2015 School Magazine

Winds and Wind Symphony all being awarded first place and a Gold award and Vivaldi Strings being awarded second place and a Gold award. We are so proud of their spectacular performances, which are a great credit to their hard work and our staff’s dedication. While our strings band and choir ensembles eagerly rehearsed for the May Concerts, advanced players prepared individually for the prestigious and highly anticipated R.T. Jeffries Bursary competition. All finalists showed stunning musical ability, but congratulations must go to Tokiwa Onoda (11E), who won over the adjudicator with her impressive performance of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor and Tchaikovsky’s Andante Maestoso from the Nutcracker Suite. Term III began in spectacular fashion with Chamber Singers and Chamber Orchestra being invited to perform at the Giving Back to Gondwana Choir’s charity concert, which raised $26000 towards bursaries for Indigenous youth seeking to attend Gondwana Choir’s 2016 National Choral School. Chamber Orchestra’s performance was just too exquisite to Handel! Our musicians continued to put on more charismatic performances at the Girls Grammar Open Day, which showcased the depth and breadth of our music programme in an informal, yet highly enjoyable, evening. Term III also saw our senior musicians gather in trios and quartets to compete in the annual Gillies Ensemble Competition. As Chamber playing fosters leadership, collaboration, and independent musicianship — the best of both solo and ensemble playing — we are so glad that our music girls were able to have this enriching experience. After countless rehearsals and an intense performance for Mr Spiros Rantos, the adjudicator, a string quartet comprising Fiona Qiu (10R), Chanelle Ren (11O), Shiye Su (12R) and Young Min Kim (10G) took out the instrumental section of the bursary with their passionate performance of Beethoven’s Quartet in E Minor . The vocal group consisting of Linnea Cain (11W), Linh-Dan Pham (11O) and Isabella Busby (11M) were victorious in the vocal section, impressing Ms Dale Cox with their rendition of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by the Andrew Sisters and a mash-up of Yesterday and Michelle by the Beatles.

Meanwhile in choir, the Oye Choral Concert was a fantastic display of the dedication and hard work shown by members of Chamber Singers, Grammar Singers, Chorale, Voices, Chorus, and our newly-formed ensembles Encore and Vox, who performed a wide selection of pieces with flair and finesse. We are so proud of how much our vocal groups have matured over the course of the year and the Oye concert really was a great tribute to their outstanding work. Term III also brought the long-awaited Junior, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Senior Strings Fests, where students from schools including Somerville, Brisbane Grammar School and Villanova College rehearsed intensely together to produce beautiful final performances. Various jazz, percussion, and contemporary ensembles played at the annual Jazz Concert, while our intermediate band girls collaborated with musicians from St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace and a travelling youth ensemble from Taiwan, allowing them to have an enriching cultural experience through the sharing of music. The most memorable concert of the year is held in Term IV – Gala. This year’s Gala, themed As Time Goes By , celebrated the Grammar’s 140th year and was a captivating display of the school’s musical talents. It really showed how much they have grown as musicians throughout the year and we were so proud to see all of the girls band together to produce an outstanding show. Year 12s were treated to an emotional farewell at the end of Term IV to celebrate their time in the music department. A touching and fun-filled evening, the farewell was a lovely opportunity for the girls to formally say goodbye and thank all the students and staff for their continuous support. The term concluded with the annual Carols Under the Stars, finishing off the year with joyful festivities. We are so honoured to be able to give back to the Grammar music community that has nurtured and shaped us over our five years together. To us, the music department is more than just a diverse group of talented girls and dedicated teachers; it is a place of love, friendship and support. We’ve cherished every second of the hours we’ve spent roaming the corridors of A1, and the memories and friendships we’ve made there will stay with us forever.

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CO-CURRICULUM