Phil Beverley, Director of Music

Good kids doing good things!

Congratulations to both Austin Fairfax (Composition) Wesley Woodhouse (Trombone performance) in gaining early entry to study Music at the Sydney Conservatorium.

Year 10 Violinist Oscar Xing has been accepted to take part in the International Summer Academy, held by the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. Students audition to be accepted into this programme and are provided the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most famous clinicians including Zakhar Bron, a teacher who has produced many internationally renowned artists, such as Maxim Vengerov, who was regarded as the world’s best violinist for many years during the early 21st century, Vadim Repin, Gwendolyn Masin, and  Daniel Hope, to name a few. We wish Oscar the very best as he works on refining his already well-established performance skills.

Year 9 Pianist, Thomas Boyd received Second Prize in the 12–15-year age group for the Grand Opus International Piano Competition in Vietnam. A wonderful achievement where he had the opportunity to perform Rondo Alla Turk with a full orchestra.

Term 3 Focus

Term 3 sees our musical focus pivot towards to soloists and Our Performance Plus Keynote with Karen Carey OAM supported just that. Our Year 12 students were joined by other elective music students and instrumentalists to see just how important the critique process is when refining a performance before final practical examinations.

Our HSC Students are gearing up for their final examinations and will be showcasing their talents as both Composers and Performers in the coming weeks during Spring Festival. It’s not just our Year 12s who are working hard however. We also have 220 entries for this year’s Spring Festival Soloist Performances on Friday 30 August. This event is set to be a wonderful celebration of Cranbrook creativity with seven recitals running concurrently, and the Visual Arts Exhibition and Drama mask work in and around the Perkins Precinct. Further details including map,  timings and who is performing where will be made available closer to the event.

A note to our Year 7 performers in the Spring Festival Performances and who also are attending CITF. Rescheduled rehearsals will be communicated to you very soon. These will take place in Week 5, prior to you departing in Week 6. I will work closely with the Tim Lilley, our new CITF Coordinator,  in order for you to leave early on the Friday so that you can return home in time to prepare for your performance. We understand that both CITF and Music performances are important opportunities for our students, and we are committed to making both opportunities a fun and enjoyable experience.

Phil Beverley
Director of Music