Junior Band Workshop (Tuesday 22 March, 3.30 pm to 6 pm)
On Tuesday of Week 9, our Wind Band and Wind Ensemble will participate in the Junior Band Workshop. The students in these bands will be fortunate to work with two very experienced and highly regarded musicians, Ms Jodie Lutherborrow and Ms Clare Deady,both of whom have conducted the Sunshine Coast Youth Orchestra over the last 20 years. Ms Lutherborrow and Ms Deady are both Instrumental Music Teachers with Education Queensland and have many decades of teaching and conducting expertise between them.
At the workshop, students will work through specific repertoire, address performance skills and etiquette, refine their instrument and ensemble skills, and share in the wonderful experience of creating music together in a larger group.
Ms Jodie Lutherborrow
Ms Clare Deady
Edmee Gainsford Viola Prize Open for Entries
The Viola Prize was given in memory of Mrs Edmee Gainsford (nee Park) who attended the School in the 1930s and maintained a lifelong interest in, and encouragement of, young musical performers and composers. Her son, Dr Len Gainsford, presented the School with a Garbor Draskoczy viola, which will be played for 12 months by the School’s most accomplished viola player each year.
The Viola Prize competition will be held on Thursday 31 March.
Further information can be accessed on the Instrumental Music Competitions page here, entries can be submitted via this link. Please note: submissions are due by 5 pm, Monday 21 March.
International Women’s Day Concert
This evening, the BGGS Band Room will come to life with the electrifying, celebratory sounds of our senior ensembles. Our International Women’s Day Concert is always an eagerly anticipated signature event that honours the immense contribution that women make to our world of music.
Championing women composers, performers, and conductors, we draw well-deserved focus on the remarkable accomplishments of those who have come before us, those who are currently contributing their works, and the emerging wonderful young composers and musicians in our ranks at Brisbane Girls Grammar School.
The concert will feature works by iconic composers such as Dr Jodie Blackshaw, Ms Cecile Chaminade, Ms Joan Trimble, and Ms Sarah Quartel, to name a few. We also feature three young BGGS composers—Charlotte Parsonage (12G), Schuyler Mills (12E), and Dorothy Rae (10G)—all winners of recent composition awards.
How music study helps brain development
Modern living for students and their families is a delicate balancing act of making time for a student’s pursuits and interests. It is a natural and understandable train of thought to want to lighten a student’s load to ‘free up’ extra time for academic studies. However, the last few decades have revealed, through countless and varied academic studies, that study within a thorough and immersive Instrumental Music program, can in fact improve brain function in myriad ways.
The in-depth study of any musical instrument and the subsequent requirement to perform music on that instrument triggers creative thinking, all-of-brain activity, cross-hemisphere coordination, emotional regulation, problem-solving, and innumerable other benefits. All of these contribute to the brain working in a more efficient and heightened state, in all activities—including academic studies.
Dr Anita Collins, an Australian educator, researcher, and author who is at the forefront of music study and its affect on brain activity is a much sought-after clinician, presenter, and advocate for the study of music in Australian schools. Dr Collins’ website can be viewed here. If you have a few minutes to spare, please follow this link to watch the evidence-based research that informed Dr Collins’ ‘Bigger, Better Brains’ project and an accessible illustration of how music performance affects brain function.
Co-curricular activities help students develop other qualities such as:
- ability to communicate and interact well socially (rehearsals)
- ability to lead (section leaders within ensembles)
- ability to relate to patients/clients (having knowledge and interests outside of academic)
- ability to get along within a collegiate environment (teamwork, rather than individual pursuit)
- ability to cope with stress (having outlets such as sport and music).
MSG News
The MSG is looking for parents to assist with the sausage sizzle for the Junior Band Workshop on 22 March. Please sign up via this link if you can assist.
We will also be arranging cheese boxes via pre-order only for the Choral Concert on 24 March and the Jazz and Percussion Concert on 30 March.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Looking Ahead
- Tuesday 22 March—Junior Band Workshop (BGGS) 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm
- Thursday 24 March—Autumn Choral Concert (Roma Street Parklands) 6 pm to 7.15 pm
- Wednesday 30 March—Jazz and Percussion Concert (Louise McDonald Room) 6 pm to 7 pm
