Co-Curricular Music

Mt St Michael's college encourages our students to become aware of the power music has to touch the human spirit through active participation in our music programs. Every student learning an instrument through the college should involve themselves in at least one ensemble (instrumental or vocal).
Membership in most groups at the College is open, (at the discretion of the Music Director). Students will be allocated to groups based on information regarding their skill levels obtained from their instrumental teacher. Membership in the MSM Singers, Senior Strings and the Chamber Music Program is by audition.

Individual Tuition in Voice, Speech and Drama, Theory of Music and all instruments of the woodwind, string, brass and percussion families. Please email the Director of Music, Ms Miriam Townsley for information on costs and enrolment details mtownsley@msm.qld.edu.au

Detailed information about the Music Program is available in the Co-curricular Music Handbook. An annual Music Information evening, including a Music Staff Concert, is held in Term 1, Week 3 as per the College Calendar.

College Choral Program

Liturgy Vocal Group

Singing the faith’ is an important part of the musical tradition of the College. Liturgy Vocal Groups are involved in leading the singing for College liturgies, ceremonies and Masses throughout the year. Rehearsals for this group are event-based rather than a weekly commitment. Students sing with microphones and have the opportunity for vocal solos. Repertoire is mainly modern and traditional hymns and other reflective or thematically suitable repertoire.

College Choir

The Mt St Michael’s College Choir is a non-auditioned group with members from years 8-12. The Choir has achieved highly in previous years and successfully toured interstate as part of the Mt St Michael’s College Cultural Tour. The Mt St Michael’s College Choir is always a challenging and inspiring group to be in. There is Pizza Sing Out and sign up especially for Year 8s each year, usually in Week 3 (as per the College Calendar), after wish they may decide to join the College Choir. Year 8s also participate in a Choral training program as part of Year 8 Elective Music.

MSM Singers

This auditioned small vocal group is usually comprised of the older and more advanced singers of the College Choir. Their exciting performances are often enlivened by choreography and costumes.

College Instrumental Program

String Ensemble/Senior Strings

The Mt St Michael’s College String Ensemble is a string chamber orchestra, of violins, violas, cellos and double basses, sometimes supported by piano. Repertoire is mainly classical and light popular arrangements. They occasionally combine with the Concert Band to perform orchestral-style repertoire when necessary. Senior Strings is an auditioned Group of more advanced players who perform both classical repertoire as well as modern arrangements without conductor.

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Concert Band

The Mt St Michael’s College Concert Band is a mixed instrumental ensemble that contains woodwind, brass and percussion instruments as well as percussion and drum kit. Under the expertise of conductor Major Laurie Young, this group plays a diverse range of repertoire and performs at various College and external functions.

Percussion Ensemble

The Percussion Ensemble regularly wow MSM audiences with their prowess. They have discovered a whole new world of repertoire access to the vast cultural riches of African hand-drumming and various other non-Western styles which they learn mainly by ear and through structured improvisation. Percussion Ensemble is also suitable for other instrumentalists such as singers and piano players who just love to feel the rhythm and the beat. Student need to apply to the Music Director to join this group.

Flute Ensemble

The homogenous sound of a choir of flutes lends itself to a variety of repertoire. All levels from beginners to advanced are able to participate in this group that plays an eclectic range of repertoire arranged for these combinations.

Guitar Ensemble

The Guitar Ensemble has been a great success since its inception. The repertoire is a mixture of soft rock and pop arrangements with some Spanish folk-style and Classical items added occasionally to the mix. Acoustic and electric guitars are played and strumming and finger-picking techniques are utilised. The group caters for all levels of learners from absolute beginners to more experienced musicians.

Chamber Music Program (various)

According to the needs and skills of students, from year to year the Co-Curricular Music Department will support smaller chamber groups such as string or wind quartets, jazz trios or quintets, etc. These will be coached during the lunch period for especially advanced, keen and hard-working students.

