The Australian Band and Orchestra Directors' Association (ABODA) Bands and Orchestra Festival has been held online for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19 restrictions. I would like to acknowledge and thank my staff for their flexibility in making this a possibility for our students.

We are thrilled to announce the following results:

• Big Band 1 – Gold and Overall Section Winner (Intermediate Stage Band section)
• Big Band 2 – Gold (Novice Stage Band section)
• Senior String Ensemble – Silver (Advanced String Ensemble section)
• Symphonic Band – Bronze (Advanced Concert Band section)

A massive congratulations to the girls in Big Band 1 and their director Ms Cassie Pope. There were 17 bands in the Intermediate Stage Band section, and to be acknowledged as the Overall Winner is a fabulous achievement.

AHOMINGS Music Awards

The Association of Heads of Music in Non-Government Schools (AHOMINGS) is an organisation that facilitates professional engagement, support and networking. As an organisation they wanted to highlight the significant contribution music tutors play within schools. To this end, two awards were put forward. Heads of Music are able to nominate one music tutor per year for each award; the Don Burrows Award for Recognition of Long Service for Music Tutors in Independent Schools and the Bob Hower Award for Exemplary Contribution of Music Tutors in Independent Schools.

It is with great pleasure to announce that three of Wilderness’ long-serving tutors were selected for these awards in 2021. Ms Urszula Gruszewski is a recipient of the Don Burrows Award, and Mr Damien Hurn and Mrs Joanna Tropeano are recipients of the Bob Hower Award.

Urszula Gruszewski is a highly qualified musician who began teaching piano at Wilderness in 1995. Over the past 26 years, she has developed hundreds of budding pianists and helped guide their musical journey through their school years and beyond. Urszula develops her students steadily and with a meticulous approach, developing outstanding technique in each and every one of her pupils. She has received considerable acclaim for her work with her piano students, countless of whom have performed locally and overseas in concerts, competitions, corporate events, album launches and television documentaries. Many have been successful in winning scholarships, prizes, competitions and entry into universities. Unfortunately, Urszula was unable to attend the award ceremony and Wilderness accepted this award on her behalf.

Damien Hurn commenced at Wilderness School in 2000 as a saxophone teacher and director of the Saxophone Quartet and Big Band 2. Over the past 21 years, Damien has tutored hundreds of girls on the saxophone, guiding many of them to play at SACE Stage 1 and 2 levels, and always prepares his students to an exceptional standard. Damien’s development of his students has also been evident in his ensembles, with the standard of the second Big Band and the Saxophone Quartet extremely high every year. Notably, his consistent success at both Generations in Jazz, and ABODA, must be mentioned, as his ensembles have placed 1st in their respective section/division several times, a clear indication of Damien’s passion and dedication to his ensemble role at Wilderness.

Joanna Tropeano commenced at Wilderness in 2004 as a vocal tutor and choir director. Over the past 17 years, Joanna’s contributions to the Wilderness music community have been immense. Tutoring what can only be described as an army of young women, Jo has coached students up to SACE Stage 1 and 2 level, with her students always achieving highly proficient grades. She has directed the Gospel and Jazz Choirs, and recently advocated for the implementation of an Old Scholars Jazz Choir, which sees around 30 young women who have at one stage been part of the School’s Jazz Choir, come back to develop their skills even further in a highly advanced young adult ensemble. Her advocacy is based on building and retaining the strong community bonds that she fosters in her ensembles and to see this take place in an old scholars setting is inspirational.

Like Don Burrows and Bob Hower, Urszula, Damien and Jo were recognised for their consistent, passionate and far-reaching influence on generations of musicians in independent, non-government schools in South Australia and we congratulate them on their achievement.

Gwen Robinson Piano Competition

This year, due to the lockdown at the start of Term 3 and subsequent restrictions, the prestigious Gwen Robinson Pianoforte Competition was held online where girls submitted videos for their entry.

We were thrilled to receive over 20 entries, with all performances highly musical and of an excellent standard. 

The overall winner was awarded to Xiaoxi (Emma) Li (Year 8) for her outstanding performance displaying maturity and technical proficiency beyond her years. Emma will perform at an upcoming Whole School Assembly and will receive her medal at the Middle School Prize Giving Assembly at the end of Term 4.

Congratulations to Emma, and to all of the girls who submitted entries. The care taken in your presentation and your musical skills were exceptional. We are very proud of the legacy of this award. Please enjoy the winning performances from 2020 and 2021 below.

Well done!

Vanessa Abela
Ensemble and Instrumental Coordinator

Year 12 Art Exhibition

The Year 12 Visual Art students have been very busy completing their diverse creations in the Art Centre this term.

Using a wide range of media and ideas, an exciting range of technically strong work will be exhibited in the Year 12 Visual Art Exhibition 'Shifting Positions' in Week 2 next term.

Shifting Positions

Friday 15 October to Thursday 4 November
Wilderness School Art Centre
Weekdays 8:30am - 9:00am / 3:30pm - 4:00pm

Please enjoy a taste of the girls’ artwork from Annalise Grice (Year 12) below, 'The Mirror and Me', acrylic paint on canvas.

Brooke Porter
Head of Art

Wildy Fringe

8 – 12 November

The Wildy Fringe will be taking place again in Week 5 of Term 4. Through live performance and exhibits, this event showcases the amazing work that the Year 7 to 10 girls have created as part of their studies across the Creative Industries. This will therefore include musical and dramatic performances, films, animation and art exhibitions and we encourage you to book tickets to come along. The full program with TryBooking links will be released early Term 4.

We are also pleased to announce the winner of the Wildy Fringe poster competition as Anna Evans (Year 7), who entered the amazing poster displayed below. It is truly beautiful!

Hal Bruce
Head of Creative Industries