On Friday, the 29th of November, the Brighton Chamber Orchestra went on an excursion to the Adelaide Town Hall to watch the ASO's "Rehearsal Unwrapped." We had the opportunity to hear them perform Death on the Pale Horse, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor (performed by the ASO’s concertmaster, Kate Suthers), as well as Mahler's Symphony No. 1.We were even lucky enough to be invited on stage by guest conductor, Keitaro Harada and sit among the orchestra as they rehearsed. It was an incredible opportunity to witness the behind-the-scenes of a professional orchestra in action.

On Wednesday the 20th of November, the year 7, 8, 9, and 10 Core Music students showcased the music that they have been working hard on over the second semester of 2024. The ensembles that performed included bands, string ensembles, percussion ensembles, TB choirs and SA choirs from each year level and an SATB choir from the year 10s. The year 7s and 9s presented the first concert together, and the 8s and 10s, the second. This gave the younger year levels an opportunity to see where they could be in a couple of years. For the year 10s, this was a special showcase as it was our last one ever. I’m sure the year 10s have enjoyed their journey with their ensembles and will miss all the memories. All the hard work has paid off across all the year levels after a great performance.

On the 10th of September, we were lucky enough to have trumpet player Yoram Levy visit us, who is one of the most influential brass educators in Australia. Yoram ran several workshops with brass players from different year levels to work on solo pieces, improving technique and providing other valuable feedback. He also worked with Brass Ensemble and Year 10 Band on their repertoire. It was a great opportunity for those who participated and our brass players definitely benefitted from this experience.

On the 30th of August and 3rd of September 2024, our school's Music program held our 'Music Spectacular'. Music Spectacular is almost like an annual festival in the music community, where all extracurricular ensembles get the fantastic opportunity to showcase their talent. Every year consists of a theme, and this year it was 'Out of this World'! Over the two nights, we got the opportunity to see other ensembles we aren’t involved in, and also watch unique ensembles, like a combination of Big Band with stringed instruments and singers, perform as well! Some students were also fortunate enough to be part of a stage crew, which involved setting up the stage between ensembles, and side-stage dance parties. We were fortunate enough to invite the Woodville High School Saxophone Quintet on our trip to space, as our Brighton Chamber Orchestra played at their Showcase Night, earlier in the year. Overall, there is no doubt in saying that Music Spec was definitely one of this year’s biggest highlights! You can view the live streams from both the concerts on our YouTube playlist.

After much hard work and preparation over the year, it was time for Sinfonia, BCO and Concert Band to compete in ABODA over Tuesday 13th August-Thursday 15th August. Sinfonia (directed by Jenny Symonds) played very well and competed in the Intermediate Strings Division, being awarded a Bronze award. BCO (directed by Hilary Kleinig) were awarded Gold in the Advanced Strings Division with their amazing performance. In the Advanced Concert Band Division, our Concert Band directed by Hannah Lewis were awarded a Gold Award after a stunning performance of their two pieces. All ensembles did an amazing job and we are so proud of all the students involved and their directors for all the hard work, extra rehearsal times and individual practice that meant they could take their performances to the next level. ABODA is a fantastic opportunity for the students just in these classically streamed ensembles to experience a competition. It was a great opportunity to compete in a friendly but competitive atmosphere, and helped us all to grow as a team within our ensembles.

Upon invitation from residents at the Brighton Dunes, BCO (Brighton Chamber Orchestra) performed an hour-long concert featuring varied program of music - classical, jazz, folk and pop - that was enjoyed by all. Some beautiful feedback from The Dunes Music Group was that 'We found it exciting, and the musicianship displayed by the students showed a maturity beyond our expectations'. BCO has been invited back again next year to perform.

On Monday, August 12th, music students took part in the ASO Big Rehearsal. This event allows students to join a professional ASO player in a rehearsal at Granger Studio, concluding in a small concert. This year's repertoire included 'Indian Pacific', 'Finlandia', and 'España'. It was a super fun experience that gave students a taste of playing in a professional orchestra. There are different sections for various skill levels, so everyone is welcome to participate next year.

