24 Aug 2018
OK so here’s the thing… there’s a lot of talented kids making music at this school, and a bunch of very patient and committed teachers, parents and volunteers who support them. Every year they head off to Band Camp and come back tired, emotional and worn out from days of intense practice, late nights and general hijinks. Each time they amaze us with how hard they have worked and improved. But this year was seriously NEXT LEVEL. In four years of covering these nights I’ve never seen it come together as skilfully and seamlessly as it did at our recent Music Night.
With professional sound production (thanks to Mark Scully from Studio 57), hours of sound-checking and even jumbtron TV screens making sure all inside the gym had great viewing, one could have been mistaken for thinking we’d rocked up at a stadium gig. Even the program was a notch above the norm thanks to Ms Harrison and all the contributors, with a spectacular cover design by our Music Captain Katie.
Our hosts Kyler and Mr Turner kicked off by acknowledging Ms Harrison and Ms Morrison for all their hard work at camp and in preparing the students for tonight’s show. There were 21 group performances during the two acts and there isn’t room here to call out each one. So I’ll focus on a few of my personal highlights:
- Guitar Ensemble jangled like the Byrds on Classical Gas
- Big Band were in top form especially on Chick Corea’s Spain with dazzling changes in pace and an almighty drum solo finale
- Stage Band played a very cool pair of numbers with some great dynamics and the sax ensemble standing out witht heir subtle treatment of on Charlie the Cat
- Chamber Choir hamming it up on Toto’s Africa… I miss the rain….
- Jazz Orchestra featuring Ruby King on vocals for Duke Ellington’s I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues. Seriously knock out vocals!
- An intense performance from Senior Choir on This is the Greatest Show
- Junior Concert Band with a menacing, yet still playful version of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
A much-improved Concert Band who were tighter across the board, and literally took us flying on Skydive before launching into a fantastic Beatles Medley – almost as good as Paul McCartney on Car Pool Karaoke! Most improved ensemble by a mile.
I always enjoy the Contemporary Music Program performances and tonight I wanted to call out a few special moments – CMP4 on Shania Twain’s I Feel Like a Woman… I’m still humming that song days later, so much fun and good vibes from Abigail, Jack and Matthew on vocals. CMP3 gave us some great indie rock moves on their medley including You Am I’s Berlin Chair, and the guitar work from Alex during CMP2’s version of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain was simply phenomenal. But the good vibes award for the night goes to CMP1 – Lily lighting up the stage on Rehab, Indiana on Your Love is Lifting Me Higher and their four-part harmonies with Lucinda and Ruby totally stole the show. The band sounded great and these guys were clearly having a ball. Bravo!
And so the night was almost over when the combined Orchestra and both choirs took the stage for Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major. There were hairs raised on the back of the neck and we felt transported to a European cathedral – powerful stuff and a testament to a great week of hard work, fun and collaboration. Importantly the night raised several thousand dollars towards a new recording studio setup for the music program, which is sure to be in high demand from our creative students. Best. Music. Night. Ever. Thanks to all the Music Support Group volunteers, the teachers, tutors, parents, players and crew who put on such a fabulous night If you’d like to get involved in supporting our music program, please email our Music Support Group President Liza Fox, at lizafox@optusnet.com.au
JAZZ COMBO @ CARINGBAH LIBRARY - MONDAY 2 JULY
The cream of Caringbah High’s jazz program played a great little gig at the Caringbah library on a rainy Monday night. It was a full house and respectable audience of local jazz lovers who heard James, Eamon, Lee, Katie, Jaden, Alex, Valeriya and Anton rip through a fluid and complex set of standards and contemporary numbers. Highlights included Wayne Shorter’s Witchunt, Charlie Parker’s Latin-infused Tico Tico and an original composition called Lizard – written by trumpeter Eamon, which really brought out the best in the band.
Great way to spend a Monday evening – well done guys!
Mr David Orszaczky
MSG Publicity Officer
