The Flinders Music program presented the annual Strings in Stringybark concert on Saturday, 14 October 2023, featuring 114 Primary and Secondary students performing for parents and friends.
Flinders Director of Music, Mr Nick Campbell said the concert provided an invaluable opportunity for parents and students to observe the full breadth and scope of the string program at Flinders.
“Strings on Stringybark symbolises the significant development and scope of our string program at Flinders," Mr Campbell said.
"It's also an inspiring event for our younger students as they witness the performances of our most advanced musicians," he said.
"The concert was in the expert hands of Mr Dean Kennedy, the Acting Co-ordinator of Orchestra and Strings Studies, and featured all of the orchestral ensembles at the College.
"Mr Kennedy needs to be recognised for his commitment and dedication to the string program, as he prepared and conducted all of the music items throughout the two-hour concert. Dean inspires our musicians to strive for excellence."
The concert program included a diverse range of repertoire, from classical to contemporary.
The event featured Primary's Poco Strings (the youngest students) to Flinders Strings (non-auditioned) and the more advanced Vivace Strings, to the Secondary's College Strings (non-auditioned), Symphony Orchestra and the most advanced Capriccio Strings.
"The Poco Strings performance of the 'Hokey Hokey' (complete with dance moves) certainly entertained the audience.
"The concert also featured the Piano Quintet, Quartet and Duet as well as solo items by Andy T and Sydney M.
"The concert opened with the 'Tutti strings', a total of 100 string players, performing 'Elementa' (by Soon Hee Newbold), only to be surpassed by the finale performance of 'Into the Storm' (by Robert Smith) featuring the full cohort of 114 students.
"In addition to performing with the Piano Quintet, Gary K also performed the piano solo Rachminov's 'Eighteenth Variation' from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, accompanied by the College String Orchestra."
Mr Campbell said that staging such a concert spectacle involved many hours of planning and organisation as well as a significant team of 12 staff who assisted in staging the event.
Congratulations to all involved on another successful Flinders Music event!
Parents can view more photos from the event on the Flinders Photo Gallery system - pixevety - via MyFlinders.
