Band News

Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra

Two Riverside girls, Alex Thompson and Olivia Saul, have been in China from 30 July to 13 August 2008, and I thought you would be interest in an update of how their performances at the Beijing Olympics went.

Alex plays clarinet and Olivia plays saxophone in the RGHS Concert Band and in the NSW Performing Arts Unit Millennium Marching Band, and the band's 150 student musicians - led by Lindsay Frost of the PAU - formed the main Australian representatives of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra.

The entire Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra was made up of 2008 student musicians from 40 countries, and they performed both as three separate orchestras or 'hubs', and as one large entity. The Australians formed part of the 'green hub'. The orchestra participated in the pre-games Chinese celebrations in Tianjin, at the Great Wall of China, and most notably at Tiananmen Square. They were the only non professional group allowed to perform at the China/International Olympic Committee (IOC) Cultural Celebration at the Olympics.

The performance at Tiananmen Square made history as the Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra was the first foreign group ever to gain permission from the Chinese authorities to perform in the Square.

The scale of the performances was huge, and the photos don't really do them justice. The group was transported around China in a motorcade of 57 buses escorted by police, and the Olympic Orchestra was well known to the local Chinese because of the media coverage in China. At times marching and playing was difficult for the young performers with heat and dehydration temporarily sidelining some musicians, but they performed with a professionalism beyond their years.

For the whole orchestra, and in particular the Australians members including Alex and Olivia, the tour was an achievement to be proud of, both as musicians and as ambassadors for their country.

Term 3 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER No.1
Term III, 2008

Dear Parents and Students of the RGHS Band Program,

Welcome to the new Riverside Girls Band Program Newsletter! My name is Nic Jeffries, and I am the newly appointed Band Program Director and Conductor taking over from Jay Byrnes. Firstly, let me say I am extremely excited about this new role. For those of you who may remember, I was fortunate enough to be invited to perform with my band for the Riverside Swings evening towards the end of last term. I had a fantastic night, and was extremely impressed with the standard and potential of the band here at Riverside! The girls performed very well that night, and I am looking very forward to working with them over the years ahead.

To give you a little background on myself, I am a professional performing musician here in Sydney both as a Saxophonist and Vocalist. I recently graduated from Sydney Universitys Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music majoring in Jazz Saxophone. I currently manage and run a successful corporate band here in Sydney – WONDERBRASS. Please feel free to visit www.wonderbrass.com.au to have a look at the band. Whilst this keeps me extremely busy, I have been looking for a school to focus some attention and time on since graduating and no longer having a hectic Monday-Friday University schedule – along came Riverside!

I have many plans for the RGHS Bands, and will be working very closely with the Band Committee and the school towards developing the program further and ensuring that the girls are enjoying every minute of not only being a musician, but also being involved in band at school! I absolutely LOVE being a full time musician, and I hope to show the girls how wonderful music can be as a part of their lives.

RGHS Band Program Newsletter will not usually take the format of a letter like this, but I felt it was appropriate for my first edition. I am always happy to talk with parents or students of Riverside, so please do not hesitate to send me an email whenever you have any queries. I have set up a new program email address, so that you may be able to contact me any time: rghsband@seriousears.com.au. Although for any critical matters, please don’t hesitate to call me on the number below.

Ok, now onto the important information for this term. Should you have any queries regarding the following information, please send me an email.

TUTORING PROGRAM at RIVERSIDE

After much investigation into the tutoring situation here at the school, it appears that not many students involved in the band are undergoing tutoring here at Riverside. Attached with this newsletter is a RGHS Band Tutoring Program form that I would like returned to me at next Thursday’s rehearsal – 31st July. Even if you are having lessons outside of the school program, it would be appreciated if this form could please be returned by next week as I will be using it to put together a database of the students currently involved in the program. Many thanks in advance for your cooperation on this.

It is STRONGLY ADVISED that the girls be learning from the tutors available here at the school, as this helps us to ensure the girls are continually working on band material and progressing at a good pace with their music. There are some new tutors and some existing tutors, all wonderful musicians and teachers who are ready to take students for Woodwind (Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Oboe), Brass (Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, French Horn etc.), Strings(Violin,Viola, Cello, Double Bass), Guitar & Bass, Piano & Keyboard, Drums and Percussion. Vocal lessons will also be available here at the school as of this term. Please indicate on the attached form what tutoring you would be interested in and you will be contacted shortly.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
One of the most important aspects of being a musician is PERFORMING to an audience. Whilst our rehearsals are going to be vital for us to prepare new material and have a ball playing together as a group (with hopefully lots of laughs along the way), performances for the girls will be a huge priority for me as the new band director. Please mark the following important dates in your calendar for the relevant ensemble to you:

