A Salute to the Wind Ensemble 

The WCC Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s long hiatus came to an end earlier this month after they took home first place in the intermediate secondary school concert band category at the Sydney Eisteddfod, held at the Concourse in Chatswood.  

This was the Ensemble’s first performance outside of the school in six years and they marked their re-entry with extravagant bravado. 

The WCC band, consisting of students primarily in years 9-12, narrowly defeated Knox Grammar’s concert band, followed closely by Monte Sant’ Angelo Wind Ensemble and North Sydney Girls’ High School Symphonic Winds.  

The band performed two songs – A Salute to American Jazz by Sammy Nestico and By Loch and Mountain by Robert W. Smith – which they had been perfecting for months under the direction of Mr. Staines. 

A Salute to American Jazz features a collection of iconic jazz songs, including A Night in Tunisia, St. Louis Blues, It Don’t Mean a Thing, and Birdland. The months of practice helped turn what was initially a blur of sound (with a blast from the trombones) into a crisp and clean performance. 

By Loch and Mountain is a quaint and inspiring composition, featuring a silvery solo on the traditional Irish folk song I Know Where I’m Going, which was executed superbly by Tom on the day. It merges into more energetic sections which were both fun to play and listen to. 

The day was an incredible experience for everyone involved, especially considering that for many it was their first offsite competition. 

Here is what some of the band members had to say about the experience:   

“You know, given this was the first external performance by Symphonic Wind, I believe as a band we played well, and it was a great experience to play at Chatswood. A shame Callum was ‘unable’ to attend and play in the trombone section.” Anson L  

“I was very confident in our performance. It was very strong. Despite the challenges we faced, we managed to pull off a good performance in the Eisteddfod. I’m pretty proud of my performance on the drums.” Connor  

The band is looking forward to going on tour to primary schools around Port Macquarie in the holidays.