Generations In Jazz Preview Night Concert

In preparation for the Generations In Jazz competition, our jazz ensembles presented their repertoire in a ‘preview’ concert to their family and friends on Wednesday 3 May. It was wonderful to once again hold this event—one we hadn’t held for four years!

Our Jazz Incorporated, under the direction of Miss Grace Mensforth for the first time, displayed exceptional skill for Division 2, with their choice piece adapted and re-arranged by Grace; a take on Cole Porter’s ‘Love For Sale’ and aptly re-titled ‘Ladylike’. This tune showcased the talents of Year 8 students Zara Armitage and Eva Baggio, and the choral ensemble worked incredibly hard to bring this challenging piece to this year’s selection.

Big Band 1 and 2 both presented their three charts at a fantastic standard, and their director’s repertoire selection proved highly successful.

Jazz Choir – under the direction of Miss Kara Manansala for the first time – presented their two pieces, and once more, the choice work was arranged by their talented director. Standing in for Year 9 student Amaia Thomas (who was absent on REALISE), Joanna Robinson (Year 11) did an absolutely amazing job of the vocalese solo.

The night was a lovely celebration of the girls’ hard work and it was very well received by all.

Generations In Jazz Final Results 2023

Finally back to ‘normal’, the 2023 divisions across both bands and choirs were full and fiercely competitive.

Our Big Band 2 were successful in gaining third place in Division 4—out of a total of 17 bands. Adding to their success was our Music SRC Rep, Eva Barrett (Year 12), who received a place in the Division 4 Superband on French Horn—a special place created just for her, and a very special achievement overall, with a French horn player having never been acknowledged with this honour!

Jazz Choir placed fifth out of eight, with only 1.5 marks separating them from third place. The top five choirs in this division were all so close that even the adjudicator commented on how hard this division was to call.

Jazz Incorporated placed an incredible seventh out of 28 choirs! They were only two points behind third place. This was a very tough division to be in with this amount of choirs; in 2022, there were only three choirs in our division, so this was a huge change.

Finally, our Big Band 1 played brilliantly, through some very hard rain interrupting their beautiful ballad, ‘Jamie’. Nineteen of some of the toughest bands were in this division, and the marks were so close that there was less than half a point separating some schools! It is incredible that our girls are competing at such a high standard and holding their own amongst some of the toughest competition across the country.

I am more than proud of what our girls musically presented at a national level, but I am even more proud to be able to say that our girls represented our school with respect and kindness. I have never enjoyed a Generations In Jazz weekend more than I did in 2023. To my staff and the 41 girls, thank you so much for making this an incredible experience.

Please enjoy this reflection from Year 12 Music SRC Representative, Eva Barrett.

On Friday 5 May, 41 students travelled down to Mount Gambier for the Generations in Jazz festival for an adventurous weekend of music-making and collaboration with like-minded musicians. This was certainly apparent by the rowdy sing-along on the bus. We arrived at our accommodation (The Henty), rehearsed our pieces and then travelled into the festival. Here we were treated to the traditional lasagne dinner and a fabulous concert featuring Adam Lopez, Thndo, Jordan Murray and the Generations in Jazz Big Band (with Ms Cassie Pope on Bass Trombone!).

On the Saturday, we headed out early for Big Band 2 to compete first, followed by Jazz Incorporated and Big Band 1. After being soaked through from the wintry weather, we went back to our accommodation to change into dry clothes and have a brief exploration of Mount Gambier, before travelling back to the festival for Jazz Choir to perform. All students performed amazingly, and their love of music was highly apparent in their performances. That night, we watched an incredible performance by Swedish band, Dirty Loops, where everyone was out of their seats dancing the night away. The night was concluded by the traditional pizza party, where we celebrated our wonderful performances.

By Sunday, everyone was exhausted by the busy weekend, but not before the workshops were held at the festival. This was where students were able to gain valuable insight into jazz music from incredibly talented professional musicians. The festival was concluded by an Awards Ceremony and Generations in Jazz Finale Concert.

This weekend was a highlight for everyone involved, and it could not have occurred without the behind the scenes work of Ms Anna Lenartowicz, Ms Vanessa Abela, Ms Carolyn Tasker and ensemble directors; Ms Cassie Pope, Mr Damien Hurn, Miss Kara Manansala and Miss Grace Mensforth.

AMEB Awards

Last term, we announced the wonderful news that Sonali Jesudason (Year 10) had been selected as the recipient of the AMEB Saxophone Grade 6 Prize for 2022. This prestigious prize was awarded at the AMEB SA & NT Awards Ceremony on Thursday 15 April in Elder Hall.

At the time the last newsletter was published, I was unaware that we had another student honoured at this prize ceremony. It gives me great pleasure to announce that Yilin Ella Gu (Year 7) was selected to receive the Thelma Dent AMEB Prize for 2022. This prize was awarded based on Yilin Ella’s outstanding achievement in 2022, with the value of the prize being $2,500.

The Prize is awarded on the results of the eighth-grade examinations in piano conducted in South Australia and the Northern Territory by the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB).

In addition to Yilin Ella being presented with the Thelma Dent Prize, Australian Music Examinations Board SA and NT also extended an invitation for Yilin Ella to do a performance at the awards ceremony. Yilin Ella played ‘Sacro-Monte Op.55 No.5’ by J. Turina, a piece that she had presented as part of her Eighth Grade repertoire.

Receiving this award is an outstanding achievement for any pianist, but as Yilin Ella is only in Year 7, this achievement is all the more outstanding. We look forward to hearing her play in an upcoming school assembly and acknowledging her award to our school community.

Well done, Ella.

Jazz at The Gov

For one night only, enjoy listening to Wilderness School's advanced music ensembles in concert with acclaimed well known Jazz musician, Ross Irwin. Please view the poster and go to TryBooking to book your tickets.