Music
Ensembles and lessons begin
Welcome back to Term 4, 2024, and congratulations to all students who successfully auditioned in Years 7 to 11. Rehearsals begin in Week 1, with lots of great new music carefully selected by your conductors. You will get to meet your new ensemble members as we progress and prepare for the 2024–25 season. We also welcome the wonderful Ms Joanne Leask (Acting Head of Strings), who comes to Churchie from Redeemer Lutheran College for Term 4, while Mr Hooper takes his well-earned long service leave. Year 12 students will still be involved in the final performances for Tri-Service Cadets and Speech Night in Week 2, with additional communication via your ensemble conductors. Our Week 3 Music Camp presents a wonderful opportunity for the premier ensemble members to get to know their conductors and ensemble members and to develop repertoire with special guest conductors Mark Sullivan (Strings), John Rotar (Choral) and Shadelle Guest (Band). Good luck to all those younger ensemble members in the Prep School who will get the opportunity to perform in Musicfest. Best wishes to everyone for Term 4!
Assembly performance Week 9
Congratulations to Tom Crooke and the Crooke Collective, who set the tone with a festive and celebratory performance of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Free Bird’ featuring Tom Dwyer on vocals; Zac Patane on lead guitar and Tom Patterson on drum kit.
Special thanks to Mr Jack Franklin for the multi-track recording from the mixing desk. Please follow this link to a recording of the performance:
Australian Honours Ensemble
Congratulations to the following students who were selected for the Australian Honours Ensemble Programme (AHEP) as well as the State Honours Ensembles Programme (SHEP). Concerts took place on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September 2024 at the Queensland Conservatorium Theatre. The students were able to work in an exceptional national and international environment and thoroughly enjoyed playing music with other outstanding and like-minded students over the four-day period.
Participants
AHEP
- Ellis Hogan – Bassoon (Wind Orchestra) – Concert Two (4 to 6 pm)
- Alex Ma – Vocal Tenor (Vocal Ensemble) – Concert Two (4 to 6 pm)
- Noah Oxenford – Vocal Baritone (Vocal Ensemble) – Concert Two (4 to 6 pm)
- Luka Roberts – Trumpet (Symphony Orchestra) – Concert One at (11 am to 12:30 pm)
- Alex Smith – Trombone (Symphony Orchestra) – Concert One at (11 am to 12:30 pm)
- Damien Ting – Cello (Symphony Orchestra) – Concert One at (11 am to 12:30 pm)
SHEP
- Lufti Furtado – Tuba (Brian Hogg Wind Orchestra) – Concert One (8:30 to 9.30 am)
- Lucas Shan – Tenor Saxophone (Graham Lloyd Wind Orchestra) – Concert Two (10:30 to 11:30 am)
Music Camp
Congratulations to all members selected for the premier ensembles for Churchie Music Camp. By now, you should have received your letter. Thank you to all those who have completed their consent form. Please finalise your payment here if you have not already done so.
One of our guest conductors for strings is Mr Mark Sullivan. Please take some time to read his biography and make the most of the opportunity to learn from this wonderful educator and musician:
Mark is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music where he studied violin performance with Dr Anthony Doheny, cello with Christian Wojtowicz and double bass with Dr Michael O’Laughlin. He subsequently completed orchestral conducting studies with Jerry Nowak, Dr William LaRue Jones and Dr Marvin Rabin.
He has worked as an orchestra director in over 30 schools in Australia and the United States and participated in courses and masterclasses with renowned pedagogues including Robert Culver, Paul Rolland, Gerald Anderson, Sandra Dackow, Robert Frost, Bob Phillips, Geza Szilvay, Phyllis Young, Francois Rabbath and Barry Green. Mark has also lectured at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (QCM), Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the University of Queensland (UQ).
He was awarded the ABODA Outstanding Ensemble Director’s Award and the ASG State and National Inspirational Teaching Awards. He has presented at several Maryborough Music Conferences and the National Positive Schools Conference.
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (https://qso.com.au/about/artists/mark-sullivan)
Bohdan Davison
Director of Music
