♪ All classes receive tuition on a weekly basis from a specialist Music
teacher, Jodie Digney. Miss Jodie believes in making music meaningful. Lessons
are planned to provide children with opportunities to sing, play, listen,
move and organise sound while covering musical elements such as pitch,
dynamics, duration, tone colour and structure.
The music programming is thematic and covers 28 topics through Kindergarten
to Year 6. Some examples of topics include Robot and Machine music,
Musicals, Aboriginal music, Careers in music, Song writing and Music for
Celebrations.
The children engage in choir activities focussing on English sign for the
hearing impaired. They are involved in the Performing Arts Festival, Musica
Viva, Musicathon and various community music making activities.
♪ Families also have the option of elective music tuition which is provided
by Glen Kellett. Tuition includes music reading classes, woodwind instruments,
guitar and piano.
♪ The school also
has a marimba program, coordinated by Genevieve Slocombe, in which all children
take part.
Marimbas: The Dunoon
Public School Marimba Ensemble was formed in February 2006. It is now part of a
network of Small Schools that take part in a performance program providing
unique opportunities for its participants. Our
marimbas are xylophone type instruments based on traditional south-west African
designs that can be played by up to four people at once. They are constructed
from a variety of materials including hard and soft woods, PVC pipe, rope and a
number of other basic hardware items. The instruments feature large keys with
labels signifying notes so that formal musical training
is not essential.
The
marimbas can be played by all of the school children from Kindergarten to Year 6. The music
is specifically arranged for the marimbas with different parts played by
performers of varying ability levels. The
inspiration for the program comes from the talented musician, Jon Madin who
is always available for consultation and
repertoire enhancement.
Highlights
for the Dunoon Public School group since their formation include performing at
the Sydney Opera House Concert Series in 2006 as well as appearances at all
three performances of the 2006 Schools Spectacular held at the Sydney
Entertainment Centre last November. The children have also played at the Lismore
Show, The Performing Arts festival in Lismore, The Channon markets and at the
Dunoon “Turning on the lights” launch at the sports ground.
The State
Small Schools Marimba Ensemble, of which the Dunoon children are now a part, has
performed at the Opera House seven times since 1998, played at the Schools
Spectacular every year since 2000, produced a high quality CD that was
highlighted on the Alan Jones show and Clive Robertson’s Classic FM on the ABC,
featured live on National ABC Radio on the “Australia All Over” program with Ian
McNamara and were named “Best Student Performance” at the 2004 Schools Expo at
Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens.
Wacky Instruments:
The school has a wide selection of "wacky" percussion instruments with enough
instruments stored in the school to enable every student to
play a part in the marching band. These have been made out of a range of materials including agricultural
pipe, plastic ball floats, electrical conduit, metal piping, elastic cord, PVC
pipe and plywood, which combine to make a fantastic sound. Our
Instruments include large and small "J"pipes, Triple Boings, Mini Boings, Curly
Dingers, Chinese Traffic Lights and Shaker Rings.
Special
thanks to Jon Madin for his inspirational work in music. Further information on
the above concepts can be accessed on his website at
www.marimbamusic.com.au 
Music plays a major role at Dunoon Public
School.