Tara Murray
The Australian Royal Navy Band proved to be an inspiration for students at Catholic Regional College in Caroline Springs. last week.
With the school in the process of starting its own concert band, the navy band visited the school to give students a first-hand look at performing and the instruments themselves.
CRCC head of music performance Chris McGillen said it was an exciting day for the students.
“I was really surprised to find out there was only one other school in our region that is running a concert band,” he said.
“We had 267 year seven students at the concert with the navy band and they really enjoyed it. Part of the experience was that they demonstrated the instruments, which is really important.“
Dr McGillen said the idea of a concert band was something that has been in schools since the 1980s.
“Students learn together in small groups and then come together as a big group and have fun,” he said.
“We’ll look for students to try three different instruments in a term, to try and get them to stay in the program.
“It’s a common way to get kids engaged in music and playing songs they know. We’ll look to have them perform at school events.”
Dr McGillen said being in the band was voluntary, with a big focus on getting the year sevens involved.
He said long term they would like to have at least 20 per cent of the school population learning an instrument, with plans to expand to include big band and jazz ensembles as well.
