Iona College Music Gala Program

Thursday 30 August 2022 The Provence Centre, Iona College

Introduction and Welcome Welcome to our inaugural Music Gala showcasing all of the College’s co-curricular ensembles.

Please note there will be no interval, but there will be appropriate breaks throughout the course of the evening for refreshments.

“The true beauty of music is that it connects people. It carries a message, and we, the musicians, are the messengers.”

- Roy Ayers

WIND ENSEMBLE AND CHAMBER STRINGS 1 “Arabian Dances” by Brian Balmages It has been a wonderful opportunity to be able to collaborate with Chamber Strings 1 on this beautiful work by Brian Balmages. The work explores Middle Eastern sounds through the use of traditional folk songs and original music. There is an extended percussion section in the middle before a fantastic juxtaposition of the themes for the powerful conclusion.

BIG BAND 2 “Moanin’” By Bobby Timmins arranged by Michael Sweeney “Moanin’” was first recorded by Art Blakey’s band the Jazz Messengers for the 1958 Album of the same title that was released by Blue Note Records. It has been recorded numerous times and has become a Jazz Standard. It has a call and response melody and features soloists throughout.

CONCERT BAND 4 “Cool Moose” by Francois Dorion Usually seen as a symbol of Canada, the moose is a very cool animal despite its large size you can easily miss it because it moves very quietly through the woods, most of the time alone.

Massively muscled, it can be very fast and aggressive, but it is usually calm, peaceful, and cool.

“Wipe Out” by The Surfaris arranged by Michael Story Wipe Out is a surf rock instrumental piece, composed in the form of the 12 bar Blues. The tune was first performed and recorded by the Safaris who became famous with the single in 1963. The song, both the safaris version as well as cover versions has been featured in over 20 films and television series since 1964, appearing at least once a decade. A “wipeout” is a fall from a surfboard, especially one that looks painful!

“Mechanical Monsters” by Randall D. Standridge “Mechanical Monsters” was born out of a love of two things – B Grade monster movies from the 50s and 60s, and teaching beginning bands. When writing for a young band the composer asked himself - what would I have loved to play at that age? In this work the sounds of metal and gears are used to overlay a repeating plotting groove that suggests something shambling its way across a darkened countryside, drawing ever closer to the unsuspecting city dwellers completely unaware of the havoc that is about to befall them.

GUITAR ENSEMBLE 2 Guitar Ensemble 2 is Iona’s Intermediate ensemble with students mainly from the middle years. In this stage we work on expanding our use of the guitar and the range of notes we play. You’ll hear students playing more complicated rhythms and challenging tempos and we develop our skills.

“Hungarian Dance” by Johannes Brahms The “Hungarian Dances” are a set of 21 lively tunes based on Hungarian folk themes, first published in 1869. Brahms was a mid-Romantic composer and his works feature exaggerated dynamics, tempo changes and strong emotions. The first section has a very minor sound, but halfway through, the song moves into a happier and brighter sounding major section before returning back to the initial theme.

“Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix Written by a famous electric guitarist in 1967 by James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix, one of the most influential guitarists in history. The lyrics feature psychedelic imagery and vivid metaphors that were common in the 60’s, though the draft title of the song was “Purple Haze – Jesus Saves” and in interviews Jimi said the song was “about a dream I had that I was walking under the sea.” This mid-tempo rock tune uses a minor blues scale for much of the melody and features the quite dissonant Dominant #9 chord - aka the “Hendrix chord”.

YOUNG MEN’S CHORUS The Young Men’s Chorus is the Iona College non-auditioned choir for unchanged voices. The chorus features boys aged 10 all the way through to 14 years of age. Many of these young men learn to sing and some are also involved in other ensembles.

They recently received a Gold award at the Queensland Colleges Music Festival. This evening they will perform two pieces and will be accompanied by Mrs. Christina Faulkner.

The first is “He Lives in You” from The Lion King, a Disney favourite featuring traditional African text. The second is “All Night All Day”, a gospel classic - we encourage you to clap along!

~ Break ~ SYMPHONIC WINDS Symphonic Winds is our second level concert band at Iona College, and they perform a wide variety of traditional band repertoire as well as popular arrangements, achieving a Silver award at QCMF 2022.

Tonight, they are performing the “March from Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary”, composed by Henry Purcell in 1695 – note the drums covered in a traditional black cloth for a funeral march. They are also performing an arrangement of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the classic mock-operatic rock song by Queen.

CHAMBER STRINGS 2 The Iona College Chamber Strings 2 Ensemble consists mostly of middle school students and they rehearse each Tuesday morning before school. This year they have performed at the Iona Music Term 1 Concert and the Queensland Catholic Music Festival.

Their first piece “‘Til the Work is Done” composed by local Brisbane composer Keith Sharp, is written in a Negro Spiritual style which can also be performed with choir. You will notice that the inner parts play the melody throughout, with a descant accompaniment in the 1st violins.

