Creative Industries

ANNUAL SHOWCASE OF MUSIC

Our girls displayed their resilience and commitment to deliver our Annual Showcase of Music on the first day of Spring in the historic Elder Hall. The start to Term 3 didn’t go to plan thanks to the COVID-19 lockdown, and all music ensembles suffered setbacks in their preparations for this event. But they worked together to ensure they reached their full potential by Week 7. Being able to step on stage in the beautiful Elder Hall and perform to a live audience is something our girls had been striving to do for more than a year. Their energy and joy were infectious. Our theme and focus for the evening were about bringing back the love of live music and there were some outstanding performances across our large music program. The first half of the concert saw all our choral ensembles shine, with the Year 7 and 8 Choir taking the spotlight with a fabulous rendition of Toto’s ‘Africa’ - beginning with a percussive rainstorm created by the girls. Our choral program at Wilderness now encompasses over a quarter of all girls in Year 4 and above and is steadily increasing. Each choral group presented outstanding music, and it was clear to all in the audience how much our girls love to sing. Elder Hall was also the perfect venue to showcase the outstanding talents of our Year 11 Piano Trio – Canyu (Alice) Jia, Isabelle Yu and Yan Hei Annecy Cheung. They were joined by our Viola tutor Ms Louise Beaston to become a quartet and played ‘Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G Minor’. This advanced and challenging repertoire was a real treat to behold, as their exceptional musicianship wowed the audience.

After a short interval, the stage was reset, and Big Band 1 commenced the second half with a whopping up-beat version of ’The Chicken’ – a huge hit with the girls themselves. The Rock Band finally played their inaugural concert channelling ABBA vibes with ’Dancing Queen’. The Senior Clarinet Ensemble played an endearing version of ’Misty’, which highlighted Stage 2 Solo and Year 11 Ensemble Performance student Jacinta Chronowski-Wong. We concluded by saying goodbye to our Year 12 musicians - which is always hard to do. But the 2021 cohort is one to be remembered. A large group of dedicated music students, that over my four years here at Wilderness have always displayed our school values at the highest level. Coming together as a group, with some members not having done Music in several years, they performed the Elton John classic ’I’m Still Standing’, encouraging the audience and students to join in. A fitting and joyous way to finish our Showcase for 2021.

On review, we have decided that from 2022, our expanding Music program requires a larger venue and this year the event will take place at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. This is bound to excite our girls and will be something for them to look forward to. Anna Lenartowicz Head of Music