A terrific evening of music took place recently at the Chatswood Concourse Concert Hall- ‘A Chatswood High School Music Night’ featuring Australia’s premier a capella group – ‘The Idea of North’. This was an evening of great music and celebration. The concert acknowledged the tremendous commitment by our Year 12 students. Six years of playing in our ensembles – weekly rehearsals, attending music camps, participating in school concerts and music festivals, performing in venues such as the Opera House Concert Hall and the Chatswood Concourse, and for the more fortunate, travelling to the USA and Europe on performance tours.
The evening commenced with a band comprised of young musicians from our North Harbour Learning Community – eighty students from Castle Cove, Chatswood and Mowbray Public Schools and Year 7 Chatswood High School. They performed with much energy ‘Flying’ with composer Tim Ferrier conducting, and then ‘Selections from Chicago’ directed by Gavin Staines.
The evening commenced with a band comprised of young musicians from our North Harbour Learning Community – eighty students from Castle Cove, Chatswood and Mowbray Public Schools and Year 7 Chatswood High School. They performed with much energy ‘Flying’ with composer Tim Ferrier conducting, and then ‘Selections from Chicago’ directed by Gavin Staines.
The Senior Vocal Ensemble under the direction of music teacher Stephanie Sexton were making their debut performance on this night. They performed with distinction the song ‘Run to You’ by the Pentatonix. The seven students with their teacher gave an excellent performance with a promise of great things to come in the future.
Next were the Chatswood High String Ensemble directed by Sylvia Marson. No strangers to the Concourse Concert Hall they gave a very impressive and polished performance. Their pieces - ‘Brandenburg Concerto No. 3’, ‘Cinema Paradiso’ (with Lavender Kim at the Piano), and ‘Viva La Vida’, delighted the audience
Next were the Chatswood High String Ensemble directed by Sylvia Marson. No strangers to the Concourse Concert Hall they gave a very impressive and polished performance. Their pieces - ‘Brandenburg Concerto No. 3’, ‘Cinema Paradiso’ (with Lavender Kim at the Piano), and ‘Viva La Vida’, delighted the audience
The Wind Orchestra had just enjoyed a three day music camp at the Collaroy Conference Centre with guest conductor/ composer David Jones from Brisbane. At the concert David directed the band on his piece ‘Gypsies’ and ‘Ghost Dances’ by Barrett. To cap off the student performances in the first half of the concert, the Wind Orchestra gave a very exciting performance of ‘Danza Sinfonica’ by James Barnes. This work features a number of solo opportunities for different instruments of the band, and the students did not disappoint. At the conclusion of the bands’ performance, Gavin acknowledged the tremendous dedication and commitment to the music program by the present group of twenty Year 12 musicians. This performance was a fitting conclusion to their music at Chatswood High.
To conclude the 1st half of the concert we were treated to a terrific performance by The Idea of North. For those who had not heard this group before, it was very exciting. After more than twenty years performing as a group, The Idea of North are just as entertaining today as when we featured them many years before. It was refreshing to hear them perform a number of new songs. Their first set concluded with the group singing ‘Smile’ to a saxophone quartet/double bass accompaniment.
To conclude the 1st half of the concert we were treated to a terrific performance by The Idea of North. For those who had not heard this group before, it was very exciting. After more than twenty years performing as a group, The Idea of North are just as entertaining today as when we featured them many years before. It was refreshing to hear them perform a number of new songs. Their first set concluded with the group singing ‘Smile’ to a saxophone quartet/double bass accompaniment.
Following interval the Big Band opened up with ‘Be Bop Charlie’ (Florence) featuring Josh Glass (soprano sax) and Bernice Tesara (trumpet). A demanding work the band did well. Frankie Bouchier has enjoyed the spotlight as the bands’ vocalist for the last couple of years, and for his farewell performance he sang ‘You Make Me Feel so Young’. To conclude the performance the band played ‘Coconut Champagne’ (Di Blasio) with solos from Bernice again, Laura Wadwell (bari sax) and Tyler Richards-McCabe with an impressive solo on the drum kit.