WELCOME TO THE SECOND EDITION OF THE DUNGEON! The Dungeon is a monthly newsletter for music kids, named after our music centre's very own dungeon. It features each month’s music events, photos of those events and an advice column for some problems that you may come across as a music kid. As always, our email address is the place to send suggestions on topics to cover for the advice column, and/or photos for the newsletter, so don’t be afraid to send ideas over! A huge thank you to everyone who read the pilot edition, it means a lot 😀 SHOWCASE 1 - JUNE 18 Showcase is an event that occurs twice a year, and is a chance for all SIM and Core music students from years 7 - 10 to perform the pieces they have been working on during the semester. There are two concerts (7 and 9s, 8 and 10s) that include percussion, band, strings and choir from each year level. It’s designed in a way that younger students can look up to older ones, and see where they could be in a couple of years time. It’s a great thing to be in awe of more advanced performances, and also to be on the other end of that when you get older, getting the chance to be a role model for younger students. Both concerts were super great this year, really fun to watch. Some teachers this year had to direct ensembles they may not normally direct or accompany with instruments they wouldn’t normally play, and we commend them for that. This was the first year in probably a good 20 that S.W.A.T was not performed in year 7 or 8 percussion, resulting in varying levels of disappointment or relief. Many of the year 10s remembered the mallet beheading incident of 2022, in which they witnessed the head of a bass drum mallet flying off in the middle of band, and wondered if they too would be subject to this now that they were in that year level. Luckily, no such incident occurred (although it would have been hilarious) and we look forward to the next one in semester 2! SYMPHONY BY THE SEA - JUNE 22 Symphony by the Sea is an annual concert in collaboration with the Rotary Club and showcases some of our school’s ensembles and symphony orchestra. As well as those ensembles, they also give winners of the Rotary Solo Competition in years 7-10 opportunities to perform and flex their musical abilities a bit. This year Sinfonia, Brighton Chamber Orchestra (BCO), Stimson Wind Quintet and Brighton Symphony Orchestra (BSSO) all performed to a full house, and were rewarded with a thunderclap of applause after every piece. Each piece had thought put into it, ensuring that the audience enjoyed the concert to the fullest. Personally, editor 1 and 2 agree that Ritual Fire Dance composed by Manuel de Falla and performed by BSSO was pretty fire (we’re funny we know), as well as Tango Sentimentale composed by our very own Mr Barrett. We also commend the soloists for their amazing performances, and the self-directed string trio playing in the foyer of the Concert Hall playing music for audience members as they walked in. We look forward to next year’s concert and what pieces it will bring to the table. CHORAL EISTEDDFODS: 6TH JUNE The Adelaide Choral Eisteddfods are a competition for Adelaide school choirs, and this year we took 3 choirs: Bel Canto, Brightones and Treble Choir. To put it simply, we cooked.Brighton has an extremely strong choral scene that was definitely bumped up when the class of 2026 joined (arguably). Treble Choir tied for 3rd place, Bel Canto came 2nd and Brightones took the crown as 1st place champions. Huge congratulations to the participating choirs! WOODVILLE CONCERT: 19TH JUNE As tradition, the SIM schools invite one ensemble from another SIM school to perform at their school’s version of a Music Spectacular. This time, Brighton Chamber Orchestra performed in Elder Hall for Woodville High School with 2 pieces: In the Dreams of Zhou, a more classical piece, and a killer arrangement of Waltzing Matilda. They also snuck Blue Rhythmico (a jazzier, energetic piece) in and disguised it as a “warmup” but it was enjoyed nonetheless. Shenanigans ensued backstage, and everyone had fun. ADVICE COLUMN: SECOND INSTRUMENT SYNDROME “Second instrument syndrome” refers to the feeling that you can’t possibly ever be good at your second instrument. It occurs because you naturally compare your proficiency to your first instrument, and it can be frustrating when it doesn’t match. But just because you aren’t as good at your second as your first, doesn’t mean that you aren’t good at your second. Often, you learn your first instrument when you’re relatively young, and you might not remember how difficult it was to get to where you are now. So, when you face the same issues learning your second, it might feel like you aren’t progressing as fast as you should be, but that’s not true. Some people come into the music program on one instrument, and leave with a completely different one as their main instrument. It’s a learning process just like everything else, you will improve, and you never know what might happen. Never forget that you can be just as capable of delivering a good performance and offering your skills on your second instrument as you are on your first, even if you don’t think so.

On Wednesday the 19th of June, Woodville High School held their Music Showcase at Elder Hall, similar to our Music Spectacular. Brighton Chamber Orchestra (BCO) was invited to perform at their concert as guest artists. This was a good opportunity for us as it was our first time as an ensemble, performing to an audience, and a good practice run for Symphony by the Sea, which was happening a couple of days after. We performed our favourite pieces, ‘Waltzing Matilda’, ‘In the Dreams of Zhou’, and ‘Blue Rhythmico’! The whole night was lots of fun as we got to know each other as an ensemble better, but also got to know other musicians from Woodville High School and built connections with other music students!

