Director of Music | Acting Director, Mr Jan Hewerdine

Congratulations are in order to the ANZAC Day Marching Band, who marched last Saturday in the biennial Apple and Grape Festival, held in Stanthorpe. The discipline, as well as the musical output was high calibre and exemplified the values and the public face of Terrace. A surprise bonus was that the Red Thunder Drumline were invited to open the parade! A special thank you too, to all the families who travelled out to see us.

A big thank you also to Mrs Kelly and the string staff for the String Soirée, which was held last night at Waterford Place. This provided a wonderful opportunity for our younger string musicians to perform in both an ensemble and solo capacity. Thank you Mr Michael Manikus for accompanying the soloists.

Students in Years 11 and 12 who participate in our Premier Ensembles are eligible to receive Honour Pockets. The conditions for receiving an Honour Pocket are set out on p.151 of the Student Diary. Our first events for Honour Pocket qualification will be happening in Term 2; the ANZAC Day Parade on 25 April and the Norman Clarke Concert on 21 May.

Congratulations to the Red Thunder Drumline, directed by Mr Matt Cocking, for their performance on College Assembly this week. Next week the newly formed Terrace Trombone Choir, under the direction of Mr Adrian Head will be performing.

For any budding composers in our community, I would like to draw your attention to the following initiative:
https://artology.org.au/fanfar...
 
As an aid, student resources can be found here:
 https://artology.org.au/resour...

If these links don’t work correctly, please copy and paste into your browser’s address bar.

Home Practice

Private home practice is essential to success in any musical or artistic endeavour. Practise is difficult, it is a solitary activity and you have to spend time trying to figure out things that you can't do. However, if you practise until you can't get it wrong you will be rewarded with a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, knowing you have overcome the challenges. The most difficult part of practice is getting started.  
 
Here are a few tips to help you on your way. 
 
• Find a time and place each day where you are able to do your practice without being disturbed, or disturbing others. 
• Invest in a music stand and a comfortable chair so that you practise with good posture. 
• Practise regularly. Shorter, frequent practise sessions are more valuable than one or two longer sessions each week. 
• Use a metronome and listen to recordings to help develop a sense of time and understanding of how music should sound. 
• Divide your practice session into: 
• warm up 
• scales and technical work  
• etudes and solo pieces 
• band music 
• fun music – play along with your favourite songs 
• listen – music is a language, listen to great performers so you know how your instrument is meant to sound. 
 
The following is a recommended guideline to help you plan your practice sessions. 
While it may not be possible every week, it is good to keep a goal in mind. 
 
• Beginners: 10 -15 minutes – 5 - 6 days/week 
• Intermediate: 20 - 30 minutes – 5 - 6 days/week 
• Advanced: 30 - 60 minutes – 5 - 6 days/week 
 
Remember, rehearsals, performances and lessons do not count as private practice.

For those students who perform with our beginner and intermediate level ensembles, it is a requirement that you wear grey trousers for performances. This provides a more formal and unified look as opposed to a mix of trousers and shorts. The first big concert event for these groups will be the Winter Concert in Term 2. Trousers are available from the Uniform Shop in sizes 8 to 18. Students who perform only as part of the Years 5 and 6 Band and Strings classes do not need to purchase trousers. 

Please check the Terrace App and Parent Lounge regularly as this is where information regarding various events (see the list below) will now be published. As events are approved and posted to the Parent Lounge, you will be sent an email advising the name of the event, including the Event Memo, to check and you will be required to give a response regarding attendance. Event Memos will also be available through the Terrace App in Music and will no longer be emailed separately.

Holiday Workshops

• ANZAC Day Marching Band (consisting of BCB, RCB and Red Thunder Drumline) Thursday 12 April 9-12pm Tennyson.
• Drumline Thursday 12 April 12.30-2.30pm Tennyson.
• ANZAC Day Marching Band (as per above + SWE) Friday 13 April, 9-12pm Tennyson.
• Red Peppers Pep Band (TJO, BBB, Percussion Ensemble Two’s drumline, all tuba players) Friday 13 April, 12.30-2.30pm

Term 2 Events

• ANZAC Day Marching Band, Sunday 22 April, 10am-12pm, Tennyson Playing Fields
• ANZAC Day Marching Band, Wednesday 25 April, 8am-12.30pm, meet at Terrace, march in Brisbane CBD.
• Senior Music Production Wednesday 16-19 May, selected performers only. 
• Winter Concert, Wednesday 30 May, 6.30pm. 
• Norman Clarke Concert, Sunday 3 June, Villanova College. Sound checks from 10.45am, concert at 3pm.
• Drumline and RBB band Workshop Monday 25 June 
• First Percussion Ensemble BBB band Workshop Tuesday 26 June 
• Percussion 2, Percussion 3, TJC band Workshops Wednesday 27 June