Music

Music Ensemble Program (Week 3)

This coming week, the Music Department will be resuming all ensembles within the Redlands Music program across Preparatory, Junior and Secondary Schools. The planning of our modified format for rehearsals has considered, first and foremost, the safety of all students who are currently enrolled in the Music program and the staff who are responsible for leading these groups each week. In particular, the Choral program will see students participate in a variety of different On Campus Learning experiences and varied rehearsal approaches, with a specified overview communicated to parents tomorrow, Friday 5 February.

Friends of Music

The first meeting for 2021 will be held via Zoom next Friday 12 February (Week 3) commencing at 8.30am. The meeting will run for approximately 45 minutes.

Join Zoom Meeting https://redlands.zoom.us/j/4874398088?pwd=YlYrbWFPMWVndkptcnFDUmQ4RWVFUT09

Meeting ID: 487 439 8088 / Passcode: Music

If you would like more information on the Friends of Music and its important association with the Music Department, please contact our President Ms Emma McLaren.

Jazz In The Garden (Live Streamed)

With rehearsals and preparations underway, the 2021 Music calendar is already shaping up to be filled with many exciting performance opportunities for students throughout the year. To commence this journey, students enrolled in the Jazz program will be participating in our annual launch event, Jazz in The Garden, scheduled for Saturday 13 March at 6.00pm. Specific details will be communicated to families in Week 4.

Battle of the Bands

In conjunction with our Rock Band Specialists, the determined theme for this year’s Battle of the Bands is Music from the 80s. This theme will certainly celebrate this wonderful decade of music and is a prerequisite for all entries. The Battle of the Bands supports our emerging contemporary musicians, with the competition to be held Monday 29 March commencing at 6.00pm. The competition is open to students in Yrs 7-12 and features our Junior School Rock Bands as featured performers. Audition forms can be collected from Music Receptions or on Redlands Pulse.

Extra Subjects Enrolments and Procedures

For lessons to commence in Term 1, enrolment for classes in Voice, Instrumental Studies, Musicianship, Sound Engineering, Rock Bands and Composition close next Friday 12 February. Any forms received after this date will commence lessons in Term 2. Parents and guardians are advised that students who are requesting a change to their current Extra Subject Music tuition will need to submit a Notification of Change form, four weeks prior to the end of Semester 1. Please note that once a semester has commenced, lessons will not be able to be terminated until the end of that semester. The Notification of Change form can be downloaded from Redlands Pulse and is required to be emailed to Music Administrators.

Music Tutor and Parent Communications

The Music Department places great importance on strong school-home partnerships with the intention to increase parental participation in the learning of music. In focusing on clear lines of communication, our goal is to establish a collaborative association with parents in supporting their child’s musical journey. Much like the Redlands Student Planner, our primary system of communication for school-to-home connections is through the use of the Private Music Tuition Record Book. This learning resource is the primary process in which parents and tutors liaise regularly, and its purpose is to record lesson instructions, set weekly goals and expectations, and provide ongoing practice routines and strategies.

The secondary process of communication is through Redlands staff email, where Music tutors will clearly outline teaching schedules and outline any changes or amendments that may occur from time to time. Correspondence through email is the expected form of communication, and Music tutors are not expected to respond to text messages on their personal mobile number. Please understand that Redlands Music tutors are also employed at other schools and, as such, do not work at Redlands every day. Parents are reminded that response to an email may not be immediate so forward planning is recommended. Under no circumstances should students and teachers be communicating via personal mobile devices. Importantly, we believe that effective communication is based on ongoing and regular exchanges, and our goal is to ensure that correspondence is both informative and interactive as possible. Every communication exchange, regardless of format, should reflect a thoughtful, planned dialogue and should be viewed as an opportunity for teacher-parent partnerships that ultimately support student learning.

Senior Campus

Senior Music Lockers

Students and parents are reminded to please ensure Music Locker forms are submitted by next Friday 12 February. This form can be found on Redlands Pulse or collected from the Senior Music Reception. Lockers and combination locks are allocated to students on receipt of the form.

Junior Campus

Music Instrumental Program (MIP)

Issue of departmental instruments will take place throughout Week 3 and parents are reminded to ensure that the Instrument Hire forms have been either emailed or handed in at the Junior Campus Music Office. A reminder that all students in Yr 4 will be billed $20 for the accompanying learning resource required for the program.

Instrument Storage and Care

On the day of a lesson, students are required to store instruments at the back of their classroom (for large instruments) or in their school bag or locker (for small instruments). Instruments should not be left at school overnight as they are needed for regular home learning and practice sessions. School hired instruments must be included on personal home and contents insurance as Redlands cannot be held responsible for instruments which are lost, stolen or damaged. As all musical instruments are incredibly fragile and expensive, parents are asked to assist in ensuring that students do not let other children play with their allocated instrument, this resource is kept in a safe place and out of extreme temperatures (ie. hot car) and instruments are not left out of their case when not in use.

Yr 2 Curriculum Strings

During classroom music on Monday, Yr 2 students participated in a demonstration session, as they learned about orchestral string instruments and listened to Ms Katherine Moses (Head of Strings), Ms Gabby Jung (Violin Tutor) and Mrs Mar’yana Sywak (Violin Tutor) perform beautiful String Trio repertoire. As an important part of their classroom Music program, students in Yr 2 have the opportunity to learn a string instrument for the duration of the year. This is a fully programmed aspect of their academic curriculum and learning an instrument is a great way of ‘Making Thinking Visible’ in the Music context. Research states that the benefits of instrumental studies enhances cognitive function in support of language, communication skills and spatial awareness, in addition to mathematical and reasoning abilities. As a Department, we believe that learning music together develops creativity through improvisation, builds collaborative skills and teamwork, and fosters social-emotional learnings in relation to individual determination, personal goal-setting and self-regulation.

Mr Darren Kuilenburg
Coordinator of Music
seniormusic@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9820