On 18th of June 2024, music students in year 7 through 10 in Core and SIM music showed off what they had been working on for the past two terms. Showcase is a great opportunity for parents to come in and see their hard work in action. Each year level had a choir, band, string ensemble, and percussion ensemble. Two concerts were held one after the other each showcasing the awesome talent among our core and SIM students. It’s a great time for all that come and I have loved performing in it over the past 2 years. Keep up the hard work everyone and we’ll see you for next semester's showcase!

On the 9th and 10th of June, over the long weekend, the Adelaide Horn Jam took place at Elder Hall in the city! This was an engaging weekend, which gave me several opportunities to learn lots of new things, particularly about historical baroque horn. We had several jam sessions and played our horns as a big group. Who knew what so many horns put together sounded like! Anneke Scott, one of the world's best horn players, came in and gave us several information sessions on the baroque horn and how it works. We even had a workshop with her where we only played on our natural horn F side, and altered the pitch of the notes with our embouchure and hand position! Although it was an interesting and new experience, it left me chopped. I think I'll stick to the valves haha! It was an enjoyable weekend where I met many more talented horn players, and I’m excited to attend lots more Horn Days!

On Thursday 6 June, our 3 core choirs competed in the Adelaide Choral Eisteddfod with outstanding results amidst tough competition. Treble Choir - 3rd placeBel Canto - 2nd placeBrightones - 1st place Congratulations to all students and their directors and accompanists: Emma Borgas, Sue Rodger, Simone Brock, Luke Thompson & Rhys Williams. Thanks also to Georgie Simmons for her work with Bels last term.

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE VERY FIRST ISSUE OF THE DUNGEON! The Dungeon is a monthly newsletter for music kids, named after our music centre's very own dungeon. It will feature each month’s music events, photos of those events and an advice column for some problems that you may come across as a music kid. We also have created an email address where you can send suggestions on topics to cover for the advice column, and/or photos for the newsletter, so feel free to contribute! As for who’s running this… we’ll leave that for you to find out 😉 GENERATIONS IN JAZZ: 3-5 MAY Generations in Jazz is something that a lot of our music students look forward to each year. It takes a lot of preparation, but it is so rewarding once you get up there on stage. This year, Brighton took 5 ensembles: Big Band 1, Big Band 2, Jazz Choir 1, Jazz Choir 2, and Jazz Combo. Each ensemble worked incredibly hard and delivered captivating performances. GiJ is a competition between schools all over Australia, so of course these performances had to be adjudicated. We did well this year, with Big Band 2, Jazz Choir 1 and Jazz Choir 2 all placing third in their divisions. Although these are amazing achievements, adjudication is possibly the least important part of the experience. You can mark things like sound and articulation and style, but you can’t measure the amount of effort and passion that goes into preparing for this, or the work that the ensemble directors put in, or the way that each ensemble member cares for each other so much, with just a number. The community that we’ve created is wonderful, and for that reason alone, we all won. Besides the competition, there were also really cool concerts that we got to watch. Some highlights were definitely the GiJ Big Band and Hot Potato Band (essentially a brass band but jazz and made up of muscly guys). The sousaphone player spun around in circles, and many voices were lost on that Friday night from screaming. We got to see some great vocal performancesfrom Kate Ceberano and Budjerah, along with Coco’s Lunch and the Sai Brothers. There were workshops on the Sunday, although they were arguably not particularly useful. The weekend also featured someone supposedly trading a chicken for a cutlery set (fair enough, it was pretty dry), and a football getting kicked over a fence on the way home resulting in some mild trespassing. Overall, it was very fun. Would recommend 100%. PIANO CONCERT: 21 MAY This is a concert where piano students can show family, peers and teachers what they have been working on over the semester. About 10 students from years 8-12 played in this concert and were treated to tea and biscuits after, where everyone chatted and had a chance to meet in a casual setting. WINTER CHORAL CONCERT: 28 MAY Winter Choral Concert is a chance for Bel Canto, Brightones and Treble Choir to practice their pieces before taking them to the Eisteddfods. Both Jazz Choirs also hijacked the concert. As always, paper snowflakes decorated the Concert Hall, along with biscuits and famous mulled wine. Everyone sung well and had a great time. ADVICE COLUMN: HOW TO DEAL WITH FAILURE As musicians, you are going to fail. It’s inevitable. You are going to try to learn a piece that is too hard. You will make mistakes in performances. You’re going to have auditions where you don’t get the position you wanted. You will try things, and sometimes they won’t work. However, failure doesn’t need to be a negative thing. I get it, feeling like you are doing as much as you possibly can and still not being good enough, is really tough. We’ve all had weeks where we’ve practiced a lot, only to be told more work still needs to be done. But it’s not despite your efforts, but because of them, that you are failing. If you are genuinely trying, and challenging yourself, of course you won’t do everything perfectly all the time! But you will learn, and become a better musician because of it. Sometimes it’s really not from a lack of trying, and that’s okay. Although it’s frustrating, the world won’t end when you make a mistake. The only thing you can do is move on, and keep trying. If music was easy, everyone would be a professional. Be proud of yourself!

