Talent Thrives in School Environment!
SCHOOLS CONCERT 2022
Eastern Hills High School Music Auditorium
Wednesday 7 September 2022, 7pm - 9 pm
The annual Schools Concert is one of the musical highlights of the RJAFTA calendar, and this year’s concert was no exception. The EHSHS Music Auditorium is quite exceptional with great views from any seat, the lighting and sound quality is fantastic, and the beautiful parquetry flooring, wood panels and dark walls makes for a sumptuous space. The talented and skilled youth musicians entertaining the delighted audience came from Eastern Hills Senior High School, Helena College, and Guildford Grammar School.
Eastern Hills Senior Concert Band
Kicking the evening off with a high, The Eastern Hills Senior Concert Band, conducted by Music Director Maurice Bourgault, began with an impactful rendition and arrangement by contemporary American composer James Swearingen. The Concert Band’s performance of “Celebrations and Tribute” highlighted the assured and competent playing of the musicians. The band then delivered Canadian composer Kenley Kristofferson’s composition “Matters of Kindness”, full of sumptuous textures that enabled all the musicians to participate in creating a beautiful and poignant reflection of a young life that ended too soon. Moving onto more contemporary compositions and arrangement, the Band finished their strong performance with a medley of the most popular songs from the Australian band INXS, much to the delight of all the audience. Listening and watching this performance, it was easy to forget that these 40 brilliant musicians were all school students, ranging in age from year 9 to year 12, with 5 being ATAR music students.
Ryan Lavater-Williams (EHSHS)
Displaying skill and talent with a solo guitar piece, Lavater-Williams played “La Catedral” by Augustin Barrios (written in 1921), a beautiful lilting and haunting piece full of broad horizontal chords and arppegios. Lavater-Williams played this technically challenging piece with confidence, and the audience loved it! Lavater-Williams is a year 12 ATAR music student, and has been playing guitar under the instruction of teacher Justin Lynam since year 6 primary school.
Madeleine Howarth (Helena College)
The solitary diminutive figure of year 7 student Madeleine Howarth (Helena College) was almost lost in the vastness of the spacious auditorium, until she began to sing. With amazing vocal range and impeccable delivery, Howarth performed with stunning skill “She used to be Mine”, mesmerising the entire audience with her delicately sweet and lilting interpretation of Sarah Bareilles beautiful song. When she finished her last captivating note, the audience - momentarily quiet with wonderment - gave Howarth the thundering applause she so deserved
Guildford Grammar School Motown Band
As in past years, the fantastic Guildford Grammar School Motown Band (Director Mark Underwood) delivered a high energy impact performance of upbeat contemporary hits. Accompanied by a very accomplished 12 piece big band, with a large brass section, the six talented singers confidently belted out hits “I’m Still Standing” (Elton John), “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor), Perth’s own Baby Animals “One Word”, Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made for Walking”, the iconic “Nutbush City Limits” (Tina Turner), Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk”, and Stevie Wonders funk-anthem “Higher Ground”. Two teeny humans were dancing in the stalls, and the Boodjar Bidi Girls Dance Troupe could be seen dancing to the left of stage. The Motown Band is always a highlight, and the audience expressed their enthusiastic enjoyment of the strong and entertaining performance with resounding applause.
Boodjar Bidi Girls Dance Troupe
It is not often we have the pleasure of being entertained by dancers at the Schools Concert. This year, the audience were enthralled by the Boodjar Bidi Girls Dance Troupe (Guildford Grammar School), performing a dance devised by the Troupe that celebrates the 6 Noongar Seasons of Birak, Bunuru, Djeran, Makaru, Djilba and Kambarang. Boodjar Bidi comes from the Whadjuk Noongar language and translates to “country pathways”. Formed by teacher Andrew Beck in 2015, the dance troupe helps students stay connected to their culture. Not only did the audience thoroughly enjoy the performance, but it was clear the Troupe did also.
