Students play at Opera House concert hall

Eleven students in Years 4 and 5 at Pretty Beach Public School participated in the NSW Department of Education's Festival of Instrumental Music at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Thursday, August 25.

The six cello and five violin students were part of the strings program run at Pretty Beach Public School.

This concert was the culmination of countless hours of rehearsing works at home and a special ensemble practice at school each week to focus on the FOIM performance.

Students were required to learn their pieces from memory as no music stands were allowed on stage at the Concert Hall.

The Mimosa Concert was the final in a series of four concerts, which aimed to highlight the musicianship and achievements of students in NSW Public Schools.

The four works played by the Pretty Beach students, as part of Combined NSW Public Schools Strings Ensemble were: Autumn, third movement from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, Mala Rain by Wendy Ireland, Terra Nova by Richard Meyer, and Pagodas by the Heavenly Lake by Stephen Chin.

The school's strings program aims to help children develop a lifelong love of music through playing stringed instruments.

Established in 2013, the program has grown to currently having 26 students enrolled in cello or violin in 2016.

All students participate in a weekly group or individual lesson with their tutors, as well as participating in a weekly group ensemble practice.

Sally Maer (cello) and Dan Russell (violin) are internationally accomplished musicians who reside locally and provide tuition for the program at the school one day a week.

The program is funded solely by parents of the strings students at Pretty Beach.

Earlier this year the program was fortunate to receive $1000 of scholarship funds from the Bouddi Society.

These funds have enabled the Strings Program to offer three half-tuition scholarships for the first time.

Media release, 30 Aug 2016

Helen Burchell, Pretty Beach Public School