On the 28th of May, students from Treble Choir, Brightones, Jazz Choir 1 and 2, and Bel Canto participated in the annual Winter Choral Concert. This free concert is a great opportunity for students in all extra-curricular choirs to perform to family and friends in a relaxed environment. This concert also serves as a final run through before Treble Choir, Brightones and Bel Canto compete at the Adelaide Choral Eisteddfod, giving students and directors time to reflect on how they can perform their best in these competitions. It was an amazing night with paper snowflakes made by students, biscuits to share, Mr Barrett's famous non-alcoholic mulled wine, and beautiful choral music.

The amazing talent of Brighton Secondary School’s pianists was showcased on May 21st at the Term 2 Piano Concert, 2024, in Brighton Concert Hall. Students from across all year levels performed a variety of genres from classical to jazz and pop, with some people even playing and singing! It was a great opportunity to show the pieces students have been working on in a relaxed environment for peers, teachers, and families. We look forward to next term’s concert and encourage more people to come and watch and play, as it is always an entertaining and inspirational event! Congratulations to all the performers!

From the 3rd-5th May, fifty-eight Brighton Music students and six of our wonderful teachers took the long bus ride to Mt. Gambier to participate in the Generations in Jazz festival. It was a great opportunity to come together with schools from all over Australia to immerse ourselves in a weekend full of jazz music! The fabulous nighttime concerts performed by Hot Potato Band, Coco’s Lunch and Sai Brothers, Kate Ceberano and Budjerah were fantastic for everyone to be inspired by professional musicians. Our Brighton ensembles included Big Band 1 and 2, Jazz Choir 1 and 2, and the Jazz Combo, with Big Band 2 and both Jazz Choirs placing third in their divisions, which was a record for Brighton! We are so proud of all of the students and teachers involved, with everyone agreeing it was the best we’d performed our repertoire. Everyone agreed it was an amazing weekend full of music, loud bus rides, lots of laughs, late nights, and money spent at McDonalds! More than just winning, it gave us an opportunity to improve our skills as individuals and within ensembles, working on the common goal as a team to get to GIJ and give it our best, and deepening our friendships with our fellow peers across year levels. Everyone walked out feeling more connected to the Brighton Music family.

On Friday 1 December Brighton's Sinfonia and Guitar Ensemble performed on the grounds of Minda as they observed IDPwD 2023. Students rehearsed new repertoire over the first 7 weeks of term 4 and put on a very enjoyable performance of traditional, contemporary and festive repertoire. Photos/video: Hannah Lewis and Ines Samic

In the week immediately after Music Spectacular, Brighton Secondary School’s Sinfonia and Big Band 2 took to the stage at Festival of Music. Sinfonia was the 2nd Assisting Artist for the evening where they performed Larry Moore's arrangement of the Deep Purple hit, Smoke on the Water which included a cello solo by Finn S. Big Band 2 (Assisting Artist 4) performed Mark Taylor's arrangement of That Old Black Magic which featured vocalist Sofia C, and Arina T on trumpet. https://youtu.be/0RV7Z_puatg https://youtu.be/lKpbhHAT9ug

On the 3rd of July, a brass quintet comprising members of the ASO performed a range of music for brass players and students as a whole. The performers played a range of pieces written for brass quintets and a West Side Story medley. After the performance, the students were split into four instrumental groups and were offered a workshop with the ASO members. These workshops were focused on improving players’ technique and improving their overall skills. I personally enjoyed the event and was able to make a new connection in the community. ~ Siân Watt

The Senior Solo Competition was held on the 21st of June, open to Year 11 and 12 students. As much as it was a competition, it felt more like a concert, with every place played to a very high standard and also a wide range of repertoire choices among the soloists. As a competitor from Year 11, it was a great opportunity to be able to play with the best in the school in a friendly environment, although there was competition. Mr Aungles was a fantastic adjudicator and was able to give very insightful feedback on how we could improve. Congratulations to Oliver (1st place), Olivia (2nd place) and Julie (3rd place)! ~ Joshua Tretheway