Finally, Chamber Strings 2 will finish with the Main Theme from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Joining them on drums is percussion teacher Mrs Madison Dedini, accompanied on piano by Mrs. Christina Faulkner.

PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE 2 “Peter Gunn” Peter Gunn is the theme music composed by Henry Mancini for the television show of the same name. The song was the opening track on the original soundtrack album released in 1959 which earned Mancini an Emmy and two Grammys.

This percussion ensemble arrangement by Phil Faini features a Marimba solo performed by Michael Szilagyi, a Vibraphone Solo by Thomas and Max as well as a Xylophone Solo by Alexei Scanlan. Jay Bezzina fills in the gaps with epic Drum Solos while Joseph and Jack keep the recognisable bass line going. Percussion Ensemble 2 students have enjoyed learning the F Blues scale that the melody is based on.

“Uptown Funk” “Uptown Funk’s” composition began during a freestyle studio session when Mark Ronson, Philip Lawrence and Jeff Bhasker worked on a jam Bruno Mars and his band played on tour.

This funk-pop/soul/boogie style piece has a spirit akin to 1980s-era funk music filled with charisma and fun. Igor Escalona has arranged this number one hit for percussion ensemble. The xylophones and marimbas are featured in the verses (Thomas, Max, Will, Michael and Jack) and vibraphone in the pre-chorus (Alexei). The groovy drum kit part (Joseph) and the use of the electronic MalletKat for Bass Guitar (Jay Bezzina) ensures this arrangement retains its all-important funk feel. Enjoy!

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WIND ENSEMBLE “Soundtrack Highlights from The Black Panther” by Ludwig Goransson arranged by Michael Brown A wonderful arrangement of some of the powerful music from the blockbuster film The Black Panther. The work is challenging as there are many moments of unison rhythm (all performers playing exactly the same pattern) which relies on detailed listening, balance and understanding of the musical intention of the rhythmic device.

SENIOR MEN’S CHORUS The Senior Men’s Chorus is the Iona College open choir, which welcomes all young men whose voices have transitioned.

The Senior Men’s Chorus, like the Young Men’s Chorus are the only ensembles in the school which boys can participate in without tuition. A predominant focus of the ensemble is encouraging the growth and development of the young voice, and building a collaborative team which is always welcoming to new members. The boys were recently awarded Gold at the Queensland Colleges Music Festival for their performances of the Gospel song, “Little Wheel a’Turnin’” and “Sing Me a Song of a Lad That is Gone” which tells the tale of Bonnie Prince Charlie, both of which they will perform this evening.

The boys this evening are accompanied by the wonderful Ms Emily Sargeant.

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PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE 1 “Back to the Old School: a Metallica Medley” Percussion Ensemble 1 will perform the last two songs from this Medley arranged by Jeff Jarrott; two of Metallica’s greatest hits: “Master of Puppets” and “One”.

While Metallica’s choice of phrasing and time signatures have perplexed this ensemble at times, they have surprised themselves by learning something this complicated for the Music Gala tonight.

Finn, Riley, Finley, Luca, Kai and Jackson McClure are all featured during “Master of Puppets.” Aiden, Luke, and Jackson Woodhead are featured at the start of “One.” Ryan and Richie play the bass line throughout while Hunter accompanies the whole thing like a champ on Drum Kit with double-kick.

“Locked Out of Heaven” This concert marks the last time Jackson McClure will be performing with Percussion Ensemble 1, as such, he was given the opportunity to select one of the pieces performed tonight.

“Locked Out of Heaven” was the lead single on Bruno Mars’ album, Unorthodox Jukebox, which won Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammy’s in 2013.

Co-producer Mark Ronson brought in the rhythm section of his frequent collaborators the Dap-Kings for this track. “It’s hard to create sounds with live instrumentation that bump in the club and Mark Ronson did it here,” Mars told Rolling Stone.

Mars used this song to open his halftime set at the 2014 Super Bowl. Too bad we can’t get Jackson’s drum kit to move while he plays like Bruno Mars did in that performance.

~ Break ~ CHAMBER STRINGS 3 “Cap’n Jack’s Hornpipe” was written by well known composers Kathy Blackwell and David Blackwell. It features a driving rhythm and beautiful major key melody, evoking sea shanty vibes and swashbuckling style. The middle section introduces the second melody with canonic entries, allowing the two lines to showcase their beautiful playing in harmony.

The original melody then returns with enthusiasm, leading to a loud and triumphant finish.

CONCERT BAND 3 “Spring” by Randall D. Standridge Spring paints a portrait of a field of wildflowers gently swaying in the Spring winds as a storm rolls across the sky, bringing rain. The gently rising and falling dynamics represent the stems of the flowers rising and bending in the wake of the storm.

The audience will head the gently rumble of thunder in the distance and drops of rain portrayed by the percussion, piano and snapping fingers of the ensemble. The work allows an ensemble of this level to develop dynamic shaping, phrasing and independence.

