Bartok Strings performance at QYMA
On Friday last week, Bartok Strings travelled to St Peters Lutheran College to compete in the annual Queensland Youth Music Awards (QYMA) Senior String Orchestra competition. The girls performed to a very high standard against tough competition from St Pauls and Redcliffe State High Schools, ultimately coming away with a win. They took the trophy for First Place along with a Gold Award for their fantastic performance. Congratulations to all the girls and their conductor, Ms Pollicina.
Bartok Strings on stage at QYMA, conducted by Ms Josie Pollicina
Adelaide Chan (8M) getting ready for the Bartok Strings performance at QYMA
Queensland Conservatorium tertiary preparation workshop
From Monday 27 June to Friday 1 July, the Queensland Conservatorium (South Bank) will be hosting its annual tertiary preparation workshop. The workshop covers topics such as entry requirements, audition skills and techniques, interview tips, theory, aural fundamentals, and much more. The workshop is an excellent opportunity for students who are considering a future in the music industry to discover some of the tertiary preparation and courses to pursue this goal. Further information and registration details can be found here.
Recruitment drive
We are looking for students who might be interested in playing one of the rarer instruments in wind bands. We are looking specifically for students to play Tuba, Euphonium, and Bassoon. If you already play an instrument and are interested in the possibility of advancing through our ensemble structure quicker than you may do on your current instrument, we want to hear from you.
The ability to read, or willingness to learn to read, bass clef is a distinct advantage. The desire to be awesome is not negotiable.
If you would like to explore one of these instruments a little further, please contact Ms Porter.
Arts Fest
Many of our ensembles performed throughout Arts Fest this week. All our jazz ensembles, Bartok and Albinoni Strings, Flute Loops, and Gypsy Band featured in performances across the week and provided outstanding entertainment for their fellow students during lunch breaks. It was wonderful to also see so many students who came along and supported their Grammar sisters at these performances.
Enjoy photos from Arts Fest, including the Senior Drama Production and Open Mic, in Photos of the Week.
Performance Week (Band)
Week 5, Term 2 is Performance Week (Band)—students have been covering repertoire for these performances over Term 1 and should be progressing through their work towards this goal. We are sure that many students have been practicing diligently and are now putting the final touches on their performance.
Music Competitions
This week, many of our Instrumental Music students participated in the Prizes and Championships. Each department of Instrumental Music has its own sections that allows students the opportunity to participate in some friendly competition with their Grammar sisters. Our guest adjudicators were incredibly impressed with the level of musicianship across the department.
Our Prizes and Championships are a wonderful display of the many and varied talented students who perform in our more senior ensembles. Congratulations to all who participated, striving for their very best performance.
The winners from each of the Prizes will participate in the Artists in Concert event for the coveted R.T. and A.E. Jefferies bursary. We wish all of the finalists the very best for their musical performances.