Music Support Group 2009

The Music Support Group provides valuable assistance to the Music Department with the organisation of concerts, music camps etc., within a fun, sociable environment that provides a great networking opportunity for like-minded parents. This group formed in 2009 and meets approximately 6 times a year. Interested parents are encouraged to email Clare Webster at clare.webster@bigpond.com

CO-CURRICULAR MUSIC TIMETABLE - TERM 1 (updated 5th February)
Day	Time	Group	Venue
Monday	8:00am 3:15pm-5pm	Flute Ensemble Concert Band	Music Classroom Music Classroom
Tuesday	8:00am-8:30am 3:15pm-4:15pm	Percussion Ensembe College Choir	Music Studio Music Classroom
Wednesday	7:30am-8:30am 3:15pm-4:15pm	Guitar Ensemble MSM Singers	Music Classroom Music Classroom
Thursday	7:30am-8am TBC	String Quartet	Music Classroom
Friday	7:30am-8:30am 12:45pm-1:15pm	String Ensemble Senior Strings	Music Classroom Music Classroom

NOTE: Information concerning variations to this timetable is accessible to students on the College Intranet, the printed Term 1 schedules for each group, as well as on the Music Noticeboard.

CO-CURRICULAR MUSIC STAFF 2010
Director of MUSIC (Ms Miriam Townsley Curriculum and Co-Curricular) Miriam studied at the QLD Conservatorium of Music gaining a Bachelor of Music (with distinction) and two Graduate Diplomas of Music. Miriam has spent the early part of her career as a full-time orchestral violinist, playing in the Tasmanian Symphony and the State Orchestra of Victoria as well as The Queensland Orchestra, with which she continues to freelance when possible. She regularly performs at wedding and functions as part of the Allegro Vivo String Quartet. Other recent performance highlights have included the international ABBAmania show at Jupiters Casino. After gaining her Bachelor of Education at the University of Qld in 2001, Miriam worked at St Peters Lutheran College and Church of England Grammar School in their instrumental programs. Miriam brings a wealth of ‘real life’ professional music making experience to Mt St Michael’s College.
Strings Teacher and String Ensemble Director (Ms Alice Buckingham) Alice holds a Bachelor of Music (Music Performance – Viola) with Honours Class I from the University of Queensland and was a recipient of an Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship to study a Masters in Music Performance. Alice received her LMusA in 2005 was a recipient of the Harmer Memorial Scholarship in the same year, and in 2006 was awarded first prize in the UQ Postgraduate String Performance Prize. Alice has performed extensively with various orchestras and as a member of the Quintessential String Quartet, and has performed with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Southern Cross Soloists and The Cat Empire. Alice currently performs with deep blue orchestra and is the coordinator of their education program, Young Blue. Alice is also a member of the string chamber ensemble Camerata of St John’s. Alice has also studied speech and drama, in which she was awarded her ATCL in 2003, receiving an additional award for Top of the State (QLD), and has worked as a speech and drama teacher at various schools in Brisbane. She also currently teaches strings at All Hallows’ School and lectures in the history of Musical Theatre at UQ.
Cello Teacher (Ms Emma Hales) Emma studied cello performance at QUT with Andre Duthoit and completed my Bachelor of Music with Distinction in 2008. Study plans for the future include a postgraduate performance degree and to completing an A. Mus. A. Presently a member of Deep Blue Orchestra, Emma has toured Australia performing and providing workshops. She has also performed with the QYS, Gold Coast Symphony Orchestra and several Brisbane-based bands including electro-acoustic pop songstress Tara Simmons and acoustic folk pop group Sweet Fawn. Emma has experience in performing, recording and arranging for cello in many different musical styles.
Voice Teacher and Choral Director (Ms Ruani Dias-Jayasinha) Ruani has been a valuable addition to the College Co Curricular Music Programme since Term 4, 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Education/Voice) and a Bachelor of Arts (English/Drama) from the University of Queensland. Since 1998, she has performed as an actor/singer and worked professionally as a vocal coach in many productions throughout Sydney. She has taught classroom music and drama at both primary and secondary schools in the QLD and NSW state systems but is currently pursuing her interest in choral direction and singing teaching privately, at several Primary schools as well as at Mt St Michael’s.
Piano Teacher and Choral Accompanist (Mr Christian Gante) Christian has a diverse career as a solo performer, accompanist and piano teacher. He currently plays with Tango Paradiso, Topology and lectures in the Faculty of Creative Arts at QUT University. His qualifications include and Bachelor’s Degree and a Graduate Diploma in Music Studies from Griffith Conservatorium of Music, QLD. He also plays and teaches the violin. He teaches piano in his private studio and is in demand as an accompanist at various state and national events. Christian adds valuable expertise to the program at Mt St Michael’s.