Helena College Strings Ensemble
After the brief intermission, Helena College Strings Ensemble (accompanied by Mr Bill Napier) launched into the foot-tapping “Europe’s Skies” by violinist and singer Alexander Rybak. Written in 2010, Rybak plays violin and wrote the piece for voice and strings, which perfectly suited the Strings Ensemble. The Ensemble proficiently delivered this upbeat and rhythmic arrangement, with several audience members tapping along to the beat. Next, the Ensemble expertly played the soaringly gorgeous “Moonstone”, written by contemporary Japanese pianist and composer Yukiko Nishimura. They finished their performance with another contemporary pop piece “A Thousand Years” (2011) by Christina Perri. Strings suit this beautiful love song about eternal love perfectly, and the Helena College Strings Ensemble delivered a seemingly effortless and flawless performance that kept the audience engaged for the entirety of the performance. The HC Strings Ensemble has members from Year 6 to Year 12, but as the Year 6s were on camp, performers for this evening were from Year 7 to Year 12, with two of the students being ATAR music students.
Ben Foster (EHSHS)
Beethoven’s favourite keys were C minor and Eb major, and he wrote many pieces in these keys. Said to be one of Beethoven’s more approachable sonatas, with dynamic contrasts and rhetorical silences, Sonata #5 in C Minor, Op.10 was expertly played by Year 12 ATAR music student Ben Foster. Foster executed this lyrical and nostalgic piece with delicate confidence and impeccable timing, displaying great musical maturity. The audience showed how much they enjoyed Fosters performance with rousing applause, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that Ben Foster is a name to follow on his musical journey.
Reuben Duncan (Helena College) with Jasmine Browne
Year 12 ATAR music students Reuben Duncan (violin) and Jasmine Browne (piano) confidently approached the technically difficult “Après un Rêve”, composed in the 1870s by Gabriel Fauré - described as one of the three great masters of French mélodie. Most often played with cello and piano, and a popular opera piece, Duncan adapted it to violin. The audience swooned to Duncan’s elegantly fragile and haunting violin sound accompanied by Browne’s melodic and relentlessly-driving piano underpinning the whole piece - the beauty of the two instruments complementing each other perfectly. As with Howarth’s performance, the audience were captivated by the nocturnal sounding transitions and were hushed momentarily, before bursting into appreciative applause. The creative future looks more than promising for these two brilliantly talented musicians.
Eastern Hills Guitar Ensemble
Guitar Ensemble Director Matthew Arceo put the audience in the mood for Latin dancing, starting the Ensemble’s performance with ARIA award winning musician Gareth Koch’s “Rumba Flamenca” (2009) full of rhythmic drive and the promise of beauty and romance! With some of the guitarists expertly playing the melody, and others the rhythm and chords, the rhythm guitarists also played golpe hits over the front of the guitar. The audience loved it! Next the Ensemble kept the pace with English composer Karl Jenkins “Palladio”, written in 1995 for string orchestra and performed by the Ensemble with assured confidence. Next, a journey into the sea with Australian guitarist and composer Richard Charlton’s harmonic “Voyage of the Green Sea Turtle” (2012), with Arceo and students weaving a rich tapestry of rhythm, melody, and choral structure. Although 3 short of their usual 18 players, the students ranging from year 7 to Year 12 (with 2 being ATAR music students) delivered a truly skilful and solid performance to the enthusiastic and appreciative audience.
Eastern Hills Senior Concert Band, 7 September 2022. Video courtesy Donna Goodlet
Images below courtesy of Shire of Mundaring Councillor Jo Cicchini, Donna Goodlet, Abigail Hall. If you have any images you would like included in our News Post, please email them to us (link in footer).
The Mundaring Bicentennial Scholarship Trust, which administers the Robert Juniper Award for the Arts, would like to thank the musical directors of the participating schools for their kind cooperation in coordinating the programme for the Schools Concert; and thanks and gratitude is extended to all the teachers, directors, and performers for their commitment and expertise in presenting the Schools Concert again this year.
Many thanks to Eastern Hills Senior High School for the use of their Music Auditorium and its facilities, and sincere gratitude to all the students and their families who have generously sacrificed numerous hours to let others enjoy the performers’ talent.
The Trust also acknowledges their principal funder, Patricia Juniper and Juniper Galleries, and Community Bank Mundaring for their in-kind support.
Until next year then . . . .
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