Queensland Band Association

2007 Youth Band Camp

The week long youth band camp with Musical Director Russell Gray and a team of young, talented and committed tutors was held 7-13 January at the Ewan Maddock Dam on the Sunshine Coast, about an hours drive north of Brisbane.

Put these things together - a large group of young, enthusiastic brass players, assembled together for a week, learning from some of the best in the business, culminating in an event to display the product of their work – and you have the recipe for success.  And this years Queensland Band Association Youth Band Camp was just that – a resounding success.

The tutors
Paula Russell: Cornet
Kirsty Biggs: Cornet
Lindon Weise: Cornet
John Guiton: Horn
Thomas Humphries: Euphonium
Adrian Head: Trombone
Rod Haynes: Tuba
Richard Spong: Percussion

From left: Liam Thomas, Max Walton, Flair Rasmussen, Kate Gallaway,  Sean Wheeler, with tutor Adrian Head at back

2007 QLD Youth Band
Trish Allan, Cairns Brass Youth
David Andrews, Toowoomba Municipal 2
Samantha Blakeney, Cairns Brass Youth
Stephen Blakeney, Cairns Brass Youth
Christiano Cavazza, Beenleigh Brass
Gabrielle Cavazza, Beenleigh Brass
Johnathan Cervellin, Herbert River District
Martin Cervellin, Townsville Brass
James Collins, Surfers Paradise Brass
Cameron Duce, Townsville Brass
Ivy Fui, Beenleigh Brass
Kate Gallaway, Rum City Silver
James Gilbert, Thuringowa Brass
Robert Johnston, Carins Brass Youth
Robert Jones, Townsville
Jennifer Magoulas, Kew Band Melbourne
Cameron Matthews, Nambour Salvation Army
Kay-Leigh Matthews, Nambour Salvation Army
Conor O'Neill, Cairns Brass Youth
Tim Opstelten, Gladstone Municipal
Anthony McGovern, Thuringowa Brass
Evan Patrick, Gympie SHS Band
Linton Porteous, Brisbane Brass 3
Adam Powers, Warringah Concert
Anna Quinn, Cairns Brass Youth
Flair Rasmussen, Rum City Silver
Selena Rasmussen, Rum City Silver
Jacqueline Russo, Brisbane Brass 3
Arian Schaap, Surfers Paradise Brass
Jason Schaap, Surfers Paradise Brass
Michael Schramm, Bundaberg Municipal
Sam Stent, Cairns Brass Youth
Nathanael Stevenson, Bundaberg Municipal
Dylan Swansson, Canterbury College
Aaron Taylor, Brisbane Brass 3
Jeremy Theaker, QYO Youth Orchestra
Liam Thomas, Nudgee Jnr College
Sam Thomas, St Laurence's Concert Band
Chelsea Vincent, Cairns Brass Youth
Raamvi Vivek, Thuringowa Brass
Max Walton, St. Andrew's CC
Sean Wheeler, Cairns Brass Youth

A sectional underway on the banks of the Ewan Maddock Dam

Apart from intense tutorials, sectionals and drilling band rehearsals, the students had plenty of time for some R&R at the environmental camp including canoeing, swimming, low ropes course, rock climbing wall and the Yo-Yo bungy.

The tuba section worked very hard all week...well...mostly

Ivy Fui from Beenleigh Brass

Fun Concert
On the final camp evening, the students were asked to prepare an item for the ‘fun night'  which didn't necessarily have to be musical just entertaining.  There were a variety of performances from a brilliant performance of Elergy and Rondo by Russell Gray, Paula Russell, John Guiton and Thomas Humphries which left the students speechless, to a cabin of boys who did "Sock It To Me"  - sock puppets singing various songs.  There was a big con job by Russell and the boy tutors who told Paula and Kirsty they were going to play Battle Suite.  They rehearsed it all week and then on the night instead of playing it, Adrian got up and sang "I'm a Lumberjack and I'm Okay" – not fair boys.

Selena Rasmussen and Sam Thomas negotiate the finer aspects of canoeing

The final number was the QBA Allstars - a cheerleading troupe made up of Annette Ries, Margaret-Mary Opstelten, Paula Russell and Kirsty Biggs, dressed accordingly (sorry – none of the photos were suitable for viewing!) but very professional, given Margaret-Mary's experience as a squad developer for Gymnastics Australia. Annette told 4BRDU: "We had all the right moves and used the Oh Mickey song but changed the words to Oh Russell, you're so fine etc."  However, their glory was short lived as the "Sock It To Me" sock puppets were announced by the students as the winners for the night.

Breathing exercises.....(so they tell me!?)

On Saturday afternoon in the Ithaca Auditorium, Brisbane City Hall, there was a short masterclass with Russell Gray and Qld Pops Orchestra Director and Composer, Barrie Gott – which focussed on basic conducting and composition techniques and the inspiration behind the featured work of the afternoon Glasshouse Sketches by Barrie Gott.  The band then reset the stage ready for an afternoon of entertainment.

