Junior School Music

2022 was a year for cautious optimism and rediscovering the joy of making music together. From our first Assembly to the final Christmas Service, music is central to all we do in the Junior School. Everyone participates in classroom music, where we learn to develop all the facets of a well-trained musician, where singing is our primary instrument. Students also stretch and challenge themselves by learning instruments and performing in a variety of concerts. Along with a concert early in Term 1, many of the Year 4 and 5 students performed at the Hamer Hall concert in the massed strings and the whole school Choir. Our musical, Star Warts: The Umpire Strikes Back, was another highlight of the year, which saw Years 3, 4, and 5 take to the stage in a variety of galactic characters. The musical was an opportunity for developing our dramatic skills on stage and creating something together.

We are so grateful for the diligent efforts of our instrumental staff who nurture and inspire the students to persist in their musical endeavours. Many other ensembles, including the Sing and String Ensemble, Bass Clef Band, Beginner Strings, Piper Snipers, Twisted Brass, Percussion Ensemble, and Recorder Ensemble, engaged and inspired the students throughout the year with performances in Assembly and the final Ensemble Soirée.

Mr Alex St Vincent Welch Head of Junior School Music

Junior School Choir

The students quickly rediscovered their voices and we were preparing repertoire for the Easter Service with the African spiritual How Can I Keep From Singing and Be Still. In contrast to this, we performed the outrageous Mad Moon in Term 1, complete with howling at the moon. We joined eight other schools at the Kodály Choral Festival, held at the Auditorium, where we performed Good Night and The Fox accompanied by Mr Jamie McGee on mandolin and Rhys Lee on drumkit. We finished the year at the Christmas Service performing an ethereal version of We Three Kings.

Mr Alex St Vincent Welch

Head of Junior School Music

Junior School Concert Band

The Band had another successful year, our ranks growing with new members coming through from the Year 4 Woodwind and Brass program. Our first big performance in Assembly gave us an opportunity to present what we’ve been learning in the early mornings. We’ve performed Beethoven’s Ode to Joy through to a modern Gallant March. We’ve learned how to develop our tone and technique in a variety of repertoire, as well as our inner hearing when we play many of our games to find a winning instrumentalist. Our final performance at the Junior School Ensemble Soirée has really set us up to join a Middle School ensemble with confidence. Many thanks to the instrumental staff that come down each week to help us perform and support our growing skills.

Mr Chris Day Head of Brass

Dorset Orchestra

The Dorset Orchestra was super excited to kick off 2022 together and rehearse in person, as we used to in the old days. The Dorset students learnt a variety of pieces this year, performing the Iron Horse Express in the Term 1 Concert – a piece inspired by the rhythms and sounds of old steam trains and written by Australian composer Timo Jaarvela. In Term 2, preparations kicked off for the long overdue Hamer Hall Concert. This year, we included a massed string item, where all the string students across the School played The Ballad of Lleucu Llywd and Road to County Derry by Stephen Chin all together on the Hamer Hall stage. It is truly incredible to be able to visually see on stage the journey that these students undertake when learning a string instrument at Camberwell Grammar – and how they transform from the Dorset musicians to the Highton musicians by the end of their schooling years. It was a mammoth effort. The second half of the year was focused on preparing for our Open Day and Ensemble Soirée concert. We will never take for granted the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience again that’s for sure!

Ms Suying Aw Strings Teacher

Year 2/3 Superstars Choir

The Year 2 and 3 students learnt to sing together as an ensemble, performing at Assembly, Open Day, and the Easter and Christmas services at St Mark’s. With piano accompaniment from Mr Roberts in the first half of the year and Mr Bishop in the second, the students enjoyed performing a variety of engaging repertoire in unison as well as canon and part singing. With an emphasis on fun, the Choir came together to rehearse in song every Thursday in the Music and Movement Centre.

Mrs Trista Fry

Music Teacher Pre-Prep - Year 2

Recorder Ensemble

After two very interrupted years, it was wonderful to hear the sounds of the Recorder Ensemble performing regularly again. This ensemble is an extension of the Year 2 recorder program and includes students from Years 3 and 4 who develop their wind technique as well as ensemble skills. Improvisation and harmony are a big focus of this ensemble, as demonstrated in their performances at Assembly, Open Day, and the Ensemble Soirée.

Mrs Trista Fry

Music Teacher Pre-Prep - Year 2

Percussion Ensemble

A large group of Year 4 and 5 students gathered every Wednesday lunchtime in the Music and Movement Centre to rehearse on a variety of percussion instruments. The group developed drum circle techniques as well as improvisation on tuned percussion and more challenging rhythmic repertoire. They performed throughout the year at Assembly, Open Day, and the Ensemble Soirée.

Mrs Trista Fry

Music Teacher Pre-Prep - Year 2