ST LAURENCE’S COLLEGEMUSIC INFORMATION BOOKLET

CONTENTSINTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CLASSROOM MUSIC PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CO-CURRICULAR INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PROGRAM . . . . . . 4

CO-CURRICULAR MUSIC GROUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CONCERT BANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Concert Band 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Concert Band 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Concert Band 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Concert Band 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Year 5 Concert Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

JAZZ BIG BANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Big Band 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Big Band 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Big Band 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

GUITAR ORCHESTRAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Guitar Orchestra 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Guitar Orchestra 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

STRING ORCHESTRAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

String Orchestra 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

String Orchestra 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

String Orchestra 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Year 5 String Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Fellowship of the String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Symphony Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Worship Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

SINGING GROUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Brotherhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Big Brotherhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Little Brotherhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Middlehood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Treblehood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Reblehood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Littlehood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

MUSIC CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

MUSIC TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

PARENTS MUSIC SUPPORT GROUP (LMSG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

OLD BOYS ENSEMBLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

COMMUNITY CHOIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

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INTRODUCTIONMusic is an integral part of the academic, cultural and spiritual life of St Laurence’s College . The College provides comprehensive music education for over 900 students participating in classroom music and co-curricular music from Years 5 to 12 .

CLASSROOM MUSIC PROGRAMThe classroom music program is internationally recognised as an example of best practice in the field of boys’ music education . Every boy can become a musician and our graduates achieve at the highest level .

CO-CURRICULAR INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PROGRAMLessons are held once a week during class time with specialist teachers . St Laurence’s College offers the option of private lessons or shared lesson (not available on piano or percussion) . Group lessons are available for voice and theory of music .

Music lessons are available on the following:

• Acoustic Guitar

• Bass Guitar

• Brass

• Percussion

• Piano

• Strings

• Voice

• Woodwind

• Organ

• Theory of Music (AMEB)

The department is staffed by highly qualified and experienced teachers who focus on providing best practice and excellence in boy’s music education .

CO-CURRICULAR MUSIC GROUPSThe College offers a co-curricular music program encompassing instrumental and vocal music lessons and performance ensembles . There are currently over 20 performing ensembles including: Symphony Orchestra, String Orchestras, Concert Bands, Jazz Big Bands, Singing Groups, Guitar Orchestras, Percussion Ensembles, Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and small Vocal Ensembles . Our program is all inclusive however to support the students progress it is a requirement they are receiving tuition on their instrument either at school or externally .

Rehearsals are held before and after school every week during term time .

An annual music levy is applied to every student’s fee account who participates the co-curricular music program .

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CONCERT BANDSThe Concert Band program involves woodwind, brass and percussion students . These ensembles are open to players who learn an instrument either within the College instrumental program or outside the school . Students of all abilities are catered for .

Concert Band 1

The school’s Senior Concert Band, this ensemble is open, by audition, to students in Years 9 to 12 with advanced playing skills and experience .

Concert Band 2

Concert Band 2 is an intermediate band . Students in this ensemble have generally been playing their instrument for 3 or more years . Older beginner students are welcome to play in this ensemble through to Year 12 .

Concert Band 3

Concert Band 3 members have generally been playing their instrument for a minimum of 12 months .

Concert Band 4

This ensemble caters for students who have been playing their instrument for less than 12 months .

Year 5 Concert Band

This ensemble is part of the Year 5 instrumental music program . All members of this ensemble are beginners and develop their ensemble performance techniques through weekly rehearsals . The Year 5 Concert Band rehearses each Wednesday during the school day from the start of Term 2 .

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JAZZ BIG BANDSThe Big Bands instrumentation comprises trumpets, trombones, saxophones and a rhythm section including piano, guitar, bass guitar, drum kit and percussion . These ensembles play music in the jazz and rock styles and introduce students to the art of improvisation .

Big Band 1

This is the School’s Senior Big Band . This ensemble is open, by audition, to students in Years 9-12 with advanced playing skills and experience .

Big Band 2

Big Band 2 is an intermediate big band involving students predominantly from Years 8 to 10 . Students in this ensemble have generally been playing their instrument for 3 or more years . Older beginner students are welcome to play in this ensemble through to Year 12 .

Big Band 3

Big Band 3 is the junior big band . This band is designed to give students their first experience in jazz .

GUITAR ORCHESTRASThe Guitar Orchestra program promotes opportunities for guitarists of all levels to develop ensemble performance skills and enjoy group music making . Guitar orchestras are primarily acoustic based ensembles with added electric bass and percussion . These groups perform diverse repertoire of original and arranged works . St Laurence’s College was the first school in Queensland to establish a guitar orchestra program and is recognised nationally as a leading school in this field .

