Beaconhills College students were delighted to have a visit from the highly sought-after Royal Australian Navy Band on Tuesday 16 September.
The band performed at the Berwick Campus before an audience of Year 5 students and staff.
The College’s Director of Performing Arts, Dr Chris McGillen, said the band was one of the busiest and most requested in the Service Bands network (Army, Navy and Air Force).
“I was so thrilled that after submitting a request over a year ago – with a slim hope of success – to get the band out to perform and interact with our Year 5 students from both campuses,” Dr McGillen said.
He said the Navy Band’s musicianship and service were legendary.
Many members have been deployed overseas on active service to raise morale through their music, sometimes in the most challenging of circumstances.
“Words cannot express our gratitude to the Royal Australian Navy Band for coming out to our Berwick Campus and inspiring our students through their music and stories of service,“ Dr McGillen said.
Year 5 student Finley said he loved watching the Navy Band perform.
Finley is a keen trumpet player and is not only in the Year 5 band at Beaconhills, but is one of only two Year 5 students from his campus to be chosen to join the College concert band.
Finley said his dad played the trumpet and this had inspired his interest in the instrument.
“I love how it comes out with such a beautiful sound,” he said. “It is one of the most ‘brassy’ instruments.”
Band member, Able Seaman Musician (ABMUSN) Natalia Edwards, who plays the French horn, said performing to Beaconhills students took her back to the days when she was just starting out in music.
“I still remember playing in my high school wind band and hearing one of the US service bands for the first time,” ABMUSN Edwards said.
“That experience inspired me to keep pursuing music, and now I have the chance to pass that same inspiration on to the next generation.”
She said that learning to play an instrument had helped give her confidence, meet “many incredible people” and had opened doors she never could have imagined – to travelling and performing around the world. This year, she went on her first sea trip with the band, sailing on the second-largest ship in the fleet from Sydney to Wellington, New Zealand.
On board, they rehearsed both their wind band and parade band repertoire so that when they arrived, they were ready to perform a full marching display, ceremonial sunset, freedom of entry, and even a joint performance with the New Zealand Navy Band.
“It was an unforgettable experience that combined music, travel, and the chance to connect with fellow musicians overseas,” ABMUSN Edwards said.
