The Music Program at RHAC aims to provide an accessible and inclusive program for all students to develop into life long musicians to serve God and His world.
Performance Opportunities
The Music Program provides numerous performance opportunities throughout the year for students to develop their performance skills. These include school events and functions, competitions, festivals and local community events. Not only are students improving their performance skills, but they are also learning to serve others through their gift of music.
Junior School
The String Development Program is the first introduction to orchestral and band instruments for students in Junior School. Students in Year 1 are invited to apply to be included in the program and suitable students are selected to participate. Where appropriate, students from Year 2 are also included. Groups of four or five students undertake tutorials once a week with a specialist violin or cello tutor and at the conclusion of the program are encouraged to continue with private tutoring with the view to joining the String Ensemble.
Instrumental and Choral Programs
Further participation in Music Ensembles is offered to all students in Years 3 to 6 with a variety of ensembles available to cater for a range of interests and abilities. Students who learn an instrument at the College are required to be a member of at least one ensemble, while students who learn outside the College are strongly encouraged to join an ensemble to extend their performance skills.
The Instrumental Ensembles currently operating are:
Beginner Band – for beginner players in the first year of playing their instrument.
Intermediate Band – for players who have been learning their instrument for a minimum of 12 months.
Performance Band – students in Intermediate Band can audition to play more difficult music.
Percussion Ensemble – for drummers and piano players who are interested in extending their skills by playing in a specialised ensemble.
String Ensemble – Students who learn the violin or cello are encouraged to participate in this group to develop their performance and ensemble skills.
The Choral Ensembles currently operating are:
Stage 1 Choir – open to all students from Kindergarten to Year 2 who enjoy singing.
Junior School Choir – open to all students in Year 3 to 6 who enjoy singing and are interested in learning the basics of voice production.
Cantabile Chorus – an auditioned choir for students who are interested in extending their vocal skills.
Further information is available on each of these Ensembles in the Junior School Music Ensembles Information Guide.
Musicals
The Junior School presents a musical production every two years giving students the opportunity to explore on stage performance as well as backstage assistance. Students in Years 4-6 audition to participate.
Senior School
In Senior School students are encouraged to participate in the ensembles available as part of the extra curricular program as this promotes teamwork, excellence and building an attitude of serving others. Ensembles are open to all students who are interested in singing or playing an instrument with opportunities available from beginner to advanced levels.
Participation in an ensemble is strongly advised for students who undertake the Elective Music course as this additional time spent in music making enhances their aural and theory knowledge as well as their performance techniques. Further information is available on each of these Ensembles in the Senior School Music Ensembles Information Guide.
Ensembles currently available to students in Senior School are as follows:
Symphonic Wind Ensemble. This ensemble is open to students who have played a concert band instrument for at least three years. String players can also apply to join this ensemble that rehearses before school once a week. SWE aims to extend the music reading and performance skills of the players. A variety of styles of music is included in the repertoire with a range of technical difficulty so that each player is learning about the intricacies of music while extending their performance skills.
The Concert Band welcomes students who enter the College at Year 7 and have played an instrument for at least two years. This group aims at developing ensemble skills while building a strong playing technique. The Concert Band performs at music recitals and College events.
Jazz Band gives performers the opportunity to experience a different style of music and learn specific playing techniques for Jazz. Students who play trumpet, trombone, saxophone and drums in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble are invited to join with selected guitarists, bass players and keyboard players to play jazz.
Giocoso Strings is a group for more advanced string players who have been playing an orchestral string instrument for two to three years. Students rehearse once a week and prepare repertoire for performance at College events and in the local community. These players are also invited to join the orchestra for the College Musical production.
Drumline is a group specifically to showcase the skills of drummers using specialist drums. This group rehearses one lunchtime per week. Students need to already have had lessons on drums.
The Senior Vocal Group offers students the opportunity to extend their prior skills and knowledge by performing more advanced repertoire requiring greater technical skills. Vocalists in the Years 9 – 12 elective Music course are expected to be a member of the Ensemble. Rehearsal time is determined by the availability of Year 12 students.
The RHACsody is an auditioned vocal group that is open to students in Years 9-12 who would like to extend their vocal and part singing techniques. Participation in this ensemble develops aural and performance skills which is advantageous for all musicians. Rehearsals are held at lunchtime once a week.
A number of Chapel Bands operate at the College to provide a variety of contemporary and traditional Christian music during Senior School Chapel services. The Chapel Band include guitarists, bass guitarists, keyboard players and singers who are expected to be proficient on their chosen instrument and attend weekly lunchtime rehearsals.
All School
An integral part of the extra curricular Music Program at the College is the music tuition offered to students by Peripatetic Instrumental and Vocal tutors. Weekly lessons are available from experienced private tutors in appropriate spaces provided by the College. Tutors are not employed by the College and therefore the cost, invoicing and collection of tuition fees is arranged directly with the tutors.
Students are allocated a weekly lesson time on a rotational timetable and are required to bring their instrument, either privately owned or hired through the College and a notebook to each lesson. It is expected that all students receiving private tuition will be involved in at least one of the College Ensembles. Further information about tutoring is available in the Private Music Tuition Information Guide.
RHAC Parent Handbook 