The Concert

The concert got off to a start with the difference.  Two tubas opened the show with Come Follow the Band, with the rest of the band entering via four different entry points.  This was a difficult opener to really ‘pull off', and these kids got close.  Certainly, the excitement of the seeing the children in their bright red T-shirts, and hearing the first notes of the weeks hard work was powerful in itself.

The next piece was Declaration Overture by Barrie Gott.  This was one of the three ‘serious' works in the band repertoire for the week.  The opening was confident and committed – a notch above some of the playing in the opening number.  The cornet section (all 20 of them) made a worthy attempt and did a fine job as a section, especially considering the extreme range of talent and age within the ranks.  This was a very stylistic showing of a tricky piece.

Loch Lomond was an item added in at the last moment.  The baritone/euphonium section, a group in the previous evenings fun concert made such an impact with Russell, he asked them to perform the piece in this concert.  The forward progress this group made during the week was amazing, with accolades going to not only the players but also to Euphonium tutor, Thomas Humphries.

Given the dominance of the cornet section – a cornet feature was not a surprise.  Cornet Carillon was the chosen piece – and wisely so for this occasion.  Balance was good, and intonation, on the whole, was pretty close.

The major work for the weekend was Barrie Gott's Glasshouse Sketches.  Known as a selection for C Grade bands and suitably pitched for this group, the Qld Youth Band made a credible fist of it.  The tutti sounds were very good despite the band lacking in horn (understandable given there were only 2) and perhaps trombone sound.  The cornet section was well controlled and the bass team were strong and enthusiastic – with lots of credit going to tuba tutor, Rod Haynes for his efforts with the team throughout the week. 

Slavonic Rhapsody was next.  Again, quite a demanding selection for this group but they coped admirably – particularly with the rich tutti chordal moments.  The sound was nicely balance, and Russell kept very tight control of his troops during those predictable over-enthusiastic moments.

You could almost hear a sigh of relief as the players settled in to really enjoy the next few numbers.  Cute, featuring the Most Improved Player of the Camp Jason Schaap on percussion, was very nicely played.

QBA President, Noel Cassels, addressed the audience and presented other awards to:
Musical Excellence, Jen Magoulas - cornet
Players player, Jacqueline Russo - euphonium
Bandsperson of the Week, tuba player – Martin Cervellin

Special thanks and acknowledgements were also given to camp parent, Margaret-Mary Opstelten, and camp administrator, Annette Ries.

The 2007 QLD Youth Band

With the formalities over, the band relaxed even more, probably sensing that this great week of fun and learning was rapidly coming to an end.  The sounds of ‘zip' ‘flop' coming from the percussion section seemed to have MD Russell Gray confused – it must have been one of those "what happens on camp stays on camp" moments.  That aside, Ejala and Kongelela as the final combination of pieces was captivating.  The choreography was superb, with the kids (and tutors) obviously having an enormously good time.  9 year old Dylan Swannson, the youngest player in camp, emerged from the 3rd cornet line up and bought the house down with his specially written solo riff.

Radetsky March was a popular encore with a twist where each player sang their parts during the trio.  It may be an oldie but is always a goodie!  The wildly animated percussion section (which could also have been interpreted as a display of extreme attention seeking behaviour) were a constant source of humour and wit.

The percussion team in action - Paula, anyway

This percussion team comprised of 4 tutors (Tom Humphries, Paula Russell, Adrian Head and Richard Spong) and one student provided plenty of amusement for the audience (and themselves) throughout the afternoon. 

Several other tutors joined the band as players for the concert.  Lindon Weise sat in on Soprano to fill this empty chair and Kirsty Biggs played a fine flugel part, again to fill a vacant position, whilst John Guiton helped the other horn player feel a little less lonely.

Although the audience of approximately 150 people was small but hugely appreciative, perhaps the major disappointment of the afternoon was the lack of audience support shown to this venture from other local bands.  Apart from a strong representation in the audience from one Brisbane band, and a scattering from one or two others, that was it.  These kids deserved better than this.

He really isn't as mean as he looks...

Overall, Russell Gray has once again demonstrated why he is such a highly sought after commodity.  The students in this particular group had worked very hard for him and Russell without a doubt,  got the best out of them. His programming, rapport, techniques and skills as a musician, conductor and player are above reproach.  His ability to tolerate high temperatures and humidity is however, not good.  I guess we should expect this from a Scot.  More trips to Australia for longer lengths of time should cure this though – even better if he just moved here!

Congratulations to the Queensland Band Association on its 2007 Youth Band Camp – a fine achievement towards the sustainability of the future of our movement.  Acknowledgement needs to also go to the Brisbane City Council and Besson for its support of the camp and concert.

This really should be an annual event of National status, given the quality of brass tuition on offer.  For those youngsters reading this, keep an eye on the announcements for the 2008 Youth Band Camp and consider attending – you can't really go wrong.  Word has it, there is already an international highly reputable brass leader booked for next year - but more about that later…

Amanda Casagrande