Performing Arts
Get ready for rehearsals!
Rehearsals for the 2023 Years 9–12 play began on a warm Sunday in early June. A passionate cast of 68 students from Brighton, Berwick, City and Keysborough campuses came together to take part in a workshop with play directors, Nicole Smith and Nick Waxman.
The play Beware; For I am Fearless is an immersive piece of theatre inspired by authors, characters, locations and events from great Gothic Literature.
This play has the audience roaming the many rooms and hallways of the fictional manor Otranto and viewing dozens of scenes and dramatic events before the grand climax. The first read-through gave the cast insight into what we have in store for our invited guests.
The play will be performed in August and is sure to be a hot ticket event. The 2022 Senior Play sold out quickly and we look forward to welcoming you all to Manor Otranto in the coming weeks.
Nick Waxman
Head of Drama and Theatre Studies
Music
Concerto Concert acclaim
It was a cold and frosty Thursday night when the Senior School Concerto Concert was held in Aikman Hall. Despite the chilly temperatures outside, our musicians presented one of the very best concerts I have experienced in my 20 years at Haileybury.
Before the formal concert, families enjoyed the jazz combos performing in the hall foyer. During the main event, Concerto Concert showcased the outstanding talents of 11 soloists and a highly entertaining repertoire.
Samuel Koh (violin) Year 12, Genevieve Gray (voice) Year 12, Thanh Vu (voice) Year 12, Harishan Rajiv (voice) Year 11, Rianna Gatt (flute) Year 12, Elliot Guo (cello) Year 12, Sarah Tan (violin) Year 12, Nathan Su (piano) Year 12, Daragh Rodrigues (bassoon) Year 12, Marcus Beyer (saxophone) Year 12 and Emily Wakeling (voice) Year 12 were the featured soloists.
These now talented soloists began their musical journey like every other young musician. After a thousand hours of practice and more than 100 lessons, they have emerged as accomplished and sophisticated artists capable of standing and performing before a live audience.
The ensembles that accompanied these outstanding Haileyburians were Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, String Orchestra and Stage Band and more than 200 students performed as part of the concert.
Middle School series begins
The week sees the beginning of the Middle School large ensemble concert series. With concerts set to occur across four campus venues, the series is a busy and rewarding time for students and staff.
The Middle School concerts are an opportunity for students to perform, often for the first time, before a large audience in a formal concert atmosphere. Students enjoy showing their community their skills as emerging young musicians and the smiles on faces following a successful performance is something to behold.
Please check your campus notifications to confirm the date and start time for each concert.
Rod Marshall
Director of Performing Arts & Head of Haileybury Music
Visual Arts
Solitude in Art Making
We are thrilled to share an update on our Units 1 and 2 Art Making and Exhibiting students who have embarked on Unit 2 with an exploration of new art forms, including ceramics.
Beginning by interpreting the Buxton Contemporary Art Museum’s current exhibition nightshifts, which delves into the importance of solitude for creative contemplation, our students have developed their own unique responses to this theme.
They have also honed their skills in working with various types of clay, experimented with construction techniques and explored surface details and texture with art technician and ceramicist, Alessandra Azzone. These experiences have laid the foundation for building a body of experimental artworks from which their final pieces will emerge later in the semester.
We are proud of our students’ dedication, innovative thinking and willingness to explore new artistic avenues. Their engagement with the nightshifts exhibition during the Unit 2 Art Industry excursion, and the hands-on experience with ceramics, has nurtured their creative expression and enhanced their vocabulary and visual language skills.
As the semester progresses, we look forward to witnessing the growth and refinement of their ideas, culminating in the production of their final artworks.
Inspired by rock art
Year 5 students who have almost completed their first semester of Middle School Arts have wowed us with their enthusiasm and skill. Students have explored art across cultures and time — from First Nations rock art to illuminated manuscripts, they have travelled the world from their classrooms.
Over the next few weeks our Boys Middle School and Girls Middle School students are excited to see some of the works that have inspired them as they tour the National Gallery of Victoria.
Girls and boys at Edrington demonstrated their knowledge of texture as they created works inspired by cave paintings in Lascaux in France. They experimented with crushed papers and sand and created their own surfaces to adorn with symbols and animals.
LEAP Week Art projects
In celebration of LEAP Week, our Middle School students who are part of the co-curricular Artworks programs worked on projects outside the classroom. Along with a photography competition and drawing activities, students designed and printed recyclable tote bags. These were sold at the City book stall with all proceeds donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Newlands students created outdoor sculptures by pressing Australian plants and flowers and, as a heartfelt acknowledgment of National Reconciliation Week, Edrington students went on a journey of creativity and sustainability by painting on recycled jars. This allowed them to explore First Nations art and storytelling and fostered a sense of responsibility towards our planet by repurposing materials.
Artworks continues to run during lunchtimes and is an opportunity for students to collaborate as they develop their artistic skills.
Rebecca Frith
Head of Visual Arts Junior & Middle School
Pipes & Drums
World preparations have begun
Preparations are now in full swing as the Haileybury Pipes & Drums Band prepares to voyage from Australia to Scotland to compete in the esteemed World Pipe Band Championships in August.
Recently upgraded from Grade 4A to Grade 3B, they hold the unique distinction of being the only school band in Australia currently in the higher grade. The band will compete in Grade 3B at the World Pipe Band Championships and their debut in this new grade will be in Scotland.
The band members are currently rehearsing weekly to refine their competition sets while balancing a mix of nerves and excitement. This progression to a higher grade is a testament to their hard work, dedication and resilience and demonstrates the high standard of musicianship within the band.
The journey from Down Under to the Highlands is not only a geographical leap but a huge stride in their musical journey and they are embracing the challenge of beating the Scots at their own game!
Lincoln Hilton
Director, Pipes & Drums
