2026 Riverina Band Tour Report
A group of forty-eight Grammar boys under the direction of Dr Robert Busan travelled to the Riverina region in south-western NSW to perform band music for local primary schools.
Funding for extra-curricular activities within rural school communities is spread extremely thin, and the luxury of learning to play an instrument, let alone performing in an ensemble, is scarcely available. As such, our aim for the tour was to share our collective love of music with the pupils so that one day they might be inspired to pursue a musical opportunity of their own.
The tour saw the formation of an entirely new ensemble, made up of boys from Forms I to V, each surrendering a week of their holidays to lend a helping hand to these schools. After a seven-hour drive, we arrived at the Tocal College’s Yanco Campus: a government-run institution for indigenous education in the farming industry. The countryside was breathtaking – a true testament to the Australian landscape, with open expanses of farmland and scenic treelined roads.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each saw two concerts, a total of six for the tour, spanning Griffith and surrounding communities. On Monday we visited Beelbangera Public School and St Patrick’s School in Griffith. The concerts were very well received, and the audience were up to the task: one child from each school was given the opportunity to conduct the band for a piece, and at various points during the performance the students were invited to clap, sing and dance in accompaniment.
A highlight of the tour came in the form of band workshops at Griffith East and Griffith North Public Schools. Alongside our official concert, budding musicians from their schools joined the band and rehearsed as one combined ensemble. It was through this mentorship that the band felt that we were able to give back in the purest sense: not only with an afternoon’s entertainment, but more so in leaving a lasting impression and inspiring the next generation of Australian musicians.
Our journey ended at Darlington Point Public School, the smallest of those that we visited, so much so that on the day our band of forty-eight outnumbered the entire school. Yet what they may have lacked in numbers was certainly made up for in spirit: Taylor Swift and K-Pop Demon Hunters were the unanimous fan favourites, leaving the band along with those in attendance with a stubborn earworm to beat.
We are very grateful to the broader Grammar community for continuing to engage with service opportunities like these. It was an honour to represent the School in such a manner, and to share the privileges that we have been afforded with those less fortunate.
Alexander Barry (V)
Sydney Grammar School
College Street, Darlinghurst
NSW 2010 Australia
Phone: (02) 9332 5800
Edgecliff Preparatory School
Alma Street, Paddington
NSW 2021 Australia
Phone: (02) 9366 0100
St Ives Preparatory School
Ayres Rd, St Ives
NSW 2075 Australia
Phone: (02) 8302 5200
