Scotch College

A Musical second term ... ...a wide range of activities

The May Concert

Term 2 involved a host of musical events. Most importantly the annual May Concert at the Robert Blackwood Hall involving some 500 boys performed to over a thousand people, opening with the Symphony Orchestra's dynamic performance of Batehaven's 5th Symphony, under the baton of the Director of Music, John Ferguson. The rich sound from the strings, the well tuned precision of the woodwind and brass, and the sheer dynamic energy of the performance was exceptionally impressive and made a splendid opening to the concert.

Ye-Lian He (L.Mus.A) then performed Eagle's magnificent Cello Concerto, achieving a beautiful breadth of tonal variety and conveying an understanding well beyond his years.

All ensembles performed to a high standard relative to the level of experience within the various groups.

The Henri Touzeau String Orchestra, under John Officer, performed an arrangement of the 1812 Overture, and while it didn't actually have cannons and brass, the spirit of the piece was unmistakably conveyed.

A particularly impressive performance of Corelli's Concerto Grosso in F Major was delivered by the Senior Strings under its conductor, Robert Wakely, and the Junior School Choir followed this with three beautifully delivered songs under the new Head of Junior School Music, Jenni Allen.

Another staff member to make his debut at the May Concert was the recently appointed Choral Director, Mr Andrew Hunter.

The Senior Choir opened with an inebriated arrangement of Drunken Sailor, and closed with Chattanooga Choo Choo. The Choir has been particularly impressive this year, and the Choir Camp immediately preceding the May Concert certainly contributed.

The jazzy finale from the choir led perfectly into the Show Band's polished and smooth performance of L'il Darlin' and Mambone under the suave direction of Mr Andrew Mott.

A feature of the May Concert is the combined Year 7 Massed Choir, and its performance of Take These Wings and Stand By Me was much appreciated by the parents in the hall.

For many boys, this is their first ever performance at a formal concert, and it is often amazing how impressive this item can be.

The Ted Joyner Band, the George Dreyfus Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Wind all played particularly well this year. The Ted Joyner Band is mainly drawn from Years 7 and 8, and performed highlights from Les Miserables with spirit and aplomb.

The George Dreyfus Wind Ensemble performed Walton's grandiose Crown Imperial and James Barnes' Chorale and Jubiloso under the direction of Peter Rickard. The final item was from Symphonic Wind who presented an ambitious program comprising 3 Preludes by Bruckner and Ralph Hultgren's excellent Australian Rhapsody.

Off to Mount Gambier

The day after the May Concert, the Monday Big Band (the training ensemble for Show Band) set off for Mount Gambier with its conductor, Roger Schmidli and coach captain, John Ferguson.

The Mount Gambier Jazz Festival, the brain child of James Morrison, provided a terrific experience for the boys. It would be fair to say one had to enjoy stage bands to really appreciate the weekend, but the experience of hearing so many other bands, not to mention the James Morrison band, and the terrific feeling of camaraderie at that event was a great success. We certainly hope to repeat the trip soon.

Singers from Singapore

In early June, two choirs from Singapore came to the Music School. This was a 'spin off' from the orchestra's Asian Tour in January.

The choirs performed to our own choir (who returned the compliment) and enjoyed an intensive workshop conducted by our own Choral Director, Andrew Hunter. Youth Music Singapore is also sending a symphonic band in December which will enjoy a workshop with Director of Music, John Ferguson, and perform to our own students.

Combined Schools Music Festival Sydney

The biennial Combined Schools Music Festival was a great success. It was hosted by Sydney Grammar School and the boys who participated enjoyed superb direction from the distinguished opera and ballet conductor, Richard Gill. This festival was started by the Principals of Scotch, Canberra Grammar and Newington College, Sydney, some fifteen years ago. It has now expanded to include schools from Adelaide and Brisbane. The next festival is in 2001, and will be hosted by Westminster School in Adelaide.

Concerto Concert

Term 2 ended, as it does every year, with the Concerto Concert at Melba Hall. This year Ye-Lian He, L.Mus.A., performed the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in its entirety, accompanied by the school orchestra, conducted by Director of Music, John Ferguson.

Ye-Lian proved himself to be well up to the technical demands of the difficult work, and the orchestra accompanied with both sensitivity, contrasting with dramatic impact, when required.

This was followed by a performance from the combined Chamber Orchestras from PLC and Scotch who accompanied Jeremy Chin (Violin, A.Mus.A.) and Lisa Harbor (Viola, L.Mus.A.) in a performance of Mozart's Symphonia Concertante for Violin and Viola. This was a repeat from a concert earlier in the year, which combined the most advanced students from the Scotch and PLC Symphony Orchestras.

With students from both schools having such high standards, there were virtually no boys or girls involved who did not have a diploma on their instrument. The complete concerto was performed with great sensitivity and musical insight, and proved very popular with the appreciative audience.

The final concerto was performed by Allen Wang and accompanied by Pro Musica of Melbourne - a chamber music formed by John Ferguson some years ago and affiliated with the Music School at Scotch. Allen performed the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 beautifully, and the orchestra - led on this occasion by Robert Wakley and conducted by John Ferguson, performed magnificently in an outstanding partnership between the orchestra and this highly talented boy.

Aside from the three concertos, Nicholas Buc (A.Mus.A. Violin), John Strainge (L.Mus.A. Piano) and Lian Jiang (French Horn) performed the first and last movements of the Brahms Horn Trio. It was an excellent rendition of this exceptionally difficult work. Jeremy Chin led eight senior string players in a lovely performance of the first movement of the Mendelssohn Octet. Both these works were featured extensively on the Asian Tour in January, but had not had a performance in front of a Melbourne audience until the Concerto Concert, which concluded a busy term by the standards of any Music School ñ and a good warm up for Foundation Day!