The Matthew Flinders Anglican College Co-curricular music program provides a diverse range of ensembles. In addition to the band program, there are music making and performance opportunities provided through the orchestra and choral ensembles.
We invite you to view this short video of images (see below) that capture aspects of our 30 years of banding at Matthew Flinders Anglican College since foundation in 1990.
The Growth of our Flinders Band Program
The first Flinders band consisted of 19 students who played a range of instruments, including woodwind, the recorder, piano, guitar and percussion.
In 2020, the Flinders Band Program has grown to include the Year 5 Brass & Woodwind Enrichment Program, Primary Band (Flinders Band), Saxophone Ensemble, Middle School Jazz Band, Stage Band, College Band and the invitational ensemble Wind Symphony. More than 160 students are currently involved in these ensembles. Some students attend four rehearsals per week, totalling in excess of five hours. Many of our Flinders students achieve outstanding results at the annual Sunshine Coast Junior Eisteddfod. You can read more about the 2020 event here.
Annual Music Camps, Performances and Tours
For the past 20 years, Flinders has hosted an annual music camp early in the school year catering for the band students as well as the string and choral programs. The focus is on building team spirit and rehearsing music pieces to be played throughout the year.
Annually, the Music Department presents a number of major concerts, two of which are ‘Sounds of Synergy’ and ‘Sounds of Summer’. Sounds of Synergy features all of the Band ensembles with more than 160 students on the stage, while the Sounds of Summer features the elite ensemble of the band program – the Wind Symphony.
The Wind Symphony toured a number of locations before joining the Choir and Strings Band for annual tours to Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. Tours included to Great Keppel Island (1996), International Music Festival in Sydney (1997) as well as Lennox Heads in NSW, Yeppoon in Qld and Port Macquarie in NSW. In 2015 and 2018 the Wind Symphony toured to the USA and performed with great success and excitement at the Midwest Band Clinic.
Significant Flinders Band Performances
Through the Flinders Band Program, students have performed at many functions over the years, including the following events.
• Opening of the Races, Caloundra, 1995
• Buderim Australia Day March, every year since 1997
• Hosted the band for the Olympic Torch Ceremony, 2000
• Opening of St Andrew’s Anglican College, 2003
• Commonwealth Games Baton Relay, 2006
• ANZAC Day Parades and Services, Buderim and Caloundra
• Buderim Street Party
• Opening of the Sunshine Motorway Maroochy River Bridge
• Caloundra Street Fair
• Ocean Street Markets
• 10-year and 20-year College anniversary celebrations
• Opening of Flinders’ Forrester Fields and the Flinders Aquatic Centre
