Our faculty had a dynamic year in 2019. Great works were produced by our students, significant new equipment was purchased and major changes to pedagogy were introduced.
Our top highlights are:
ANZAC DAY
Twenty five members of our talented Choir provided music for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service performing before a crowd of thousands. The Choir starting singing at 5:00 am performing nostalgic songs that were broadcast live on Triple M radio. The dedicated students sang beautifully and provided a valued service for our community.
Choral Collective
Twenty five members of the Warners Bay High School Choir participated in a concert and workshop collaborating with world renowned A Cappella singing group “Idea of North”. The Warners Bay High Choir sang their own rendition of “Zombie” and performed Paul Kelly’s “How to Make Gravy” in a mass collaboration with choirs from HSPA and the Hunter Singers. This provided a valuable performance opportunity for the students and forged important links with the community of schools and the wider community.
Music Count Us In
Our Concert Band, Choir and Stage Band collaborated with Valentine Public School and students from around Australia in a combined mass performance entitled ‘Music Count Us In.’ The program culminated in a National Celebration Day when more than half a million students sang the same song, on the same day, at the same time. This song was written by students, for students. The 2019 Program Song was called "We Are". This wonderful experience is recognised internationally as the world’s largest school music initiative. Our students were featured on NBN news and in the Newcastle Herald.
Bandwidth
Three of our talented junior rock bands, Midnight Drive (Year 10), Groovetown and Nazeth (Year 9), competed in the Bandwidth music competition, held at Hunter School of Performing Arts. All the Warners Bay High School bands sounded fantastic and this was an amazing opportunity to perform in a professional venue and compete with other top class rock bands. Noah from Year 9 won the award for best bass player and the winners of the ‘YouTube views’ competition were Nazeth, with a view count of 11,338. Their prize was one day of recording and mixing in HSPA's music studio.
Eleebana Spring Fair
A number of Warners Bay High School Music students performed at the Eleebana Spring Fair on Friday, 1 November, 2019. WBHS filled the performance slot from 4:30pm - 6:00pm with a variety of high quality performances. There were performances from the Concert Band, Stage Band, Vocal Ensemble and a number of smaller rock ensembles and solo performances. Their performances were well received by the Eleebana community and the students involved represented WBHS brilliantly. Thank you to all parents and students for their continued support of our wonderful music ensembles. Keep up the good work.
Bandfest
Congratulations to the Warners Bay High School Concert Band who competed at Bandfest 2019 in the Premier Division. They were awarded a Commended certificate for performance of The Greatest Showman, How to Train Your Dragon and Blues Brothers Revue. Our Stage Band was awarded a Highly Commended certificate for their performance of Freddie Freeloader, Malaguena and Birdland.
Reprise
Congratulations to Bronson R. and Nick S. of Year 12 who were selected to perform at the annual Reprise Concert in February 2020. Reprise is an HSC Music Showcase of the top Year 12 Music students from the Hunter/Central Coast region.
Entertainment Excursion to Vivid
The Year 9 Entertainment class attended a number of great workshops in Sydney as part of Vivid Festival. Vivid Sydney created these workshops to help students understand how artists work in the industry. Students attended inspiring talks from world renowned lighting designers. To end this fabulous excursion, we explored the impressive interactive light displays of Vivid Sydney, and enjoyed seeing the city light up at night.
School Musical ‘Before You’
In May 2019 Warners Bay High School presented the musical “Before You”. Approximately 70 students from Years 7 -12 were involved in performing, the live band, acting and the production team. Students performed over two weekends and the shows were attended by large audiences. Written by the Year 12 Drama class, the musical featured songs from the 1950s through to the music of today. Audiences loved the performances and we received positive feedback and comments on the high quality of the show.
Charlestown Square Education Week Concert.
During Education Week, a group of 65 students attended Charlestown Square for a public concert. Students performed for two hours, with presentation by the Concert Band, Stage Band, Vocal Ensemble and various ensembles from the Music elective classes. This successful performance day showcased the talented students of WBHS to our community.
Band Camp
In Term Two, 2019 the Warners Bay High School Concert Band attended a two day camp at Valentine Scout Hall. Students participated in workshops on improving breath control, intonation and projection. A number of professional Band directors ran workshops including Lesa Scully and Tavis McKlennin. This was an invaluable camp for WBHS students, and they were invigorated by the experience. The camp improved the sound of the Concert Band as a whole and strengthened their ensemble skills, leading into a successful second semester of performances.
Music GATS
Thank you to Mr. Neal, all the staff, students, and parents who made our GATS Music Day an engaging, creative and musical experience. Gifted and Talented musicians in Years 5 and 6 were selected from Warners Bay, Valentine, and Biddabah Public Schools to participate in this program. Students performed jazz fusion pieces, beat the bongos and congas in a drum circle, and experienced our Virtual Reality games with Mr Voigt. Students were entertained by performances from our own musicians and the Stage Band, ending the day in an epic Kahoot battle. This was a great experience making music and new friends.
LIZOTTE’S
Year 11 Music students hosted a fantastic concert at Lizotte's restaurant. The experience provided our students with ‘real world’ performance opportunities and preparation for the Year 11 Yearly exam. This event was enjoyed by parents, family and community members. Students rose to the occasion wowing the audience with their talent and showmanship.
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE
The Warners Bay High School Stage Band took part in a Concert for the Belmont Baptist Church. They were then treated to a special morning tea where they were able to mingle with members from the Belmont Baptist Church Community.
SOIREE and Senior Musician of the Year (SMOTY)
Music Electives students presented a Soiree for parents, families and friends, providing an opportunity for performances in a more intimate space. Senior Musician of the Year (SMOTY) 2019 Bronson R. treated us to a musical performance and presented the SMOTY award to Meabh N. and Jacobe K. for 2020. These students have both displayed outstanding commitment to their Music studies and broader school community performances.
Starstruck auditions
Five students from WBHS were successful in advancing to the second stage of auditions for Starstruck 2020. Congratulations to these fantastic singers on this achievement.
HSC Marking
Mr Forbes was provided with the opportunity to undertake HSC Music Performance Examination marking this year, allowing him to develop teaching strategies to further enhance our students' deep knowledge and understanding of the practical components of Music.
