By Mikayla van Loon
Heading across the ditch to New Zealand will be the culmination of a busy few weeks for the Yarra Hills Secondary College Senior Band, with 34 students departing for the neighbouring country in early September.
Prior to take off, however, the band will be performing in the 30-hour Music Marathon on 29 and 30 August, as well as the College Concert on 9 September at Karralyka Theatre.
The offering of an overseas concert tour, the College’s Instrumental Music Director Richard O’Toole said, was something the school tried to do every four years.
“It used to be every four years, but we had to cancel a planned trip to Singapore due to the recent pandemics, so this is the next step to get that back on track,” Richard said.
“This is the fourth New Zealand tour the school has done since 2010.”
The 10-day tour beginning on 14 September will explore the capital city of Wellington, Rotorua and Auckland.
“We’ll be doing lots of cultural things, visiting Maori villages and so forth and performing at primary schools and city squares and the Rotorua Night Market.”
For the Saxophone Ensemble musicians Jordan Edge, Hudson Kidd, Luca Novaceanu, Liam Pitt, Keira Scott, Hugo Steiner and Sarah Waldron the opportunity to perform as a band and also experience travelling with their friends was incredibly exciting.
“It’s the first time ever I’m going to be overseas with my friends, because it feels like going overseas has always been considered a family thing,” Liam said.
“It just feels so weird that all my school friends or my colleagues are going to go to a whole different country, and experience so many new things together, it’s going to be an amazing bonding experience.”
Many of the ensemble players come from a background of music, with family members inspiring the uptake of playing an instrument.
“My love for music started when I was young. My dad always played in a band, so I’ve always wanted to play in a band as well. In Year 7, I tried all the instruments, and I really liked the Saxophone,” Jordan said.
“My dad is a musician. Music has always been around me at home and wherever I went, basically. I started playing the Saxophone in Year 5, actually, because my school had a big music program, and I just kept going,” Keira said.
“I have played the Guitar since I was about eight and I’ve always really enjoyed and loved music. I remember going to the Yarra Hills open day and seeing the band and thinking, ‘wow, that’s so cool’, so I knew even before I started that Saxophone was definitely something I wanted to try,” Sarah said.
Getting to perform as a collective, Luca and Sarah said is not only fun but also a moment of relief to know the practice, the rehearsals and the talent of every person has come together just right.
“Playing with our friends is always fun. You get the nerves going up and then afterwards it’s so rewarding,” Luca said.
“We’ve all got our own individual talent, but when you put it together it’s a lot bigger, and it’s very impressive and pretty cool with how we can sound together,” Sarah said.
Performing a series of theatrical pieces, Luca said, is typically the genre that connects with the audience the most.
“The most powerful, especially with drums, is called John Williams Movie Adventures. It’s performing all his pieces from films like Star Wars and ET.
“It’s very impactful. It’s very fun to play. Everyone gets into it, especially with the Star Wars songs like Dual of the Fates which is a very powerful scene.”
Sarah said one that is specifically fun to play on the Saxophone is Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.
While the countdown is on for New Zealand, the lead up will be just as important for the playing group to prepare.
