Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2011

grammar gazette SPRING 2011

Opportunities for original music making MR ANDREW PENNAY, HEAD OF MUSIC

Bustown In May, the Senior Drama Company performed Lachlan Philpott’s intriguing contemporary play, Bustown , to appreciative audiences in the Gehrmann Theatre. The cast and crew worked with great commitment and energy for many months to bring this quirky and challenging play to the stage. The highly imaginative script stretched and enthused our actors as they searched for, and delivered, the charm of Philpott’s fictitious world. The cast were ably supported by a strong team of student technicians and stage management.

Cognisant of the fact that many of our students are deeply immersed in popular music at home and while socialising, and mindful that students best develop a sense of personal musicianship through engagement in composing experiences that draw on ‘their music’ as curriculum, all Year 10 Music students undergo an intense Song Writing project that requires them to sing and play their own songs which are then presented on CD for members of the School community. Outside the classroom, our active Composers Club has been formed to help individuals who are preparing for composing competitions, collaborating with peers, writing music for Drama productions or seeking extension or remedial musicianship work. Our Song Writers Studio, held concurrently, particularly values song-writing partnerships and provides access to music-making and recording for a broad range of students.

Our annual Covers Competition invites students to record an innovative take on an existing song. This authentic co-curricular opportunity helps our girls bridge the ‘listening gap’ between their previous aural experiences and new or unfamiliar styles. Students are encouraged to reinterpret the piece to demonstrate knowledge of various styles. This year, Johanna Davie was awarded the overall winner in the Senior division of this competition for her unique and subtle take on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Have you ever seen the rain?, utilising violin, acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies very effectively. We have instigated a new Originals Competition in 2011 as a way to showcase the talents of our many song writers here at School.

Topology

Playscript commissioned Lachlan Philpott has consequently teamed up with the Drama Department on a project that will span the next two years. A playscript has been commissioned from Lachlan and the development of this project will kick off in 2012, with the staging of the production scheduled for 2013. Partnerships with La Boite and Playlab are currently in negotiation for this project.

In Term III, Year 12 Classroom Music students were engaged in composition under the direction of Ms Sarah McGarry. To this end, the contemporary internationally-renowned ensemble Topology returned to Brisbane Girls Grammar School to perform music composed by the Year 12 Music cohort. In the lead up to a concert where the students’ compositions are brought to life, Topology came into class to workshop with the students on their compositions, playing each piece of

music and offering advice and adjustments to ensure that the performance is as the students would wish.

As one student said on hearing her work performed for the first time in a professional ensemble “that is so cool!” Girls have drawn inspiration from a range of concepts loosely based around numbers, sequences and time and their works are accompanied by stunning visual imagery in a special performance this year entitled Infinitas .

Sydney Drama Tour For the final four days of the July school holidays, twenty Years 11 and 12 Drama students and their Drama teachers, attended theatre and workshops by some of the big names in the Sydney theatre scene. The Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir Street staged two world class performances and NIDA and ATYP provided inspirational workshops on actor methodology. Backstage tours of the Opera House and STC’s Wharf Theatres capped off an enriching experience for all.

Download a free QR reader on your smart phone to watch Topology perform music composed by Year 12 students.

20

21