Harp and Non-Orchestral Prize Winner: Remi Hirayama (12L) Adjudicator: Mrs Janine Grantham
Very Highly Commended – Aurora Lin (7B), and Queeni Tang (9O) Highly Commended – Savannah Munro (7G), Shantell Johnson (9M), Vicky Zhang (10R)
Valda Rawenia Gillies Prize for Piano Winner: Maddison Cheng (7W) Highly Commended: Ella Yu (7G) (not pictured) Accompanist: Ms Cara Tran Adjudicator: Mark Gibson
Wight Memorial Medal for Piano Winner: Shu-Ning Liang (7O) Very Highly Commended: Leonie Li (7O) Highly Commended: Louise Campbell (11O) and Sabrina Yong-Gee (9H) Adjudicator: Mark Gibson
String Championship Honourable Mentions—not in photos: Sabrina Yong Gee (9H), Ella Chen (8O), Isabella Jiang (7M), Levi Gao (10G), Zina Kim (7M), Kathryn Petersen (10O) Highly Commended: Mia Cheng (10B), Alisa Wang (8R), Shavini Basnyake (9H) Very Highly Commended: Amy Jiang (8M), Emma Nguyen (7E), Shu-Ning Liang (7O) Winner String: Ayano Kamori (7W)
Woodwind Championship Highly Commended: Isabella Byrne (10M), Martha Fomison (8G) Very Highly Commended: Amelia Howell-Smith (9L) (not pictured), Eowyn Wong (9G) (not pictured), Olivia Knauer (9M) Winner: Emily Chang (7O) Adjudicator: Claire Ramuscak
Gillies Violin Prize Winner: Holly Xu (9O) Very Highly Commended: Madeline Khoo (12E) Adjudicator: Mr Warwick Adeney
Woodwind Prize Highly Commended: Naomi Dooley (11E), Chloe Teo (9M) Very Highly Commended: Mei Mei Zhang (9W) Winner: Lisa Walsham (10R) Adjudicator: Eve Newsome
Percussion Championship Winner: Vani Ranjan (10B) Adjudicator: Kym Ambrose
Percussion Prize Highly Commended: Amelia DeSouza (12R), Talisha Wong (10W) Very Highly Commended: Carol Chen (10O) Winner: Shinie Gu (9O) Adjudicator: Kym Ambrose
Brass Championship Highly Commended: Gemma Nell (9M), Orli Wachtel (9B) Winner: Astrid Thomas (10H) (not pictured) Adjudicator: Mr Josh McKechie
Brass Prize Highly Commended: Dorothy Rae (10G), Emily Telford (10W) (not pictured), Ella Edwards (10G) (not pictured) Very Highly Commended: Pascal Green (12G), Samara Kohn (12L), Sophia Caposecco (11H) Winner: Isabella Peters (12E)
String Prize Winner: Michelle Jeong (12W)
String Prize Very Highly Commended: Bella Cheng (9B), E Lyn Won (9B), Sujin Ahn (11R) Highly Commended: Zara Hosking (10G), Sherry Jiang (11M), Grace Paschkewitz (11O) Adjudicator: Mr Mark Sullivan
Vocal Prize Winner: Sally Grice (12E) Very Highly Commended: Iha Agrawal (10R) not pictured Highly Commended: Sophia Carroll (12L), Sofia Cirino (12O) Special Mention: Jessie Lu (12G) not pictured, Ayisha del Rosario (11W) not pictured
Vocal Championship Winner: Clare O’Quinn (10L) Very Highly Commended: Ruby Hill (7O) not pictured, Eloise Christie (10H) Highly Commended: Alyssa Godinho (10B) not pictured, Ruby Logan (10R), Molly Lynch (8M) Special Mention: Audrey Duffield (9W) not pictured, Anna Hodge (Year 8L) not pictured
MSG News
MSG is assisting at a number of upcoming music events, and we welcome any parents who wish to volunteer to help. These events include:
- Movie Magic Band Concert (Monday 23 May)—BBQ for performers, audience bar, popcorn machine. Sign up here
- Winter String Concert (Wednesday 25 May)—BBQ for performers and audience bar. Sign up here
- Cathedral Concert (Saturday 4 June)—ushering. Sign up here.
We are also still seeking assistance in providing lunch for staff members at the Cathedral Concert. Please email us if you can help with this via msgbggs@gmail.com.
Our next meeting will be held next Monday 16 May in the Choir Room—all are welcome! If you cannot make it in person, please join us via Zoom.
Thanks to those parents who responded to our call for performers for our inaugural fundraising night in October. We are still seeking more performers, as well as anyone interested in helping to plan the evening, please reach out to us at msgbggs@gmail.com if you are interested.
Looking Ahead
- MSG Meeting—Monday 16 May, 6 pm
- Artists in Concert—Thursday 19 May
- QYMA—Friday 20 May (Euphonix)
- Cathedral Concert—Saturday 4 June
