Dozens of young Riverina muso's converged at Griffith East Public School for two days of practising and playing their instruments as part of the NSW Government's Bandlink Riverina program.
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The two-day workshop, which is run by The Arts Unit, was held Wednesday August 17 and Thursday August 18 and featured a mix of students from years 5 to 12 participating in small tutorials and a large concert band rehearsal.
Griffith East teacher and assistant Bandlink coordinator Rhys Thomas said this was only the second year the Bandlink program had been hosted in Griffith and not Wagga Wagga.
He said it was a good opportunity for regional students to get out of their comfort zones and try something different.
"A lot of the kids are beginners, and they'll start the first day feeling overwhelmed by the size of the ensemble and the instruments," Mr Thomas said.
"They learn a lot of skills in two days that would otherwise take them much longer to learn in a regular weekly school program."
Grade six student and alto saxophone player Flynn Bunn said he had enjoyed the Bandlink workshops and the opportunity to play new music.
"It's been a good experience to play some harder music than we usually do," said Flynn, 12.
Flynn said he first picked up the instrument four years ago after attending a school band meet.
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"Saxophone was the only one I could make a sound out of so I chose that one," he said. "I'd like to keep at it, keep learning new songs and play in different bands."
His enthusiasm was shared by Leeton year 11 student and trumpet player Madeline Sachs who said she had been attending Bandlink workshops since she was in grade five.
Like Flynn, Madeline said her love for the trumpet was borne out the brass instrument being "the easiest to get a sound out of".
The young trumpeter said being involved in Bandlink wasn't just about playing music though.
"It's about being able to meet heaps of friends and being able to play with different people," Madeline said.
"I don't know if I'll make a career out of it but I want to keep playing trumpet for fun, and hopefully be able to travel with it one day."
Mr Thomas said it was important regional students like Flynn and Madeline had access to the same music workshops as their city counterparts.
"There are students here who've come from schools that don't have a band program. Bandlink is a good starting point," Mr Thomas said.
"We've had a really great response so far and we're pushing to come back next year."
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