Music

Music program

An extra-curricular program where students can participate in instrumental music and vocal tuition within the school timetable.

Students come out of class for one half an hour session on a rotating basis and are either taught individually or in pairs. Each instrument is connected to at least one of our music ensemble groups. Students can begin a study at the FHS 7-10 Campus and continue that study at the Wurun Senior Campus. The instrumental coordinator for both campuses is Andy Williamson. He can be contacted on andrew.williamson2@education.vic.gov.au

Music Enrolment

Broad spectrum of musical conventions

The Music Program at Fitzroy High School offers access to a broad spectrum of musical conventions and experiences.

From Music Theory and the study of classical forms within the western music tradition, to improvisational explorations of jazz, funk and soul; from the crafted and considered aesthetics of pop & rock to the exciting electronic and digital innovations of 21st Century music technology.

There are a number of streams within the Music Program at Fitzroy High School. All students take part in classroom music sessions in Years 7-8 and can choose to continue their music study in Years 9 and 10, where they may also include composition, using live instruments, voice and computer software programs. These opportunities in the years 7-10 program are pathways to VCE Music studies at Wurun Senior Campus, where a wide range of subjects are currently offered. Some Year 10 students are currently enrolled in the Music Industry Vocational Education and Training (VET) program.

At Fitzroy High School, the unique, diverse and dynamic student body is encouraged with inspiration and opportunity from fantastically versatile and accomplished music educators. The Music Program faculty boasts staff that each in turn occupy a notable presence as recording & performing artists in their own right. The Instrumental Music teachers and Ensemble facilitators at Fitzroy High School are professional music practitioners with national & international touring credits, who are able to communicate tangible and exciting artistic and performance opportunities to the student body by example.

Committed to musical growth and development

The school is committed to musical growth and development through a wide range of performance opportunities, both within the school (at Open Days, Assemblies, Exhibitions and Graduations) and a Concert programme at established Music Venues in the local inner city vicinity. In recent years the Concert Programme has included concerts at venues such as The Spotted Mallard, The Melba Spiegeltent, 75 on Reid St and The Night Cat. These events are enormously popular with the school community and invariably sell out quickly.

The Music Program also offers access to accreditation from external examination bodies such as the AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board) and the UK based ABRSM (Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music). These accreditations are recognised by universities nationally and internationally. Fitzroy High School has a fine record of successfully guiding candidates through the preparation and examination processes. Music Theory classes are offered independently of Instrumental lessons. These classes can incorporate enrolment in external theory examinations via AMEB and ABRSM. These classes are highly recommended for students in early and middle years considering doing VCE/VET Music Performance.

The Instrumental Program

The study of Music is far from limited to the singular trajectory of a career overtly targeting music creation and performance. There is an emerging and ever-increasing body of empirical evidence documenting the links between the study and practice of Music and cognitive, emotional and social development. Such research suggests that the complexity involved in practising and performing music increases neural connections in the regions of the brain associated with creativity, decision making and complex memory, language and executive function, and may improve a student’s ability to process conflicting information from many senses at once.

The study of Music offers avenues to improved focus and concentration, empathy and abstract thought, and the ability to stand behind one’s statements with confidence and conviction: benefits that the school both acknowledges and endorses.

A wide range of contemporary and classical studies available for tuition include:

Bass	Brass	Guitar	Keyboard	Percussion	Strings	Woodwind	Voice
Double Bass	Trumpet	Acoustic	Piano	Drum kit	Cello	Flute	Classical
Electric Bass Guitar	Trombone	Electric	Electric Keyboard	Percussion	Violin	Clarinet	Jazz
			Piano Accordion		Mandolin	Saxophone	Modern
					Viola & Ukulele

Ensembles

Facilitated by the instrumental music teachers, with support from the classroom music staff, the ensembles run during an extended lunchtime, and provide opportunities for students learning instruments and voice at school as well as those learning outside of school. The ensembles change from time to time to cater for student interest and staff expertise. The current ensembles are as follows:

The Falconer St Band

Facilitated by Andy Williamson, with support from the other instrumental teachers ,the Falconer St Band is a rollicking, rampaging juggernaut of bellicose big band blaring and street band strut. From ska & rocksteady to smouldering soul jazz, the Falconer St Band is home to many of Fitzroy High School’s woodwind and brass students, with many other instruments added in.

Percussion Ensemble

Facilitated by Julian Goyma, the Percussion Ensemble has been a wildly exciting fixture of the Fitzroy High School concert program for several years running. Exploring primarily the rich & dynamic heritage of the Brazilian Drumming tradition, the Percussion Ensemble consistently delivers show stopping performances. Headbands optional.

Guitar Ensemble

Facilitated by Nathan Slater, who brings his experience as one of Melbourne’s leading Flamenco guitar practitioners to the six string slingers of the Guitar Ensemble. From Baroque excursions to Broken Social Scene, the Guitar Ensemble ranges from Tangos to Toto, and is home to many of Fitzroy High School’s pickers and strummers. Windmill and kneeslide instruction available as an optional supplementary study.

Keyboard Ensemble

Facilitated by Christy Wositzky-Jones, the Keyboard Ensemble is a breathtaking balance of the bodacious and absurd. Its repertoire span includes Lounge music from the Atomic Age, disco, power ballads, pop anthems and film & game themes, and is testament to the notion that the spectre of the 1980’s is never far from the shadowy recesses of the collective subconscious…