Guitar Orchestra 1

Guitar Orchestra 1 is the senior guitar orchestra comprising the most skilled and committed players of the College . The orchestra performs a wide variety of music from classical, Latin and popular styles .

Guitar Orchestra 2

This group is open to emerging primary and secondary guitarists and aims to develop the fundamental practical and aural skills required for ensemble playing .

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STRING ORCHESTRASThe orchestral strings program caters for players of violin, viola, cello and double bass . The following groups cater for all levels of playing experience .

String Orchestra 1

String Orchestra 1 is the senior string orchestra involving the most advanced players of the College .

String Orchestra 2

String Orchestra 2 involves students from Years 7 to 9 who have been playing for three or more years .

String Orchestra 3

String Orchestra 2 involves students predominantly from Years 5 to 7 who have been playing for one or more years .

Year 5 String Orchestra

This orchestra is part of the Year 5 instrumental music program specially designed for beginners . The students rehearse weekly from Term 2 to develop their ensemble performance techniques .

Fellowship of the String

The Fellowship of the String is a dynamic and exciting small electric string ensemble drawn from members of the Senior String Orchestra .

Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony Orchestra caters for orchestral strings, woodwind, brass and percussion students . The members are predominantly drawn from String Orchestra 1 and Concert Band 1 .

Worship Orchestra

The Worship Orchestra supports choirs in full school masses and is augmented by worship bands at each year level who play at Friday morning Masses .

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SINGING GROUPSSt Laurence’s College is a singing school and the voice program aims to teach everyone in the College to sing . The singing groups work as effective teams to develop their singing and musical skills to perform a wide range of music .

Many of St Laurence’s College singers are also instrumentalists who participate in the bands or strings programs .

The Brotherhood

The Brotherhood has a strong reputation nationally and internationally as a substantial men’s chorus . It is open to all changed voice tenors and basses and sings a wide variety of repertoire .

The Big Brotherhood

This is the school’s chamber tenor bass ensemble and its membership is drawn from the Brotherhood . It is a small group which sings challenging repertoire, often including popular music and jazz .

The Little Brotherhood

The Little Brotherhood is for boys whose voices are changing . It features targeted activities to ensure healthy vocal development . This group performs at school, community and religious events and acts as a training squad for the Brotherhood .

The Middlehood

The Middlehood is a select group of students drawn from the Little Brotherhood . It caters for boys whose voices are changing and wish to sing challenging repertoire to a high standard .

The Treblehood

The Treblehood has a strong reputation as a substantial treble voice chorus . It is open to all unchanged voices and sings a wide variety of repertoire . The Treblehood has represented the College in many contexts including religious services, concerts and radio broadcasts .

The Reblehood

The Reblehood is a select group of students and its membership is drawn from the Treblehood . It is a small group which sings challenging repertoire .

The Littlehood

Part of the year 5 music program, the Littlehood is specially formulated to give Year 5 students a strong foundation to prepare them for singing throughout their schooling . This group rehearse weekly during class time from Term 2 .

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PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIESThere are many performance opportunities throughout the year including:

• Concerts both at school and in the wider community including the Brisbane City Bands Festival held in the Queen St Mall, Queensland Catholic Music Festival held at Villanova College, combined school concerts, aged care facilities, religious festivals and liturgies

• Regional, national and international tours

• Lizid Rock Music Festival .

MUSIC CAMPThe Music Department holds an annual Music Camp for selected ensembles .

The camp is an important part of the development of the ensembles both musically and socially .

MUSIC TOURSSt Laurence’s Music Department endeavours to undertake regular International music tours every few years . In 2008 the College toured to China and in 2012, 50 students participated in the World of Music International Music Festival in York and London, then they travelled to Ireland visiting the region where the Christian Brothers were founded, including the Edmund Rice International Heritage Centre . In 2015, the senior music ensembles traveled to the USA, visiting Washington and New York City . In 2018, the Music Department travelled to Europe visiting Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg .

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PARENTS MUSIC SUPPORT GROUP (LMSG)The Lauries Music Support Group provides essential support to the music department . It provides valuable practical and financial assistance . Meetings are held monthly during term time and everyone in the College community are welcome and encouraged to attend . Parents who are unable to attend meetings can join the helper’s list .

OLD BOYS’ ENSEMBLESMusic Old Boys’ run ensembles at the start of each year until the commencement of the university term . Choirs, bands and guitar orchestras are usually formed .

COMMUNITY CHOIRThe Community Choir rehearses for the same period as the Old Boys; this singing group is open to all .

CONTACT USPhone 07 3010 1138

Email music@slc .qld .edu .au

ST LAURENCE’S COLLEGEA Catholic College for Boys in the Edmund Rice Tradition

slc .qld .edu .au