternoon masterclass with Professor Mears and in the evening, an intimate concert was held in the Wallace King Room. This featured performances by seven Grammar jazz combos followed by an amazing set by Professor Mears that included his own compositions, some of which use audio looping improvisation. A highlight of the evening was an improvised duet between didgeridoo and drums!

Individual Musical Achievements

Many of our musicians are involved in masterclasses, eisteddfods and competitions throughout the year. Congratulations go to Raymond Wang (VI) who participated in the National Band Championships in Melbourne and achieved great success. He won First Place in the Junior Clarinet and Open Clarinet sections and was awarded the Junior Woodwind Champion of Champions (under 19) and the Open Woodwind Champion of Champions. Tiger Han (III) is also to be congratulated on his success at the recent Ryde Eisteddfod. After winning prizes in six different piano sections, he was awarded the Outstanding Pianist Prize. After achieving similar success at the Sydney Eisteddfod this year, Tiger has been invited to play at the Sydney Eisteddfod Alf and Pearl Pollard Memorial Instrumental Awards for Performance Excellence.

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