“Themes from Harry Potter Music” by John Williams arranged

by Paul Cook The film score for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has been described as one of his best film scores. The work provides the ensemble with opportunities to develop their understanding of different time signatures, and adds in chromatic pitches (notes that are not usually in the key the work is played in.

We begin with “Hedwig’s Theme” which is heard in the films when Harry is the focus of attention. “Harry’s Wondrous World” presents the different colours and wonder of being in a world of magic.

Concert Band 3 begin every week with rehearsal – Monday mornings! What a great way to start the week. Mrs McDonald would like to thank their parents for helping the students attend rehearsals.

IONA SINGERS The Iona Singers have a proud tradition of being the college auditioned choir. All members of the ensemble gain membership via audition, and must either undertake vocal training, or be granted special acceptance, only in Year 12, after demonstrating significant instrumental experience. The Singers also act as the College music liturgy choir.

The boys are very proud of their recent award of Gold at the Queensland Colleges Music Festival and will tonight perform for you their award-winning pieces – “The Rhythm of Love” as performed by The Plain White Tees, and “All of Me” by John Legend, rearranged by the ensemble conductor, Ms Madonna Forster. Both pieces are accompanied by the amazing Mrs Christina Faulkner.

GUITAR ENSEMBLE 3 “Ode To Joy” by Ludwig van Beethoven Originally a poem written in 1785 by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The poem describes hope and brotherhood triumphing which are the themes that Beethoven wanted to convey in his 9th Symphony. The arrangement played by Guitar Ensemble 3 is in the key of D and students have to play ‘sharp’ notes for the first time. It can be challenging as students must learn a new hand position and make sure they play an F sharp and C sharp throughout. It has become a favourite amongst the ensemble.

“Bells of St Anne” by Jonathan Leathwood This is a great guitar ensemble piece featuring an assortment of note durations. Quavers, crotchets, minims and semi breves all played at different times by different players can be challenging at first, but once the ensemble gets the hang of things it’s a beautiful sounding piece.

Players must watch the conductor carefully towards the end as we play a ritardando (this is where we all slow down together) and the bass players and those playing the lower parts take charge of the melody, or main theme. Can you hear the bells ringing as we play?

~ Break and Raffle ~ STRING QUARTET When most of us think of string quartets we think of weddings and garden parties playing Mozart, Haydn or Debussy. So it gives us great pleasure to deliver Thunderstruck by AC/DC! Thunderstruck was the lead single for AC/DCs album Razors Edge and managed to peak at No. 5 on US Billboard charts.

It’s one of AC/DCs most recognizable songs and for a song that’s 32 years old it is still requested by students as a song they’d like to learn.

We hope you enjoy our String Quartet’s reimagining of an Australian Rock classic.

SENIOR VOCAL ENSEMBLE The senior vocal ensemble began a number of years ago when a selection of senior vocal students decided they were keen on exploring even more challenges within the vocal/choral tradition.

These young men dedicate two mornings each week to choral training, attend vocal lessons, and also participate in a dedicated weekly lunch time ensemble rehearsal. Students are invited to participate, and must be from Years 11 and 12.

This evening they will perform Morten Lauridsons setting of the Rilke poem, “Dirat-on”, which shares the essence of beauty and tenderness as that which can be found in oneself, yet is at its most redeeming when found around us.

GUITAR ENSEMBLE 1 “Strollin’” by Murray Mason “Strollin’” is a bright and catchy piece of music that is based on a memorable 8 bar sequence. While it would be considered a contemporary arrangement, the style is somewhat hard to define. There are elements of folk music as well as some more ‘funky’ sections. I’d like to think if Tommy Emmanuel, one of Australia’s finest guitar players, wrote for high school guitar ensembles then “Strollin’” would have to be part of his repertoire. A great piece of writing by New Zealand composer Murray Mason.

CHAMBER STRINGS 1 “The Parting Glass” dates at least as far back as 1605. It refers to the ‘Stirrup Cup’ – when a departing guest was mounted and ready to ride, the host would give one last drink to fortify them for their journey. One more for the road!

It is a Scottish melody originally, but has made its way into Irish culture as well; notable recordings include covers done by the Wailin’ Jennys, Hozier, and the Dubliners. It is a hauntingly beautiful song, expressing regret at having to leave good company.

BIG BAND 1 “Yardbird Suite” by Charlie Parker arranged by Dave Wolpe As far as swing tunes go this one swings hard! Written by the alto saxophonist Charlie Parker who’s nickname was ‘Yardbird’ (often shortened to simply ‘Bird’) and who was highly influential in developing the jazz style known as ‘Bebop’. It’s a fast and exciting tune that was first recorded in 1946. It has become a standard for jazz players (standards in jazz are songs that every jazz player knows how to play or should know how to play). Also a timely piece to play as Charlie Parker’s birthday was yesterday. He would have been 102!

~ Break ~ YEAR 12 PERFORMANCE

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