The Idea of North were welcomed back to the stage for their second set. They proved to be worthy guests and again gave a very polished performance. ‘Masquenada’ is a song they perform where they invite a member of the audience, (on this occasion, Karen Staines), to come and conduct an impromptu performance of this song. For many this proved to be a highlight of the evening.
The finale of the night was the performance of two songs that The Idea of North had taught to the Chatswood High students at a workshop earlier in the term – ‘Since You Went Away’ and a Michael Jackson medley. It was a fitting end to the night.
Principal David Osland thanked all musicians (the Primary School performers, as well as the Chatswood High musicians) and in particular The Idea of North. He reminded the audience that music was more than just about performing – that life lessons were to be learned from such an experience – that being a musician was a life journey, and one that continued beyond school.
The finale of the night was the performance of two songs that The Idea of North had taught to the Chatswood High students at a workshop earlier in the term – ‘Since You Went Away’ and a Michael Jackson medley. It was a fitting end to the night.
Principal David Osland thanked all musicians (the Primary School performers, as well as the Chatswood High musicians) and in particular The Idea of North. He reminded the audience that music was more than just about performing – that life lessons were to be learned from such an experience – that being a musician was a life journey, and one that continued beyond school.
Here are some comments from parents and members of the public who attended the night –
- The Tutti band sounded fantastic, and of course your Chatswood band did also!!!
-Congratulations on a great concert. Performances by the wind orchestra and Big band were spectacular. The charts selected were inspiring & really showcased the CHS students musical abilities. And your special guests- The idea of the north - were vocally stunning and enjoyable. A lovely change using vocals . I'm guessing this took most students out of their comfort zones - always a good thing! All the hard work is worth it.
-We had a wonderful night, we really enjoyed the varied repertoire of music !!! And yes we did recognise Karen – she was amazing for someone who has had no experience. Definitely a fringe benefit for being your lovely wife.
-Just want to say how much I enjoyed the entire evening. Again enjoyed both the Wind Orchestra's and Big Band's performances. Also want to say how much I enjoyed the CHS a Capella's performance - very impressive and I'm also very impressive with the string's program at the school. I'm not sure if the program has always been so big or if it is a recent thing but it is really great to see and hear. Loved that performance too.
-I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to attend part of the CHS Music Night last night. I loved hearing the Wind Orchestra in particular of course. The Tutti combined band did a pretty good job too off the back of only two combined rehearsals. Thanks again - brilliant opportunity for our kids and I can’t wait until they are students at Chatswood High School and play a bigger part in it.
-I really wanted to thank you for the privilege of being part of the audience on Monday night. We were impressed by the wonderful program which was so well executed by the students. The primary schools were amazing and the maturity displayed by the high school groups even more so. The a capella group also impressed especially with only four weeks of actually working together as a group. In some ways I guess it was an indication of the depth of commitment, dedication and talent that is in your music program. I have personally only ever seen such groups within the private system. But I think that what you have achieved in your school is certainly on par if not better when I take into consideration the number of students involved and the complexity of the pieces presented. I can only imagine the discipline and hard work that would have gone into such an evening. I am sure that your students will benefit for a long time to come from the skills that they have acquired from their participation in the music program. Just the whole group dynamics of having to listen to each other to work together in order to produce the final sound, team work, patience and I imagine a whole lot of other things. All I wanted to say was what a great work you and your students have done, congratulations and I hope I get to hear some more.
-Thank you so much for organising the students get to play on stage last night, all the performances were sensational; my younger two they loved The idea of North, it was their first time witnessing the lovely vocalists , awesome !!
-Thank you for another amazing performance from all the bands. We had guests who attended and they were "blown away" by the standard of music from CHS students in particular. We also loved the new pieces that Wind Orchestra played. In my humble opinion, the pieces sound challenging but the students did not disappoint in effort or enthusiasm and even though they went home tired, they were genuinely happy with their performance.
