Tour to Tassie

After performing at the Riverbend Park in Launceston, staff and students had the opportunity to visit the beautiful canyon of Cataract Gorge.

In the holidays, the PLC Sydney Wind Ensemble and PLC Big Band toured the amazing state of Tasmania, travelling to Hobart and Launceston. Being our first band tour since 2018 all of us were both excited and extremely grateful for the opportunity.

We performed in a range of unique settings – indoors and outdoors, through rainy days or sunny mornings.

Each of these challenged us to modify our playing accordingly whilst still maintaining the musicality that we had all worked so hard to perfect. On the first day after landing in Hobart, we ran straight from the airport to perform at the Salamanca Markets. We were greeted with such a supportive and enthusiastic crowd who gathered around and began to dance to our groovy tunes. Afterwards, we were able to explore the markets and eat some of Tasmania’s iconic fudge. Not to mention the souvenirs we picked up along the way. What a wonderful way to start our tour!

It only got better from there. On the second day we played at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) where we had to be a bit more subtle in our playing to fit the calm and darkened atmosphere. In the evening, we explored Mount Wellington and battled in an intense snowball fight (let’s just say Mr Watters and Mr Harper had a good time with that). On the third day, we had the opportunity to work with a prominent conductor, Simon Reade, at the University of Tasmania. We workshopped “Muppet: Treasure Island”,

The Big Band ready to perform at the Launceston Country Fair.

The Wind Ensemble at MONA.

one of our most challenging pieces and gained insightful advice from Mr Reade. It was also a great experience watching a professional university band play and tour the facility – many of us were inspired by the impressive architecture and resources. Who knows, you might see some of us studying composition at the UTAS! In the afternoon we visited the Port Arthur Historic Site, where we were placed into the lives of many different Tasmanian convicts as well as paid our respects in the memorial. Day four consisted of a long drive from Hobart to Launceston where we entertained ourselves with games and singing. Throughout the trip we stopped at lookouts and small country towns in the Tamar Valley (yes, that's the yoghurt place :). These included the small picturesque town of Richmond and its delicious bakery as well as the Grindelwald Swedish village, a Swiss themed resort where some of the girls got to try mini golfing and paddle boarding. After a long drive we sleepily arrived at Launceston, a lively and colourful city where we would spend the next two days exploring and performing. That night our teachers organised a music trivia which was both entertaining and complicated, it reminded many of us to work on our music theory. Our first performance in Launceston was at the Riverbend Park, the weather was cold and rainy and our audience consisted mainly of small children. Nevertheless we played our best and it turned out to be our best performance yet. Afterwards we were

able to appreciate the park's attractions including its towering slides and swings. Even Mr Harper and Mr Watters joined in on the fun by trying out the park’s tallest metal slide. Afterwards we visited the beautiful canyon of Cataract Gorge where we walked across a suspended bridge and marvelled at the views. After dinner we performed in a talent show quest with girls dancing, acting and of course making music.

On our final day we had our biggest performance yet, performing in the Launceston Country Fair. This gave many of us city girls the chance to see what life in the country was like as well as go on lots of fair rides and pat all the baby cows. Unfortunately like our last performance the crowd was small and the weather was rainy however this did not stop the band from performing our absolute best. With party hats and smiles the band danced and blared out “Muppet Treasure Island”, it was a great ending to an already amazing tour.

On our final day we had our biggest performance yet, performing in the Launceston Country Fair. This gave many of us city girls the chance to see what life in the country was like.

The performance on our last day was cancelled due to the weather, instead we spent the time writing in our journals to remember our time in Tasmania. We also wrote inspiring notes in other journals to compliment and praise other band members as well as solidify our new found friendships. It was a bittersweet plane ride back. For many of us this was our first and last school tour and it would not have been made so special without Ms White, Miss Er, Mr Richard (the money man), Ms Balkizas and especially Mr Harper and Mr Watters. We really thank you for this fantastic tour – it will stay in our hearts forever.