Music

Barrenjoey has an outstanding music program that involves teachers, students, parents and our community working together to promote participation in music both as a performer and as listener. The music program has a positive effect on students by giving students inexperienced in music opportunities to participate and excel, and making the performance of a wide variety of musical styles a regular feature of school life. In addition, by involving students in performing with musicians from different year groups, with ex-students and amateur and professional adults in our community, our students appreciate the pivotal role music plays in the culture of a community and in bringing people together with a common passion.

The music program challenges and extends students already experienced and/or talented in music by providing them with excellent teaching and opportunities to perform to a variety of audiences and with a variety of other musicians.

Music in the curriculum

Music is taught to all Year 7 and 8 students and is run as an elective in Years 9 and 10 and as a course for the NSW Preliminary Higher School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate. For the last three years students have been able to study the Vocational course Entertainment Industry (Live Theatre Production) and obtain a Certificate III - Australian Quality Framework (AQF) accreditation. This course complements the Music course as students learn music production skills such as mixing, music recording and stage lighting. They are able to assist students involved in curricula and co-curricula music by being responsible for setting up sound systems, microphones, lighting, stage management and so on. In addition, Barrenjoey has its own recording studio and our Entertainment students learn their sound recording skills by recording the performances of their fellow students.

Extra-curricula music band program

Barrenjoey has a concert band, stage band and training band. This program is managed by a parent committee and these bands perform at many school and community events. The band students also participate in a band tour where they perform at other schools and other community events. The most recent tour was of the NSW North Coast as well as further inland to Glenn Innes.

Each year there is a band night where the full repertoire is performed for parents and the community and the local primary school bands do guest performances.

The parent committee raises the funds to buy the instruments and pay for the musical directors.

In 2005 the committee arranged for the NSW Police Band to give a performance for students and a workshop for band students.

Tutor program

Weekly individual tutoring is provided for students during the school day. Instruments vary and include for example clarinet, flute, drums and tutoring is also provided for vocalists. We aim to provide a tutor for whatever instrument a student chooses to play.

Barrenjoey Music Room

Each term this event is organised by a school and community committee. The format for each concert is:

The Music Room aims to provide a venue for high quality, live music for the enjoyment of the whole community. Music styles vary from month to month and cover a wide range from classical to jazz to roots and blues, a capella, gospel and so on and includes soloists, ensembles and bands and often impromptu performances as the musicians get together to do some items. Each term between 150 - 250 people attend. In addition to the music, delicious, healthy food is available, so it becomes an affordable great night out for families and groups of friends of all ages.

Talent development

Students begin high school with a range of musical abilities and skills and some have no previous experience of playing and instrument. The Barrenjoey program provides development for all students and also identifies those with particular talent and fosters those students. For example, in the last 4 years two students have been selected for the NSW Talent Development Project. Both were singer songwriters and both successfully graduated from the program and are now successful in the music industry. Another talented Barrenjoey student has just received a scholarship from the Big Brother Movement (BBM) to study jazz in the UK in 2006.

Community events

Barrenjoey music students frequently perform at community events. Our concert band marches in the Avalon Anzac Day march providing the music and plays at the memorial ceremony. For several years a Barrenjoey student has played the Last Post and Reveille at the Dawn Service and at the commemorative ceremony.

Barrenjoey students provide hours of musical entertainment at events such as Avalon Market Day. The concert band performs as well as vocalists and a variety of ensembles involving students and ex-students. This is repeated at Newport Market Day, for Education Week concerts in local shopping centres and at other local community events.

Fundraising

Barrenjoey frequently holds major concerts to raise money for the school and for charity. For example, in February 2005 Barrenjoey held a concert entitled Music for Madampa and raised over $4,000 for Madampa Central School in Sri Lanka which was affected by the tsunami. Students, ex-students and teachers performed in this concert. In November 2005 we held the inaugural Barrenjoey Arts Festival, a day of music, dance, drama, art and photography. The Arts Festival showcased and celebrated the creative and performing arts of the school, local primary schools and the community and raised money for Barrenjoey's educational programs.