Music and Arts

Music Report

Luke Serrano

I wish to thank the 2021 Music Ensemble Captains for their dedicated service:

Choir:

Lucas Cozzi

Junior Concert Band:

Spencer Tull

Intermediate Concert Band:

Orlando Wong

Senior Concert Band:

Adam Car

Stage Band:

Cormac Fleming

Brass Ensemble:

Henry Deam

Guitar Ensemble:

Max Kovacevic

Percussion Ensemble:

Justin Nguyen

Saxophone Ensemble:

Mitchell Barnett

String Ensemble:

Peter Orlando

Year 9 Band:

Niki Rayzman

Woodwind Ensemble:

Emmett McCann Despite again being heavily disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions, 2021 was a successful, fruitful and memorable year for Music at De La Salle College.

Without doubt this year’s highlight was the long-awaited Music Tour of the Southern Grampians, which was miraculously able to proceed, sandwiched between lockdowns #4 and #5. Throughout the tour, our musicians demonstrated superb teamwork, communication skills and true Lasallian spirit as they entertained hundreds of schoolchildren over five concerts.

Recently, the Music department sought to expand their connection with the local community. The Music students and staff contributed significantly to the Survivors Ceremony in March, performing three beautiful items which set the tone for this historic event. The next day De La Salle College played host to an ACC Music workshop for the very first time; the highly successful Jazz Workshop was the only ACC workshop able to be delivered in 2021 due to COVID-19 constraints. In May, our senior students performed wonderful solo recitals at Deakin Edge as part of the ACC Arts and Technology Exhibition. Notably, a new partnership has been forged with Siena College, a promising musical collaboration for the future. In May, a series of concert band workshops was capped with an entertaining concert. Congratulations and thanks to the 2021 VCE Music class consisting of Cormac Fleming (Music Award), Max Kovacevic, Lucas Cozzi, Thomas Andrewartha and Tom Hobbins for taking their studies of Music to the highest level and for their student ambassadorship of the Music program over many years. 2021 Music Captain, Thomas Andrewartha, is thanked for his dedicated efforts throughout the year as a positive role model and generator of fine ideas from a fresh perspective. His input into our recent creation of an Old Collegians’ Music Association will be a fine legacy. The hard-working Music staff have endeavoured throughout 2021 to keep the spirit strong with our ensembles in and out of lockdowns. April’s Autumn Concert was one of the finest in many years. Despite private instrumental lessons taking place remotely for much of the year, once again in Term 4 we were able to present a wonderful demonstration of the talent to be found within our musical fraternity in a series of online pre-recorded concerts replacing the annual Soirée showcase event. In 2021, the Music department incorporated the online SmartMusic platform into its educational approach, thereby greatly facilitating Music learning across all Year Levels, and making thousands of published musical scores accessible to us as a learning community for the first time. 2021 also saw the reintroduction of a Primary Strings Program at the College, led by new staff member, Daniel Tedford and Claire Block. De La Salle College is blessed with a fine group of dedicated and talented Music education professionals who collaborate closely as a creative and highly effective team. Together, we thank the College community for their support of the Music program in 2021. We look forward to an exciting, dynamic and enriching 2022. Luke Serrano – Music Coordinator

Music Captain’s Report

Every week, many dedicated musicians at the College find the willpower to get themselves out of bed an hour earlier than they would prefer, to be one of the first students on campus. Nevertheless, when we arrive at 7.30am to the Performing Arts Centre and band rehearsal begins, the entire struggle was worthwhile.

Being part of the Music department in some form at De La Salle College is truly an enriching experience unlike any other, whether it be as an instrumentalist in one of our many Ensembles, or as a vocalist in the Choir, or even a rock guitarist in a student-led band. The level of fun, creativity and raw passion is unmatched. Despite the setbacks of the last year, Music has flourished at De La Salle College in 2021. Many resilient musicians have pushed themselves and each other to achieve the very best we can. We have delivered many amazing performances spanning from the Autumn Concert to a combined Ensemble performance with new partner school, Siena College, to playing for the Southern Grampian communities during Music Tour. After six years of personally witnessing the joy that performing and creating Music can bring to so many, I implore every student to come forward and be part of this in some form or another.

Thomas Andrewartha – Music Captain / St Mark’s House Arts Captain

Ensembles

Students made the most of the scarce time we had to rehearse together in 2021, even braving the outdoors to comply with guidelines for safely holding rehearsals. Not even the spitting rain was enough to dampen their resolve to make music collectively. With the introduction of an online music practice platform, Ensembles have been able to remain active throughout remote learning, preparing music in advance for the resumption of in-person rehearsals.