Flute Teacher and Flute Ensemble Director (Mr Patrick Nolan) From 2001 to 2006, Patrick held the position of Principal Flute with the Queensland Orchestra and before that, from 1987 to 2000, he was Principal Flute with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra. At the end of 2006 he chose to move from orchestral life to pursue a number of other interests including teaching. He commenced music studies with Vernon Hill and Thomas Pinschof at the Victorian College of Arts and continued his studies with Wolfgang Schulz, principal flautist of the Vienna Philharmonic. He was the recipient of several scholarships to study overseas and in 1980, was a prize-winner at the Australian Flute Competition. He has presented concerti with both the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Queensland Orchestra. Of Patrick’s playing, Patricia Kelly wrote in The Australian, “Nolan’s flute cast glowing shafts of opalescent light through the dark nocturnal notes… truly a perfect moment.” Patrick has been widely praised for his artistic direction of the highly successful Tenth Australian Flute Convention held at the Queensland Conservatorium in 1999. He also coordinated the 1999 Australian National Academy of Music Flute Program. Patrick also teaches flute at the University of Queensland and Marist College.
Guitar Teacher & Guitar Ensemble Director (Ms Catherine Neylan) Catherine began teaching guitar at Mt St Michael's College in March 2002 and also currently teaches at All Hallows’ School. Her training is in Classical Guitar and she has an Associate Diploma in Guitar from Trinity College London. Whilst Catherine understands the people’s image of the Guitar as an instrument used predominately in popular music, particularly with teenagers, she likes her students to learn classical techniques while allowing them to play repertoire of their choice, usually of a popular nature. She wants students to learn to read music and be able to use finger picking techniques.
Guitar Teacher (Ms Anne Begg) Anne completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Classical Guitar Performance at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne. Anne received a BP Music award and studied with Timothy Kain at the School of Music, Australian National University where she completed a Graduate Diploma in Music (Performance). Anne has extensive experience in both individual and group tuition in classical guitar. She has taught at a number of primary and secondary schools in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane as well as for the Council of Adult Education (Melbourne) and in her own studio. Anne currently plays in Tilde Duo with soprano, Heidi Page. In addition to teaching guitar and performing, Anne has pursued other musical interests, including singing with Melbourne Chorale Symphonic Chorus and Ensemble, Gloriana Vocal Ensemble and Tanglewood Festival Chorus (Boston, USA). Anne is also studying cello and plays with Brisbane Symphony Orchestra. Anne joins the MSM Music teaching staff in 2010.
Drum Kit and Percussion Teacher (Mr Glen Baker) Glen is joined the MSM Music teaching staff in 2008. Glen is a graduate of the Australian National University’s Jazz Department. Since 1992 Glen has performed in diverse groups, focusing his attention mainly on contemporary grooves and up-to-date sounds. He is a published songwriter, had international airplay with various bands and been a regular performing artist at local and national music festivals. As well as private tuition, Glen has presented drum clinics, master classes and conducted a range of percussion ensembles.
Clarinet and Saxophone Teacher (Mr John Babbage) John joins the MSM Music teaching staff in 2010. John studied saxophone at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music graduating with a Diploma in Jazz in 1987. During this period he specialized in arranging and composition under the direction of Mike Nock and Clive Moorhead. This lead to many commissions including The Queensland Theatre Company, Brisbane Convention Centre, the Gold Coast Cultural Centre and various television stations. John has worked extensively around Australia with various groups including the Queensland Orchestra, Tony Hobbs Big Band Theory, the Nasty Saxophone Quartet with Dale Barlow, and Big City (with whom he released an album of his own music). He has been a member of Topology since 1996 and during this time has toured to the USA, Canada and Indonesia, working with many composers including Terry Riley, Michael Nyman, Tim Brady and Jeremy Peyton-Jones. Ensembles and artists include the Kransky Sisters, Kate Miller-Heidke, Southern Cross Soloists, Grant Collins, Loops and Misinterprotato. John continues to work as a session musician and recording artist for ABC Radio.
Oboe Teacher (Mr Bernard Girard) Bernard joined the MSM Music teaching staff in 2008 as specialist oboe teacher. He holds a Bachelor of Music (2nd Class Honours) Performance in Oboe from the Qld Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University where he studied with Barry Davis. During 1997–8 he studied at the Royal College of Music (London) gained a Postgraduate Diploma (Orchestral Training - Oboe). He currently teaches at Hillbrook Anglican School, Marist College Ashgrove, Clayfield College and St Paul’s School.

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