On Friday 9 August, Glasshouse Christian College proudly hosted the Term 3 SCIPHA Day of Excellence. The day brought together nearly 50 musically talented students from around the Sunshine Coast for the “Symphonic Scholars Composition Challenge”.  

The day began in the GPAC Theatre, where students had the chance to mingle and connect through an interactive ‘icebreaker’ activity. Subsequently, they delved into a GarageBand workshop and participated in a listening exercise featuring musical excerpts from Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals.

The day’s centrepiece was a composition challenge, whereby students were tasked with creating a distinctive soundscape to portray a chosen animal. In small teams, they researched and brainstormed their animal’s key physical traits and behaviours, thoughtfully considering how these elements could be translated musically.  Groups then dispersed into various music rooms to experiment, play, practice and record their compositions, using GarageBand to create unique loops and sound patterns.

A highlight of the day was when teams presented their compositions and challenged their peers to guess which animal inspired their piece. From the electrifying sounds of eels to the lively rhythms of dancing chickens, the audience was captivated by the creativity and musicality on display.

Hannah and Rocky (Year 6) share their experiences:

The SCIPHA Day that the school hosted was so much fun! We worked in groups of five to create a soundtrack representing an animal of our choice. My group chose to depict a cat. We played the Pink Panther theme in the background and created scratching sounds on the guitar and violin. We mimicked the sounds of a cat prowling around and pouncing on things, occasionally bumping into and knocking over objects. Our team worked really well together and we enjoyed experimenting with our instruments in new and creative ways. I also really enjoyed meeting lots of people and making new friends.  – Hannah

The SCIPHA Music Day was a magnificent event that helped me express my passion for music. During the day, I worked with people from multiple schools and learned a lot about their different musical instruments. My group composed a piece of music that represented a rattlesnake.  As a bass clarinet player, I created low tones to set the mood for the rattlesnake hunting its prey. At the very end of the piece, we used all our instruments to make a loud and sharp sound to tell the audience that the song had ended and reveal that the rattlesnake had captured its prey! – Rocky

Lisa Allum, High Potential Development Coordinator (P-9)