MUSIC
INSERT : SOLOIST WITH THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA . TOP
PHOTOS , LEFT TO RIGHT : SCHOOL UNITING IN SONG ; CELLOS AND
BASSES OF THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
FOUNDATION DAY CONCERT and old favourites
J S Bach ’ s oratorios would often shock the congregation with progressive harmonies and unfamiliar musical devices , but he would then provide the ‘ relief ’ of a chorale , or hymn tune that the congregation could directly relate to , and indeed participate in . This year ’ s Foundation Day Concert took a similar approach , at least in concept . We enjoyed a celebration of premiere performances , along with some works that have been heard in Hamer Hall at earlier concerts .
Head of Pipes and Drums , Mark Saul , composed a complex work called Diaspora , which featured Sam Knights ( Year 12 ) on whistle – a haunting experience for all , magically performed by the Pipes and Drums .
Ross Irwin , a frequent guest of the department , was commissioned to compose a work for the Show Band called Wolflike . The boys enjoyed working on this piece , under the direction of Ross , at Music Camp . The exceptional performance featured soloists Puluna Vaea ( Year 12 ) on flugelhorn and Thomas Lin ( Year 12 ) on drums , all under the excellent direction of Megan
Philip . The band then continued with the more familiar favourite , Sweet Home Chicago by the Blues Brothers .
Another new creation came from the imagination of one of our percussion staff , Harry Potocnic , who wrote Paradiddle-lido for the Drumline , which delighted the audience . Our special guest composer came from New York . Dr Edward Green is Professor of Composition at the Manhattan School of Music , and he spent a few days with us , working with our composition students as well as students from Monash University .
The Symphony Orchestra performed the Australian premiere of his Overture in G . The boys , and indeed I , greatly enjoyed bringing the work to reality in the presence of the composer , who thought the concert was magnificent ! Something a little more familiar , at least in style , was my own arrangement , Three Spirituals , for the school and orchestra , lifted from a more extended work that I wrote for the Foundation Day Concert some years ago .
The first major work of the night was the Piano Concerto in A Minor by Schumann , performed by the Symphony Orchestra
54 Great Scot