We were fortunate to hold our Autumn Ensembles Concert in April, providing all Ensembles their first genuine performance opportunity in 12 months. Despite interrupted preparations, the Senior Concert Band collaborated with Siena College for a wonderful evening of high-quality music, The Zutistes were victorious in the Battle of the Bands and the Year 9 Band debuted on Music Tour to enraptured audiences, sparking the penny-drop moment of how it feels to have your music enjoyed by the screaming masses. Jaymee Lee – Music Ensemble Coordinator

MUSIC Tour

2021 has proved itself to be yet another challenging year for our Drama students. Things started well with the VCE students able to attend an impressive performance of Man Up! by Fab Nods Theatre. This engaging performance stimulated much discussion about themes of masculinity and vulnerability, enabling connections across the curriculum and within their own theatrical explorations.

Our Semester One performance assessment evening scraped in by mere hours (albeit without a live audience) prior to our first lockdown of the year. The VCE students presented their self-devised ensemble works in our ‘Night to Remember’ alongside the talented and creative monologue pieces that were carefully crafted and performed by the Year 9 students. Unfortunately, despite our hopeful and enthusiastic approach to staged musical productions, our planned senior productions of High School Musical, with OLSH College and Mamma Mia, with Sacré Cœur were unable to meet the stage. This is certainly not a reflection of the many hours of dedicated rehearsal and hard work that all the students poured into this endeavor. The junior production with SAC met a similar fate. However, we move forward knowing that next year is a new year, and each of this year’s missed opportunities will be presented again in 2022. Although COVID-19 has taken away the opportunity for our students to perform, what it can never take is the comradery and friendships that they have built by being a part of these vibrant productions. Jennifer Bonnici – Drama Coordinator

Media

Media is an integral subject in the twenty-first century. It is current, topical, and students are invested as it relates to them. In particular, the Year 12 VCE Media class have been exploring the Australian state government’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and how this has been conveyed in the media.

The benefits of Media also occur through the students’ pre-productions, productions, and post-productions. Students consider sources of inspiration with examples including directors and content creators. Students also develop key skills such as collaboration and time management. They build their confidence in approaching tasks and learn the importance of problem-solving to navigate any challenges which may arise during the folio work. There are many different media forms that students can explore, offering plenty of creative possibilities in the digital age. Advancements are continually being made to media technologies and platforms, further inspiring students to know more about Media. Jonathan Pertile – Classroom Teacher

Best Editing and/or Visual Effects – Angus Sheedy. Awarded for Angus’ eye-catching editing and dramatic short film, ‘The Colours of the Mind’. Best Original Concept and/or Story – Sam McNidder. Awarded for Sam’s short film entitled ‘Negative Thoughts’, exploring how it is important to seek help regarding mental health. Best Cinematography – Sean Anderson. Awarded for Sean’s creative use of cinematic techniques, voiceover, and mystery in his short noir film, ‘Memories of a Murder’.

Best Use of Music and/or Sound – Lucas Cozzi. Awarded for Lucas’ engaging and comedic music track, entitled ‘Priorities!’

Arts Report

Ryan Hayward 2021 saw the return of more lockdowns and remote learning. Teaching creative practical based subjects online came with a raft of challenges that emerged as the year progressed. The Art department had to rise to the occasion and redesign our learning and teaching programs to suit remote learning. Similarly to last year, our students performed extremely well under the circumstances and quality of the work being produced was of high standard.

Working as a team we redesigned our remote learning activities to cater for online learning. Our junior students worked on a whole range of art activities. We explored a range of drawing and collage-based activities, working with materials found around the home and getting creative with our resources. The work produced was fun, innovative and resourceful. Our senior students once again had the task of managing the stress of VCE with remote learning. I was incredibly impressed with the way they persevered through these difficult times and were able to produce high quality work. Earlier in the year, we were lucky enough to participate in the ACC Art and Technology Biennial Exhibition which was cancelled last year due to restrictions. Year 12 student, Emmett McCann, was able to scoop the prize for the ‘People’s Choice Award’ for his photorealist portrait of the late actor, Chadwick Boseman. It is such a great acknowledgment of the hours of hard work that went into creating this piece. The Arts have helped our students through this pandemic, they learned to adapt and use creative thinking in a completely new way. I would like to take the opportunity to thank our dedicated Arts team; Christine Bassili, Mark Gustincic, Jonathan Hewett, Kerry Martin, David Happ, Warren Bardsley, Lauren Anderson, Jonathan Pertile, Shane Mackintosh and Travis McDonald.

