Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2007

SNAPSHOTS Visiting International Conductor On the first day of Term I, the Chamber Orchestra were fortunate to participate in a special workshop with Dr William LaRue Jones who is one of the most active and versatile symphonic conductors in America today. Dr Jones has achieved international acclaim during his career. His conducting schedules including a wide array of professional, festival, collegiate and student ensembles throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. This wonderful opportunity was inspiring for the girls and a great beginning to the performance music year.

Photo: Rob Maccoll, courtesy of Opera Queensland.

Moving Opera

Twenty students from Brisbane Girls Grammar and Brisbane Grammar Schools were involved with Moving Opera for four days in February this year. Moving Opera involves a series of music theatre workshops with a team of five professional artists who are part of the education arm of Opera Queensland. The team including a Director, also associated with Backbone Youth Arts, a Music Director, and three singers worked with the students from Years 9, 11 and 12. The students came from a range of music and drama backgrounds and forgave their normal classes to participate in activities that explored theatre, opera repertoire and techniques, vocal and choral techniques, performance skills — including stage craft, character exploration and development, improvisation and scene devising. The Moving Opera team were impressed with the level of enthusiasm, co-operation, ability and participation demonstrated by the participants. The students found the experience to be challenging but also very rewarding and parents who attended the performance enjoyed sharing the enriching experiences provided by the programme. Amber Evans (9G) one of the Year 9 students involved in the programme can’t wait to participate again next year “It was a tremendous four days and definitely worth the time I spent catching up on schoolwork, I have expanded my musical repertoire, the way I sing, acting and performance techniques and the art of teamwork and working comfortably in a group”. The School will continue to provide opportunities like Moving Opera for our students in acknowledgement of the enormous part that the arts play in the total experience of education.

World Youth Ship Docks at Girls Grammar

Ambassadors on the Ship for World Youth (SWY), a cultural programme for young people, docked in Brisbane earlier this year and the forty young people on board spent the morning with a number of Girls Grammar staff and students.

gained valuable insight into the many ways that our students can become active participants in an international community and be stimulated by conversation with young people who may live their lives in very different circumstances but value the same hopes and aspirations for both their individual and a global future. The visit was initiated by past student, Ms Saori Uyeda (1992), who is the President of SWY Australia. Ms Uyeda said that this is the 19th year the SWY Programme has been available to youth from around the world. She said it provides an integral understanding of different cultures

and the education system is just one important facet the programme visits. The Ship for World Youth is a unique

Ms Saori Uyeda, President of SWY Australia, with Ms Lorraine Thornquist

international cultural exchange programme which is organised

annually by the Government of Japan and is conducted over a two month period. It brings together over 250 youth from around the world to learn about international co-operation and understanding, involving a wide range of activities aimed at fostering cultural sensitivity.

The visitors from fourteen different countries were provided with a tour and insight into the life of Brisbane Girls Grammar School as well as sharing experiences from their own countries. The visitors dropped in on some Year 8 Language classes and both students and visitors were delighted with their encounters. The Year 11 students who hosted the tour of the School

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