THE MAGAZINE 2020
Orchestras O R C H E S TR AS CAP TAINS ’ R E P ORT 2020 was an extraordinary year for orchestras at Pymble. Every student in every orchestra at the College was encouraged to challenge themselves as both an individual player and a member of an ensemble. This year was a true testament to the passion, resilience and determination of Music at Pymble, from staff and students alike.
Online Rehearsals The transition to Pymble Online in Term 2 posed significant challenges to the continuation of orchestras, but our incredible Music staff embraced these challenges as opportunities, readily setting up a Microsoft Teams page for every ensemble across the College. Rehearsals resumed in a unique format, with many students developing a self-directed approach to learning and engaging with new music. The early morning rehearsals online became a warmly welcomed social interaction in the period of quarantine and isolation, with many meaningful connections formed between students.
Ode to Joy Our experience with online rehearsals culminated in the College-wide virtual performance of Ode to Joy, in honour of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Students in choirs, bands and orchestras from Year 3 to Year 12, as well as alumni, staff, parents and friends across the Pymble community got involved. Our orchestra students first learned the music, then rehearsed independently with the backing track, before recording their final take. This virtual performance was unlike anything achieved by Pymble Music in previous years, uniting all Pymble musicians for one piece of music, which brought much joy and excitement to all of our Pymble families. Many thanks to Mrs Narelle Colbey, whose passion and support encouraged all string players to get involved, and to Mrs Sabina Turner, whose determination and ambition made the whole performance possible.
Priya Mehra, Year 11
Speech Days In the Secondary School, a series of Speech Days marked the end of the year. For the first time, all Speech Days were accompanied by orchestras, with the Senior String Orchestra playing for Middle School, Chamber Strings accompanying Upper School, and the Symphony Orchestra playing for the Senior School. This was a wonderful opportunity for the orchestras of Pymble to showcase their hard work over the year, especially in the absence of our much-loved tradition of term-based Ensemble Concerts. 2020, despite many challenges, was a wonderful year for Pymble Orchestras, with each student being encouraged to challenge herself as a musician. A massive thank you to all our wonderful staff, in particular Mrs Sabina Turner, Mrs Narelle Colbey, Ms Sarah Crawford and Ms Luczia Bain, whose support of orchestras, and each individual student, made 2020 a year filled with music and joy. Priya Mehra, Captain of Orchestras
O RC HEST RA S AWA RDS Silver
Red
Lara Albany, Isabel Dean, Alana Gao, Michelle Huang, Hayley Kwon, Chloe Luzar, Beate Mannes, Louise Ng, Hui Shan Pan, Rachel Tang
Sophia Chen, Emma Cheng, Fiona Fu, Maya Garg, Emma Geng, Aileen Hao, Lucy Hu, Genevieve Jones, Shivashankari Kathirgamalingam, Ang-Ya Koo, Emma Lau, Annika Lee, Claire Lee, Vienna Li, Ella Liu, Annie Luo, Helen Nguyen, Zarina Nurlanov, Caitlyn Tan, Jeslyn Tan, Stephanie Volos, Yuki Wang, Jacqueline Wo, Josephine Wong, Charlotte Wykes, Jessie Xie, Olivia Xu, Serena Xue, Elena Zhang
Blue Freya Carmody, Esther Choi, Ashley Dhanu, Krystal Duan, Sophia Gao, Jasmin Gibson, Odessa Girdis, Christine Ha, Chloe Hoang, Emily Ji, Caitlyn Kim, Jenhui Lau, Grace Li, Cassandra Long, Stephanie Loui, Piper Markson, Priya Mehra, Aine Oo, Ashleigh O'Young, Amelie Read, Rhedyn Wong, Angel Yu, Bella Zhang, Gabrielle Zhong
White Service Lara Albany, Ashley Dhanu, Chloe Hoang, Hui Shan Pan, Vivian Wen
Esther Choi, Year 11
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