2009 with a bang!

The other big news in my life at the moment is that I've been appointed Head of the Faculty of Popular Music Performance at the Melbourne campus of JMC Academy. Moving to Melbourne, eh? Big move. I've been a Sydneysider all my life, except for growing up in the far north coast of NSW, and four years of overseas work. Exciting new opportunity though. And the fact that it's the first time I've been in full-time employment since 1994. I mean, I've always worked many, many hours in the week, but this is the first time for a long time I've been working a 9-5! Looking forward to the challenge actually.

Tomorrow is Trumper Day, and everything is in place. It's a little cloudy outside and we're all hoping the weather is good tomorrow. Aussie Aussie Aussie!

Victor Trumper Day

Well, it's getting towards the end of the year, and I'm getting very busy. I've got a movie project, the taking over of Head of Department for the Melbourne Campus of JMC, and Trumper Day.

I've been asked to MD the Victor Trumper Day at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and it's taking a lot. Victor Trumper was a great early Australian batsman... sort of a proto-Bradman. Like Bradman, he was very unpredictable and impossible to set a field for.

We ... or rather I ... have decided to go with a turn of the century feel. I'd been listening to a bit of the Canadian Brass lately, and have always loved a good brass band. Thus, I've organised a brass quartet with some great players... Danny May, Simon Ferenci, John Saunders, Liam O'Niel and Sam Hosking. I've worked with Simon before, but the rest I know only by reputation. But it's going to be a terrific day. All these cricketty-cricket songs like Hurrah for the Bat and Ball and Our Able Plucky Team. A couple of opera arias and an anthem I've written for Trumper Day. All the arrangements, of course, I've done myself. This will form a small concert party and will be played thrice at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground for you seps). Then, to my family's delight, I get to conduct the band playing a the Royal Anthem and Waltzing Matilda on the cricket pitch of the SCG. I'm taking Stu (the brother in law) out onto the field as an assistant.

So as we stand right now, the band's organised, and the singers almost all. We've got two wonderful sopranos, Irene Sarrinikolaou and Beth Goddard. Our tenor had to withdraw, so we've been looking for another. I think we've found one. If we don't find a tenor, the world gets subjected to my singing, something you don't really want. Channel 9 is going to film it for their sports program, and it's all quite exciting. I should give credit where credit's due, and mention it's all being organised by the wonderful and excitable David Strange.

Apart from the music...well... in addition to the music, there'll be the wonderful steam organ from Victoria, tours of the SCG, lectures given by 19th century scientists...well...actors pretending to be 19th century scientists. And it'll finish off with a Twenty20 Cricket "match" (we all know a Twenty20 not a real cricket match).

It's been a real hoot doing all the turn-of-the-century music. I blame Victoriana! which I did earlier on in the year, for re-enlivening my sense of Edwardian music. My sense of the absurd has always been there.

The other things will have to wait to be discussed, as It's 1.30am, and my bed is beckoning, as soon as I finish this soothing Coopers. :)