-Fantastic as usual! You must be relieved !! The star of the show was definitely Karen. I thought the Danza piece was excellent and obviously one of the more technical pieces WO has ever played. And we really enjoyed the little Sax ensemble with TION, which we weren't expecting. Please congratulate Stephanie on her singing group - they were amazing!! They made my mum cry and she's a critical ex opera singer and musician lol. Strings are going from strength to strength and should be very proud. Tyler's solo was epic ! Everyone did their best and it was nice to see the new CAPA captains in action. All in all a lovely night - congrats!
- it was a great concert! Tutti band performed very well, but the Chatswood Wind Orchestra was fantastic! Thanks again!
-The Idea of North concert was fantastic. We really enjoyed it and as always were delighted to see how you bring so many talented kids together and create wonderful memories. The CHS students were amazing. Please pass our congratulations to them all. Thank you for a great night.
-This is just a short note to say just how much my wife & I enjoyed your Chatswood Concourse concert presented on Monday 15thAugust. We are great fans of ‘The Idea of North’, which was a significant incentive to come to your schools’ concert. However, we were most impressed with the quality of the music played by the various school bands / ensembles at the concert. Having spent over a decade involved as a conductor / tutor of many concert & jazz bands in many primary & secondary school band programs in Sydney’s Hills District, I was very impressed with the standard of musicianship you had generated in the many players who attended your recent several-day band workshop. This attested to the high quality of the music program at your school. Keep up the good work!
-Just a short message to thank you for telling us about The Chatswood High Musical Night. While seeing The Idea of North was what attracted us, I was not prepared for the talent of the pupils of the schools that performed or the number of musicians involved, especially when you consider that the senior bands/orchestra were all from one High school – amazing. The enthusiasm and enjoyment as they performed at such a high level was inspiring. The spot soloists were great and I have often thought that the percussion section were not a real musical instruments but that misconception was blown away by them all but particularly by the timpani. Again, thank you and congratulations to all involved in a great night.
I wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the Chatswood High School Music Night. What a wonderful representation of the variety and depth in music you have at Chatswood High School., from the strings ensemble and acapella groups right through to the amazing Wind Orchestra and Big Band. It was wonderful for our primary school children to get the opportunity to play alongside some of Chatswood High School students as part of the "Tutti" band and participate in the evening. They also loved hearing the other performances as much as I did - particularly the powerful performance of the amazing Wind Orchestra, and of course the Big Band is always very entertaining. We were already looking forward to being part of your music program, and after tonight my kids are even more excited about what is in store for them musically when they attend Chatswood High. Congratulations to all involved for putting on such a brilliant night, and thank you for the opportunity for our children to take part in it.
- The Tutti band sounded fantastic, and of course your Chatswood band did also!!!
-Congratulations on a great concert. Performances by the wind orchestra and Big band were spectacular. The charts selected were inspiring & really showcased the CHS students musical abilities. And your special guests- The idea of the north - were vocally stunning and enjoyable. A lovely change using vocals . I'm guessing this took most students out of their comfort zones - always a good thing! All the hard work is worth it.
-We had a wonderful night, we really enjoyed the varied repertoire of music !!! And yes we did recognise Karen – she was amazing for someone who has had no experience. Definitely a fringe benefit for being your lovely wife.
-Just want to say how much I enjoyed the entire evening. Again enjoyed both the Wind Orchestra's and Big Band's performances. Also want to say how much I enjoyed the CHS a Capella's performance - very impressive and I'm also very impressive with the string's program at the school. I'm not sure if the program has always been so big or if it is a recent thing but it is really great to see and hear. Loved that performance too.
-I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to attend part of the CHS Music Night last night. I loved hearing the Wind Orchestra in particular of course. The Tutti combined band did a pretty good job too off the back of only two combined rehearsals. Thanks again - brilliant opportunity for our kids and I can’t wait until they are students at Chatswood High School and play a bigger part in it.
