Sydney Music Tour Reaps SPC a Gold & Three Silvers

Silver, Silver, Silver and Gold!

The music tour to the 57^th NSW School Band Festival was a very successful one for the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and the Junior and Senior Stage Bands. Each ensemble performed superbly with three awarded silver medals and our Stage Band awarded the gold.

Being on tour gives students and staff an opportunity to see and be with each other in a new and exciting environment. It presents the chance for the boys to continue to grow in independence and for friendships to flourish amongst different year levels. To see the older boys take the younger under their wings and teach them the ropes, brings a smile to my face and makes my heart swell with pride.

The competition, held over two days at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, gave the experience of performing in three different concert spaces from a small intimate space for the Stage Bands to the enormous Verbrugghen Hall that had a beautiful pipe organ as a backdrop.

Watching other ensembles performing in our sections, as well as the Premier Concert Bands event, showed the boys what they are striving to achieve. It has been most pleasing to hear that the boys have already out some of this knowledge into practice during rehearsals.

The tour also had some relaxing moments for the boys. The tour of the Sydney Opera House, ferry ride from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour, now called Barangaroo, allowed us to view the Harbour Bridge and Opera House from the open water. The boys enjoyed Madame Tussauds and there were many photos with Albert Einstein, Tim Cahill and Angelina Jolie to name just a few.

Thanks must go to Mr. Michael Busscher, Mr. Jarrod Ryan, Mrs. Penny Kaletsch and Mrs. O’Brien for their tireless preparation and work on tour.

Fiona Wilson

Head of Music