SENIOR SCHOOL
On the stage at
Telethon
“Hey Kieran, these boys are pretty good. I think we should
take them onto Telethon. What do you reckon?”
With this question Mr Andrew Beck, Coordinator of the Indigenous
Program, started the process that culminated with the students of
Boodjar Bidi and the Jarokaphonic Orchestra rocking the audience at
Telethon 2015.
The process was not the easiest one, but was so rewarding for
all involved. Due to the size of the group (37 students), we could
not perform ‘live’ at the event. Rather we had to pre-record the
orchestral and rock backings and then perform live vocals over
the final mix at the event itself. Hence we split the group into two
sessions and went to Crank Recording Studios, where Mr Lee Buddle
expertly fashioned the backing track that would serve as the basis for
our performance at Telethon itself.
One of the other issues that we faced was in the procurement of
performing rights for the song. Whilst GoSet Music (who represented
The Street Warriors) gave permission immediately, we also needed
permission from Shane Howard, whose original song Solid Rock
led to the creation of the version that we were performing. This
was made more difficult by the fact that the “Reclaim Australia”
movement had fraudulently used the song in its advertising and
campaigns. Shane Howard instructed them to cease using his work
and was then very particular about whom he allowed to use his
original work. Luckily he saw that his original theme of reconciliation
between the Aboriginal and European cultures was mirrored in our
proposal, and gave his permission almost immediately.
All this led to us descending upon the Perth Entertainment and
Convention Centre on the morning of Sunday 18 October to
perform in front of approximately 1200 people in the venue and
approximately 100x that in TV land.
The boys performed brilliantly and received standing ovations from
the crowd. Darnell Morrison (12Wb) worked the camera, while
Jarrad Allen (12SG) wooed his legion of fans in the front three
rows. Tommy Charles (11SG) rounded off the ‘live’ component of
the performance by playing superbly on the Didgeridoo from the
front of stage – very ably assisted by young Mr Byron Beck.
The performance was capped off when Mitchell Chatfield (12He),
Music Captain 2015, and Darnell Morrison (12Wb), presented the
panel of celebrities with a cheque for $2000,
raised through performances from both the
Indigenous and Music departments of the School.
This caps off a fantastic couple of years from all
of the students in the Jarokaphonic Orchestra and
the Boodjar Bidi dance group, which has seen us
perform around the state, internationally, and now
on television. A special thank you to all of the Year
12 students who have been a part of this journey
from the beginning.
Let’s see what next year holds!
Guildford Grammar School’’s Tel