-I really wanted to thank you for the privilege of being part of the audience on Monday night. We were impressed by the wonderful program which was so well executed by the students. The primary schools were amazing and the maturity displayed by the high school groups even more so. The a capella group also impressed especially with only four weeks of actually working together as a group. In some ways I guess it was an indication of the depth of commitment, dedication and talent that is in your music program. I have personally only ever seen such groups within the private system. But I think that what you have achieved in your school is certainly on par if not better when I take into consideration the number of students involved and the complexity of the pieces presented. I can only imagine the discipline and hard work that would have gone into such an evening. I am sure that your students will benefit for a long time to come from the skills that they have acquired from their participation in the music program. Just the whole group dynamics of having to listen to each other to work together in order to produce the final sound, team work, patience and I imagine a whole lot of other things. All I wanted to say was what a great work you and your students have done, congratulations and I hope I get to hear some more.
-Thank you so much for organising the students get to play on stage last night, all the performances were sensational; my younger two they loved The idea of North, it was their first time witnessing the lovely vocalists , awesome !!
-Thank you for another amazing performance from all the bands. We had guests who attended and they were "blown away" by the standard of music from CHS students in particular. We also loved the new pieces that Wind Orchestra played. In my humble opinion, the pieces sound challenging but the students did not disappoint in effort or enthusiasm and even though they went home tired, they were genuinely happy with their performance.
-Fantastic as usual! You must be relieved !! The star of the show was definitely Karen. I thought the Danza piece was excellent and obviously one of the more technical pieces WO has ever played. And we really enjoyed the little Sax ensemble with TION, which we weren't expecting. Please congratulate Stephanie on her singing group - they were amazing!! They made my mum cry and she's a critical ex opera singer and musician lol. Strings are going from strength to strength and should be very proud. Tyler's solo was epic ! Everyone did their best and it was nice to see the new CAPA captains in action. All in all a lovely night - congrats!
- it was a great concert! Tutti band performed very well, but the Chatswood Wind Orchestra was fantastic! Thanks again!
-The Idea of North concert was fantastic. We really enjoyed it and as always were delighted to see how you bring so many talented kids together and create wonderful memories. The CHS students were amazing. Please pass our congratulations to them all. Thank you for a great night.
-This is just a short note to say just how much my wife & I enjoyed your Chatswood Concourse concert presented on Monday 15thAugust. We are great fans of ‘The Idea of North’, which was a significant incentive to come to your schools’ concert. However, we were most impressed with the quality of the music played by the various school bands / ensembles at the concert. Having spent over a decade involved as a conductor / tutor of many concert & jazz bands in many primary & secondary school band programs in Sydney’s Hills District, I was very impressed with the standard of musicianship you had generated in the many players who attended your recent several-day band workshop. This attested to the high quality of the music program at your school. Keep up the good work!
-Just a short message to thank you for telling us about The Chatswood High Musical Night. While seeing The Idea of North was what attracted us, I was not prepared for the talent of the pupils of the schools that performed or the number of musicians involved, especially when you consider that the senior bands/orchestra were all from one High school – amazing. The enthusiasm and enjoyment as they performed at such a high level was inspiring. The spot soloists were great and I have often thought that the percussion section were not a real musical instruments but that misconception was blown away by them all but particularly by the timpani. Again, thank you and congratulations to all involved in a great night.
I wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the Chatswood High School Music Night. What a wonderful representation of the variety and depth in music you have at Chatswood High School., from the strings ensemble and acapella groups right through to the amazing Wind Orchestra and Big Band. It was wonderful for our primary school children to get the opportunity to play alongside some of Chatswood High School students as part of the "Tutti" band and participate in the evening. They also loved hearing the other performances as much as I did - particularly the powerful performance of the amazing Wind Orchestra, and of course the Big Band is always very entertaining. We were already looking forward to being part of your music program, and after tonight my kids are even more excited about what is in store for them musically when they attend Chatswood High. Congratulations to all involved for putting on such a brilliant night, and thank you for the opportunity for our children to take part in it.