An amazing night of talent and musicianship was showcased last Thursday night at Rockfest 2012.

Rockfest is the contemporary music program’s feature musical concert. It involves boys from Year 7–12 performing pop and rock songs of all styles. Rockfest is the closest platform to a ‘professional gig’ that many of these boys will experience whilst at school. We have professional sound and lighting on the night and even the changeover between acts is managed to the second! All in all, it is a professional showcase gig.

I was both incredibly proud and impressed with the high calibre of performances that took place this year. The boys are beginning to understand that playing in a band is not just about playing a song – it is also about performing. One thing that I am particularly excited about is the talent in the junior years. We have six Years 7 and 8 bands this year and the musicianship is very solid in all groups. The singing in each band has improved immensely as well, as many of the boys are now working with our fabulous singing teacher Jo Fabro.

A band cannot simply put their name down to perform at Rockfest. All boys must audition for the privilege to perform on the night, with each group given a mark out of 20 for organisation, musicianship, ensemble skills and performance skills. Bands that perform well in the auditions are given one song to play at Rockfest, with a handful of exceptional auditonees given the bonus of being able to perform two songs.

Our Year 11 DRASP students (Digital Recording and Sound Production) were responsible for all staging, microphone placement and sound engineering for Rockfest with the assistance of a mixing engineer. These boys have assisted with Founders Concert and other music events and are relishing the opportunity to put sound production theory into action in a real concert setting.

There are ten bands in the Rock Band Program, including for the first time, two Year 7 Rock Club groups. This number does not include the other student bands that rehearse regularly outside of scheduled Rock Band hours due to other commitments. Each band rehearses one afternoon a week with a rock tutor and industry professional where they develop their ensemble skills through different rock repertoire.

I would like to thank the Rock Band tutors, (Steve Rackowski, Mark Howard and Jo Fabro) for the time and dedication they have given to the bands. These tutors run the rehearsals, write out chord charts and organise equipment.

Stay tuned for Newington Unplugged to be held in Term 4! 

In other Contemporary Music news, I have been holding songwriting workshops each Wednesday morning, where a dozen students have been learning the skills to write their own music. Boys will eventually record their songs in these sessions and enter them in the 2012 Newington College Songwriting Competition. Entries for the Songwriting Competition close at the end of Term 3.

We recently recorded Eugene Gibson’s (11/JN) song Sleeping In The Sky at Studios 301 Sydney with Aria Award Winning Producer Paul McKercher. Eugene was the winner of the 2011 Songwriting Competition. The day was a huge success and provided an invaluable learning experience for both Eugene and his band, and for the Year 11 Digital Recording and Sound Production (DRASP) students, who observed and helped with microphone and equipment set up. They also gained an insight into how to produce a recording session with an experienced producer.

For some images from the night, please scroll down to the gallery below. A big thank you to Ms Jane Wynn-Jones for the fantastic photos!

Mr Chris Paton
Music Department

Interview with Jack Jacobs
(Year 8–Lead singer/Guitarist/Keys player in The Bonsoirs)

This band was also invited personally by The Headmaster, to perform at the next Assembly after ‘Rockfest’ to celebrate the night’s success!

Why are the boys so engaged in RockFest?

Probably because we love music so much; contemporary music in particular. And it is the main event to showcase contemporary music!

What was it like performing at Rockfest?

It felt really good – the performance went really well. The stage and lights were so professional. The atmosphere was so great and it felt like we were at a real concert and we all performed better for it I think.

Why is it important to do weekly rock band tutorials?

It is really fun to do. It prepares you for Rockfest later on. It is one thing to learn an instrument, but it’s so much better to play that instrument within a group. It also gives you an opportunity to play more, rather than just having one on one lessons.

Where do see yourself and your band in the future?

After the Bonsoirs’ Rockfest performance, we were really pumped up! We feel we are even more engaged now and are really keen to improve and do better as a band. The weekly rehearsals will really help to keep us focused.

Why is it good for boys in particular? And what do they get out of it?

You could say that guys seem to like hanging together in groups a lot. Guys also seem to find it hard to communicate, so playing music together helps with expression and communication. The best thing is the ensemble skills and performance skills. We are also exposed to new types of music by our rock tutors!