Musica Viva

Northbridge Public School has invited a Musica Viva ensemble to perform at our school several times over the past few years. Last Thursday, on June 6th, we were visited by the ensemble Eastwinds. They performed two concerts, one for Kindy and Years 1 and 2, and one for Years 3 to 6. Prior to the concerts, students have been learning about Eastwinds and listening to their music in their weekly music lessons.

Essential to the music of Eastwinds is improvising – making music up on the spot. For us, they performed a number of improvised musical pieces on many different instruments. Between the three musicians, they brought over 20 different instruments to play! These instruments included a didgeridoo, Persian ney (a type of flute), a saxophone and other woodwinds and even a rubber glove-based bagpipe. They also invited Miss Gillman to join in on the flute and xylophone marimba in some pieces.

During both of the concerts, students were asked to construct a story that would then be translated to be played on the instruments. K-2 students developed a story in which Santa and the North Pole were enveloped by ice and crushed! 3-6 students made a story of a hectic sounding morning, during which they fell out of bed and into their secret underground base, were attacked by a hippo they had to punch in the face and then proceed to have a perfectly ordinary breakfast. Students were invited to participate in a ‘seated dance’, playing word a association game accompanied by the didgeridoo.

The final performance of both concerts was based on a story of a young girl travelling back to her village. Students in the audience used body percussion and their own voices to create sounds of a creek and inclement weather. During this piece, several students were given the opportunity to play ‘whirly’ tubes then produce a sound when spun. Other students were invited to play a rain stick and also a foot pump-operated bagpipe.

We were very fortunate to have had Eastwinds join us for an engaging and exciting musical experience.