Wednesday 10th September
Student Leader Induction Assembly – Morning
String Orchestra led by Andras Racz

Wednesday 24th September
Year 12 Farewell Assembly – Morning
Riverside Stage Band led by Nic Jeffries

Thursday 25th September
Year 12 Graduaton Ceremony @ 7:30pm
Riverside Concert Band & String Orchestra led by Nic Jeffries & Andras Racz

Wednesday 19th November
Year 11 Presentation Assembly – Morning
String Orchestra led by Andras Racz

Friday 28th November
Year 10 Presentation Assembly – Morning
Riverside Concert Band led by Nic Jeffries

Thursday 6th December
Year 6 into 7 Orientation Day – Morning
Riverside Concert & Stage Band, as well as String Orchestra led by Nic Jeffries and Adras Racz

A more detailed PERFORMANCE NOTICE will be sent out leading up to each of these events.

BAND EXPECTATIONS

My main expectation of the girls is that they HAVE FUN! It’s important that they are enjoying being a part of the band and are enjoying playing music… Whilst having fun is a main priority, we will also be trying to progress and improve as a group, and as we’ve all been told before “a team is only as good as its weakest member”. This saying applies not only to effort and practice, but also to commitment. Girls will be expected to be at all rehearsals on time every week. Rehearsals will start promptly at the times listed below, so please try and arrive 10mins before hand to set up and be ready to start at the scheduled rehearsal time. I will discuss this with the girls in their first rehearsals this week. Here are the rehearsal times for each ensemble for the rest of 2008:

GROUP DAY TIME & VENUE

Riverside Concert Band
Thursday
3:00pm-4:30pm in Performance Space

Riverside Stage Band
Thursday
1:15pm-2:00pm in Performance Space

String Orchestra Group A
Tuesday
8:00am-9:00am in Performance Space

String Orchestra Group B
Wednesday
8:00am-9:00am in Performance Space

For students in the Wind Bands, (Concert & Stage Band) teachers will allow you out of class 5-10mins early to set up for band rehearsal. Please also note, that venues may be subject to change.

I look very forward to the rest of 2008 and to some wonderful performances with the Bands! I look forward to not only meeting the girls this Thursday, but also to meeting all the parents involved in the program at some stage soon.

Regards,

Nic Jeffries

2008 Band - Introductory Letter

Dear Band Parents and Students,

Welcome to the Riverside Instrumental Ensemble Program (RIEP) for 2008. I hope you and your family will enjoy the experiences you will have while being a member of the program.

The RIEP is a valuable opportunity for your daughter to have extra curricular musical experience in brass, woodwind, percussion, guitar, piano and orchestral strings. Currently the program has 5 ensembles rehearsing regularly which are the Concert Band, Big Band, String Ensemble, Flute Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble.

Involvement in a music program allows students to develop personally. I am a strong advocate for the benefits music can have for your daughter and do my best to encourage students to develop commitment. Being part of the ensemble program requires a commitment of time for rehearsals, performances, lessons and personal practise. I see all musical ensembles as team environments and encourage students to support each other and value the input of all band members. The absence of any band member is noticed .To help to prepare for a missing member we ask that I the director Jay Byrnes be informed with notice by email (riepdirector@gmail.com)

I believe in keeping parents regularly informed about band events and provide this information predominantly through email.

In light of this the plans for this years activities are now being discussed and include:
*Our annual fundraiser Riverside Swings in May
*Our annual end of year Music Night in November
*Professional Musician incursions at the end of each Term. Term 1 (histoire du Tango)
*Excursions, currently being organised are SSO and AOBO tours.
*Regular performances at school events and assemblies.

Costs to participate in the RIEP are $100 per term/$400 P/A. This cost covers rehearsals (approx 10 per term), paying artists for incursions, excursions, and school instrument purchasing and maintenance (for larger more expensive instruments.)

To allow students to develop their musical skills they are strongly encouraged to have private music lessons. RIEP has a number of tutors who provide lessons to students of RGHS. The cost of instrumental lesson is $30 per lesson. If you would like your daughter to have lessons please email me with the instrument name in the subject part of the email and I will forward your details onto the relevant tutor.

I encourage family involvement in the band program as students are always more committed and progress better if they have family support. One way this can be achieved is through your participation in our band parent committee, who organise fundraisers and assist at performances. They are always happy to meet new parents and have a hand. If you would like to lend a hand our first meeting for the year is 7pm February 20th at the school.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me

riepdirector@gmail.com

I look forward to meeting you and working with your daughters this year.

Jay Byrnes
RIEP Director

	28 August 2008