Playouts and collaborations
In addition to our formal concert schedule, Westgate Concert Band enjoys getting out in the community to deliver local playouts. In our younger days our performance schedule was jam-packed, with the Band appearing at shopping centres (Werribee Plaza, Altona Gate, Highpoint, Deer Park, Melton), retirement homes, local festivals (Moomba, Weerama) or fetes every couple of weeks! Our performances also included ‘Footscray… in Concert’, celebrating 125 years of Local Government in 1984.
Westgate Concert Band has continued to maintain a strong foothold in the community. We have appeared at everything from the Moonee Valley Festival and the Western Bulldog’s Family & Community Day to the Lion Clubs Cherry Lake Markets, Bunnings Sunshine, Altona Carols, at Retirement Villages and even a Cake Decorating event!
“In the past, Footscray was looked upon as an uncultured working class suburb with no pretensions to either Art or Music. But now, great changes have been made and the marvellous feast of music which we will hear today will prove otherwise and that our musical talent is incomparable.”
The Band has also provided the musical accompaniment (and obligatory Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer interjections) for the Altona Carols by Candlelight at Logan Reserve for… as long as any of us can remember! Renowned for being the coldest performance of the year, new members may think we’re exaggerating when we say to bring a jacket or even a blanket, but once that wind whips off the bay, they soon understand.
Westgate Concert Band has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Museum Victoria’s Scienceworks stretching back over twenty years. Over this time we have:
Commemorated the opening of the Planetarium (1999) with a specially prepared rendition of ‘Space and Beyond’ during our playouts
Held our formal Presentation Night at the Planetarium
Celebrated Scienceworks’ tenth anniversary (2002)
Have engaged thousands of children by inviting them to join in with percussion instruments or conduct the band
Performed the theme song for the ‘Nitty Gritty Super City’ again and again and again…
And finally, brought Holst’s ‘The Planets’ to the Planetarium for our final concert of 2019
“The Westgate Concert Band’s lively performances spark joy amongst children and adults alike, offering them an opportunity to experience live music at a prominent Victorian cultural institution. The additional audience participation as part of the percussion instruments or learn to conduct the band, create an inclusive and engaging community experience.”
Westgate Concert Band has also always loved getting out on the road. As a youth band actively partaking in the competition circuit, the Band routinely found themselves heading out to competitions in places like Ballarat (Royal South Street Competitions), Geelong (Geelong Eisteddfod) and Horsham (State Wide Band Festival), as well as giving performances in towns like Ararat.
Even after Westgate Concert Band ceased competing, we still journeyed to regional Victoria and places such as Euroa and Violet Town (2002), teeing up a series of performances for the trip. The Band also performed a unique dinner concert at Henkell Vinyards in 2004, featuring guest conductor, George Dreyfus. Band getaways like this always serve to strengthen both our musical and social bonds, and we shall hopefully have more such trips in the future!
In addition to community playouts, engaging with other student and community bands has remained a core component of the Westgate Concert Band plan. Indeed, as direct member recruitment from schools began to dwindle, Westgate Concert Band reached out to schools and other groups in the area to hold combined concerts. Not only did this provide an opportunity for Westgate to attract new members but gave back to students by exposing them to instruments that were a rarity in school ensembles and allowed them to play more advanced music with the support of more “seasoned” players. Westgate and its members were also the beneficiary of such knowledge transfers when playing with other experienced community ensembles. These combined concerts thus far include:
Geelong Technical School Concert Band and The Werribee Music Society (1981)
Grainger Wind Symphony (June 21, 1998)
Wyndham Symphonic Band (June 6, 1999)
Williamstown High School (June 18, 2000)
Braybrook College and Werribee Secondary College (June 3, 2001)
Boroondara Symphonic Band (May 25, 2002)
Thomas Carr College (June 24, 2017)
Suzanne Cory High School (September 8, 2019)
In September 2015, Westgate Concert Band presented Thomas Carr College with a trumpet to encourage the uptake of brass instruments at the school. Today, we are honoured to have several Thomas Carr alumni in our ranks, joining former students from a host of other western suburbs schools including Braybrook College, Westbourne Grammar School and Werribee Secondary College.
Westgate Concert Band is also eternally grateful for our ongoing relationship with Braybrook College. The school has allowed us to use their music centre as a base for decades, including providing us a new dedicated storage space, which for a community-based organisation is an invaluable asset.