Ryan Hayward – Learning Area Team Leader – Visual Arts

Art Reflection

VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN

As I sit here to write this, we are currently in lockdown 6. What was intended to be a one-week lockdown, has quite rapidly become three weeks and counting. Our Visual Communication Design students have once again shown the upmost resilience, particularly our VCE Year 12 students. Together as a team, we have seen some fantastic work begin to unfold. From designing skateboards, creating architectural models, designing sports apparel and creating magnificent car concepts, our students are doing it all and with great motivation. It is so inspirational to witness these works unfold and to watch our Year 11 students create amazing album designs, our Year 10s create beautiful package designs, and our architecture students, create wonderful models; all of this during lockdown! I am very proud of all our students and I congratulate their efforts. We celebrate their work in our end of year exhibition book and our 2021 Blue and Gold Yearbook.

Christine Bassili – Classroom Teacher

ART AT HOLY EUCHARIST CAMPUS

The Year 9 Art course has centered around the work and impact of Pablo Picasso, with a focus on skill and technique development. Picasso was inspired by African masks that he viewed, and students used this as a starting point to explore carving by creating and producing a ‘Mask’ in balsa wood. Students further explored Picasso with the design and creation of a ‘Picasso Portrait’ of someone in their life using acrylic paint. With Picasso being a reference for these paintings, the pressure of making it look realistic was removed and we could concentrate on painting and colour bleeding techniques. David Alexander and Thomas Edwards couldn’t help but be inspired to produce their own Picasso Portraits! With remote learning a big factor in Semester Two, students investigated drawing instead of painting. Picasso was again the reference as we explored differing techniques and application of materials. David Happ – Classroom Teacher

PHOTOGRAPHY

Unfortunately, the year was truncated by the COVID-19 virus, however, our students produced work of the finest quality. Despite the lack of contact with the studio, students battled manfully to create a fabulous body of art which I hope you will enjoy. I’m always amazed at the ability of young men to create imaginative works, pursue their computer skills and to create works of art that express their individuality even during lockdown. The Photography students have been a credit to De La Salle College and I wish them well for their future pursuits in the arts in what I hope will be an uninterrupted 2022. Jonathan Hewett – Classroom Teacher Leading St Austin’s House in the Arts throughout 2021 has meant making the most of our opportunities amidst trials and disappointments, with the valued support of our Music, Art and Drama teachers. A highlight was the Music Tour. We were lucky to get this opportunity, as the day after we returned to Melbourne a lockdown was declared.

Personally, I’ve had the honour to front the rock band (The Zutistes). We won this year’s Founder’s Day competition, and soon we hope to crush the ACC inter-school competition too. Our musicians have loudly spurred on the St Austin’s House teams at the Athletics and Swimming Carnivals as well as numerous weekly competitions. It’s been an honour to have been part of this leadership team and see St Austin’s House grow together throughout this year. Cormac Fleming – St Austin’s House Arts Captain

Completing Year 12 through 2021 has been quite fascinating and incredibly remarkable. With the support of the brilliant staff and students at De La Salle College, our Year 12 cohort was able to push through to achieve their best results and to discover their potential. As St Edwin’s House Arts Captain, I have witnessed the great achievements by the students in all four Houses. I saw these great young men work hard during the 2021 Music Tour where we made hundreds of young children smile and dance to the sound of music. The College raises us to be fine young men, both musically and academically. Thank you to all the teachers and students for helping myself and everyone else push through a year of hardship; it would have been much harder without you. Albert Lee – St Edwin’s House Arts Captain

This year the St Leo’s House students showed their grit and determination to keep up the chase for the notorious House Cup. After a disappointing loss on the athletics track, a first in a long time, the St Leo’s House cohort kept their heads held high and continued to keep their participation to an all-time high, even against the trying conditions, fuelled of course by a very successful sausage sizzle for the House charity, Caritas Australia. From all the leaders within St Leo’s House, we extend our warmest congratulations and celebrations to all for their efforts this year. Blair Hunter – St Leo’s House Arts Captain

Throughout 2021, the St Mark’s House students have thoroughly engaged in all aspects of House life, acting upon the strong sense of community and House spirit we have grown to be recognised by as our participation has continued to skyrocket. A key area of involvement for the St Mark’s House has been in the Arts. St Mark’s House students enjoy partaking in various Music, Drama and other creative ventures. Hence enabling our House to truly display its innovative side and unveil a different type of passion amongst our students, a force that will certainly remain for years to come. Thomas Andrewartha – St Mark’s House Arts Captain

Art and Visual communication