Music

Jazz Under the Stars – James Morrison

Keep spreading the word to help us make Jazz Under the Stars the largest event to date. This is a unique opportunity to see the virtuosic James Morrison along with the wonderful Darren Percival performing with your son on Main Oval. The night will finish with James and Darren performing their most powerful and energetic works as part of the final set. Organise your tables of 10 to make this a special night for the Churchie community. All members of the public, extended friends and family are welcome.

As we continue to learn more about our guest artists, please take some time to acknowledge some more of James’ incredible achievements. He has recorded with The London Symphony Orchestra, rock legends INXS and the European Brass Ensemble; performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms; written the opening fanfare for the Olympics; performed for the Queen, US Presidents Bush, Clinton and Obama, and at the Kremlin; and was a TV presenter on Top Gear Australia.

Australian Honours Ensemble

Congratulations to the following members who successfully auditioned for the Australian Honours Ensemble Programme. All students were nominated by the school based on their AMEB levels and successfully auditioned amongst many of the finest musicians in Australia. This will no doubt be an incredibly rewarding experience.

• Ellis Hogan (Bassoon)
• Alex Ma (Vocal Tenor)
• Noah Oxenford (Vocal Baritone)
• Luka Roberts (Trumpet)
• Alex Smith (Trombone)
• Damien Ting (Cello)

Churchie Guitars at Headmaster’s Assembly

Congratulations to Churchie Guitars for their performance of Sombre El Humo (Shade the Smoke). The Latin American influence along with the unique melodic, harmonic and contrapuntal bass movement created the perfect mood for the beginning of Headmaster’s Assembly.

Please follow this link to a recording from Headmaster’s Assembly:

String and Guitar Concert

The final instalment of the May Concert Series took place on Thursday 23 May 2024 and the audience was treated to a delightful programme featuring all of the string ensembles at Churchie. The Junior Prep Strings produced a sonorous sound with their open strings, using the energetic backing track to inspire their joyous and committed feeling to the music. The Prep Strings demonstrated their strength in numbers, playing with great attention to detail as they diligently watched their conductor. It was lovely to hear the Prep boys playing authentic music from Brahms, as they performed an arrangement of the ‘Finale from Symphony No. 1’ by Brahms, arranged by J Bullock. 

The Eagle Guitars showcased the promising future of the guitar programme with a wonderful arrangement of ‘Time of Your Life’ from Russell Neville. The Churchie Guitars gave the younger ensemble much to aspire to with their performance of ‘Sombre El Humo’ by Fulgencio Garcia, following a rousing performance at Headmaster’s Assembly. Chamber Strings 1 demonstrated an incredible performance of ‘Mock Morris’ by Australian composer Percy Grainger, showing the full gamut of colours and textures that can be produced by a strings orchestra.

The Symphony Orchestra brought the house down as the finale to the concert with a stirring rendition of the ‘Artist’s Life Waltz’ by Johann Strauss II, who will be celebrating his 200th birthday next year when the Churchie musicians will be in Vienna for the Music Tour in 2025. Playing music at Churchie is about being true to the music and performing authentic repertoire, and there is none better than the Egmont Overture to express the full colours and sound of the orchestra. Count Egmont was known for fighting for human freedom (against Spanish oppression) and the music brought all of his heroism and integrity to life, concluding the concert with an overwhelming applause.

A huge congratulations to Ben Hooper, Ingrid Rochet, Jules Hanlon and Russell Neville for all of their work on the final instalment of the May Concert Series. This was a wonderful start as we build momentum for the first-ever Strings and Choral tour to Vienna in 2025. We now look forward to the Signature Concert Series in Term 3 with the Gala Concert (Space and Time), Churchie’s Best Solos and Jazz Under the Stars with special guests James Morrison and Darren Percival. Thank you to all the parents for your wonderful support at the May Concert Series. We look forward to your continued support at the Term 3 Signature Concert Series.

Soiree

As part of the upcoming Signature Concert Series in Term 3, all students will be performing a solo piece as part of the Soiree studio recitals. This is a fantastic opportunity for parents to see their sons perform in a warm and friendly environment as we encourage students to improve their performing skills. Please note the date, time and location of your Soiree below. You should also receive further, more detailed, communication from your tutor by the end of the term:

Bohdan Davison
Director of Music