Chamber Music Trip to Balmacewen Intermediate and Summerset Retirement Village

On Tuesday the 30th of May, the LPHS chamber music groups performed at Balmacewen Intermediate and Summerset Retirement Village.

This trip was a great chance for the students to prepare for the regional CMNZ Chamber Music Contest, gain performance experience and experience the joy of sharing music with the community.

Our first stop was Balmacewen Intermediate, where after arriving at about 11am we got set up for our first performance at 11.30. Balmacewen Intermediate warmly welcomed us to their school, and into their Performing Arts Centre where we gave our performance. All of our chamber music groups performed for about 5 minutes each and the audience was really appreciative. The younger students enjoyed seeing a range of instruments, such as flute, bassoon and French horn!

At the end of this first performance, we had a workshop session with the Balmacewen Intermediate school orchestra led by Johanna Brusse. It was fun to join together to learn a piece of music, and for many of the LPHS students it was a blast from the past having attended Balmac before coming to LPHS. This mega-orchestra was sounding great after only a couple of minutes of playing together.

Our second performance was next door at Summerset Retirement Village at 1pm. The ground floor was packed with a large audience who were keen to hear our students perform. Summerset are familiar with LPHS, with the school orchestra having performed there previously. After this concert, one of the residents (also a clarinetist) thanked the LPHS students and commented on their high skill level. 

Thank you to Balmacewen Intermediate and Summerset Retirement Village for hosting us, and well done to all of the students involved for their hard work and dedication leading up to these performances!

Here is a list of all of the groups, plus students that came on this tour:

The Wintet: Emily Fotheringham (flute), Callum Fotheringham (oboe), James Hurley (bassoon), Damian Dyke (French horn), Simon Macknight (clarinet)

Fluteology: Ava van Asten (flute), Karuna Yang (flute), Emily Fotheringham (flute)

Cornish Pasties: Callum Fotheringham (oboe), Zoe Barton (cello), James Hurley (piano)

Redshift Blue: Ava van Asten (flute), Damian Dyke (French horn), Ken Nguyen (piano)

Marionette Musicians: Miseki Honjo (violin), Quinn Wilson (violin), Violet Rolston (cello)

Tricolour: Ozan Biner-McGrath (piano), Karuna Yang (flute), Savarna Yang (violin)

A special mention goes to ‘Some Pirates’ who weren’t able to come due to sickness. However, keep an eye out for them in upcoming performances!