COLA Concerts – Week 9
Week 9 saw Junior School COLA concerts happen for two of our Junior School ensembles – the Junior Choir (3-6) and Training Band. COLA concerts are a fantastic performance opportunity that are held under the Junior School COLA, and allow students to perform for family and friends in a casual setting. They can showcase their learning for the term, and provide a goal for students to work towards performing for an audience. The Junior Choir enjoyed a sun-filled performance, with family and friends treated to some new pieces, along with some much loved favourites like ‘Naughty’ from the musical Matilda. The Training Band had their first ever performance on Thursday, with Stage 2 students also joining the audience. Students and family cheered on the beginning instrumentalists, who performed 4 pieces they have been learning since they first picked up their new instrument this year. Thank you to all the families who came along to support our music students in these performances – we appreciate your enthusiasm and encouragement, and look forward to seeing you at the next one!
Junior School visits the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
In Week 8 of this term, all of the Junior School had an opportunity to attend a concert provided by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. This organisation is one of the premier orchestral ensembles in the country, and it was a fabulous display of professional musicians working together to present a range of instrumental music.
The theme of the concert was ‘The Environment and Me’ and we were guided through different pieces of music by the MC and Conductor, who explained various inspirations for the composers and the musical techniques they used.
The music we listened to included a contemporary Indigenous piece by Christopher Sainsbury called ‘Guwara’ that was inspired by the winds that blow through various areas of our country, and their impact on the natural and made environment.
We also heard pieces by some of Western Art Music’s most celebrated and prolific composers such as Beethoven (the second movement from his ‘Pastoral Symphony in G’, inspired by a bubbling brook) and the Nordic composer Greig (the ‘Praeludium’ from his Holberg suite).
One of the obvious favourites was ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ by Rimsky-Korsakov. We had the strings demonstrate the techniques they use to create buzzing sounds and the flute played a solo to show us how it imitates the flight path of a bee.
Could I encourage you to talk with your children about what they enjoyed and anything they found interesting about their time at the Symphony. It is an experience that is often new, especially if children haven’t seen an orchestra perform live before, and this can also be a good opportunity to develop and finesse their listening and attention skills. On the whole, I would like to acknowledge the maturity and enthusiasm Inaburra students displayed at these concerts, and look forward to providing further opportunities to engage with and see live music performances in the future.
Mrs Lisa McGovern
Junior Music Teacher
Intermediate Concert & Stage Band lunchtime performance at The Pavilion – Thursday 29 June
Our Intermediate Concert and Intermediate Stage Band have the exciting opportunity to perform at The Pavilion (formerly Sutherland Entertainment Centre) on Thursday 29 June from 12:00pm – 1:00pm.
We would love to see many from our Inaburra community come along and support the students and staff.
Ms Jennifer Geering
Director of Music K-12