Diana Springford – Head of Music

Welcome to our Music Matters page 🎶

Here you will find announcements about our busy Music program, so please check this on a weekly basis. 

For those of you who are curious to start tuition on an instrument for the first time, or who would like to join one of our many ensembles or choirs, now is the best time to sign up. The beginning of the year is when we set the habits that will carry us through the rest of the year. Introducing the new habits when you are making such a fresh transition is a great time to do so. Please don’t wait! 

Music competition – new in Term 1 for 2021

The Music competition has several components and is open to our young musicians from Years K-12 and culminates in a showcase recital with the opportunity to receive feedback from a visiting adjudicator on Monday evening of Week 9, Term 1: 

Practice competition: You need a yellow sheet (from the Music Staffroom or your Emanuel School tutor) and you need to record your practice minutes every week. There will be a small but fun prize for the student who has done the most minutes of practice from Weeks 2 – 6. Parents need to initial the weekly practice log to verify the practice done. There will be a prize for a student from each of Years K-2, 3-6, 7-10 and 11-12.

Composition and creation competition: Students should submit their composition by video by Tuesday of Week 7. This composition could be fully notated (using Sibelius or Noteflight) and submitted as a screen video of the scrolling software. The composition could be a recording of the composition being performed (for example if you have composed a song that you can sing and play for video.) This competition is open for any genre. Finalists in this competition will have their videos presented (or they can perform live) at the showcase recital. There will be a prize for a student from each of Years K-2, 3-6, 7-10 and 11-12.

Performance competition: Students should submit a video, by Tuesday of Week 7, of their performance of a piece that shows them at their best. They should ask their private music tutor for help. This competition is open for any genre, but is for solo performers. You may include a piano accompanist or use a backing track. Finalists in the performance competition must perform live at the Showcase Recital on Monday of Week 9. More information is available here.

Private tuition and the Infant Strings program has already begun, for those of you who are interested in signing up for private tuition or small group string instrument tuition (K-2), please go to the Music Portal page for information.

Ensembles and Choirs for all ages begin in Week 3. Please go to the Music Portal Page for information on our K-12 Ensembles and Choirs which includes a link to the 2021 Schedule and information on how to join. Current members of auditioned ensembles do not need to re-audition.

Auditions for new members of many auditioned ensembles will be in Weeks 3 and 4. Students should sign up for an audition on Monday 8 February 2021 by looking for and completing the sign-on sheets on the glass wall near the Music Staffroom. Auditions may or may not be at times that coincide with the ensemble/choir rehearsals, so when signing on please carefully take note of the day and time. Auditions for choirs and ensembles will require students to sing/play a piece that shows them at their best and to do some sight singing or sight reading (we know it’s early in the year and there may not have been an ideal amount of practice in the holidays). Instrumentalists should also prepare a major and minor scale and, if possible, a chromatic scale. Please go to the Music Portal Page for information on our K-12 Ensembles and Choirs. The current rehearsal schedule has a column indicating which ensembles/choirs require audition for membership.

2021 Bassoon Scholarship for one Year 7 student. We have a lovely new full size, light weight bassoon and we are offering to split (50/50) the cost of tuition for 2021 for the most suitable candidate. Students who have played a wind instrument before or who are experienced players of piano or a bass clef instruments will be preferred, but ‘new’ musicians will be considered. You can find more information here. Entries are due by 5.00 pm on Wednesday 10 February 2021.