Erica Boyington, Meredith Schinckel, Naracoorte Community News
August 12 and 13th saw fifteen young Naracoorte musicians travel plus one adult musician travel to Mt Gambier to compete in the music division of the Eisteddfod, held at Wehl Street theatre.
An Eisteddfod is a wonderful opportunity for budding musicians to gain practice and confidence with performing, while benefitting from expert feedback.
This year’s adjudicator was Dr. Matthew van Emmerik, a talented euphonium player and experienced adjudicator, who graduated with a Doctor of Music from Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2011.
Guitarists Caleb Garrod, Brianna Boyington, Emma Stokes, Jack Kay, Maya Boyington and Xavier Boyington played a diversity of pieces and managed to achieve a high standard of stage performance.
Special mention goes to Emma Stokes and Maya Boyington who entered their own original compositions for critique, and received high praise for the quality of their musicianship.
Pianists Catherine Buckett, Lucas Hutchesson, Ernie Buckett, Ruby Doyle, Portia Lowe, Mckinlee Brighton, James Buckett, Ben Durik and Tyson Hutchesson performed very well, receiving praise for their smart presentation, preparation and choice of appropriate repertoire.
Mature age student Kerry Tan, who tackled challenging pieces in the open novice section also received praise and encouraging feedback .
Congratulations go to the musicians who entered the scholarship divisions. All played well, with Naracoorte locals Ben Durik winning the Under 12 years Young Performer Scholarship Solo for piano, and Brianna Boyington winning the Under 16 Junior Scholarship Solo for guitar.
The Naracoorte musicians were extremely successful, taking home many ribbons, medallions, and trophies between them.
Adjudicator Dr van Emmerik, who obviously enjoyed their performances for all his praise, also gave great tips on how to prepare pieces for stage performances and how to conduct themselves on stage.
Meredith Schinkell, Nicole Johnson, and Stringybach Musics’ Jamie would like to congratulate all their students who entered the Music Eisteddfod, and would like to thank the volunteers who organised the Mount Gambier Eisteddfod.
The Eisteddfod is such a wonderful event for our region, and look forward to participating again next year.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
