Year 11 & 12 Music classes attended the Encore Concert on Monday 27 February at the Sydney Opera House. This concert showcases some of the top HSC Music performances from 2022.
The students enjoyed dinner together at Circular Quay before walking around to the Opera House. Here are some of their reflections from the evening:
One item that impressed me was…
the clarinet performance from Peter Chen. I enjoyed watching his runs and his incredible tone between different registers. - Matt P
the piano quartet with the double bass, cello and violin. The clarity of the tone, outstanding acoustics, and body expression helped to solidify it as my number one choice. I also enjoyed the oboe and clarinet pieces. - Ethan O
the second singer because she had control over her voice and was able to give dynamics in her performance especially in the higher notes. - Elliana C
the alto saxophone feature, accompanied by the tenor saxophone, double bass and drums because of the different techniques that he used such as breath tone, flutter tongue, growling and a general sophistication in phrasing and technique. - Petar L
the final singer because she had so much stage presence. I am currently working on my stage presence, specifically with a mic stand as I am not as comfortable using one but would like to for one of my pieces. - Holly F
the first drummer, I enjoyed how he was able to keep that curiosity and high intensity of piece throughout the performance. I could tell that he created a large impact on the massive audience as everyone was cheering and in awe of his musical abilities. - Nicola M
the drum and electric guitar duo. This is because the drummer displayed an extensive ability to manipulate concepts such as dynamics and tone colour, which in turn helped to engage the audience. - Tom S
the composition for the choir because it exemplified a meaningful, skillful, and progressive piece of music that was created for the composer's Grandmother that passed away. - Elroy B
The guitarist… as he showed strong passion and an amazing solo. I also thought the Drummer who reflected on Foo Fighters was amazing too, in the way he showed the tones of the drum kit. - Sergio W
the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Duet because he (Joshua Blythe from Rouse Hill Anglican College) obviously put lots of time and effort into playing the piece and the drums are such a tricky instrument to play and it was very interesting to watch it being performed. - Magdalena C
Hannah Lee's (Knox Grammar School) performance of "Violet's Etude" on the Marimba. This performance had incredible use of dynamics and expressive techniques and was inspiring in using a slightly unconventional instrument for the HSC. - Eliza P
Lilliana Maree Davis from Gosford High School because of her flawless vocal technique and amazing range. - Despina L
I also enjoyed…
watching the crowd as everyone started doing the macarena, using their flashlights and playing scissors paper rock from across the room. - Alyssa M
the great memories made with our class, friends, and teachers. It was also my first time in the Opera House and I can confidently say that I had a great experience due to the people around me. - Keona H
the timing of the night, it never felt like we were in a rush and could enjoy dinner and the concert and then could relax and talk on the bus. - Josh
I enjoyed going to the opera house, it was my first time going. - Micaelah
It was important to go to this concert because…
I learnt how high the bar is for HSC performances. - Tiana P
I learnt what great small ensemble skills were, as well as how to engage yourself with the piece, and gain the audience's engagement also. It was really good to see the level of technical skill, with fingering on string and woodwind instruments, runs on vocals, and the dynamics of each performance. - Eowyn B
I learnt that there is a whole community who are in love with music, and I’d like to commit to that community more. - Oriana O
It was important to go to this concert because it was inspiring to see what other musicians that are in the same boat as us are performing. It was very important to see these performers as we can use it as a goal for us to try and achieve, motivating us to push ourselves harder. - Tahlia K
Mrs Elizabeth Ford & Mr Byron Mark