At Water’s Edge - Gary P. Gilroy, Eltham High School Wind Ensemble

Eltham High School Wind Ensemble, Conducted by Karen Heath. Recorded at Mid Year Concert on Wednesday 22 May 2024.
At Water’s Edge - Gary P. Gilroy
At Water’s Edge by Gary P. Gilroy is a beautiful work that explores texture, tone colour, and melody. Featuring vibraphone and glockenspiel at the beginning and end of the piece, this work was written to “give young bands a positive experience with soft, calm and lyric music”.
Listen out for the sounds of the ocean in this work. It is easy to get a sense of standing by the water’s edge when you notice the subtle sound effects such as musicians blowing air through their instruments to replicate waves, and the use of an ocean drum - a percussion instrument with beads that roll across the drum skin, creating a unique and watery sound.
At Water’s Edge has provided the players of the Wind Ensemble an opportunity to grow in their technical and musical capacities. Learning brand new notes, developing a deeper understanding of phrasing, and being attentive to balance has provided some serious challenges. Each and every player has risen to the task of stretching themselves with this piece, learning a lot in the process.
Eltham High School Music Department
Eltham High School is a large high school on the urban rural fringe of north eastern Melbourne. The school’s primary focus has always been to enhance student outcomes through the provision of high quality teaching and learning strategies.
The Music Program at Eltham High School is internationally renowned for its excellence and is recognised as one of the finest school Instrumental Music Programs in Australia.
The Music Program provides private Instrumental lessons for all orchestral instruments: Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion. Our Ensemble Program includes four Wind Ensembles, three String Ensembles, three Big Bands, a choir and various chamber ensembles, allowing our students to have the opportunity to be involved in a variety of musical experiences.
The students are also provided with Classroom Music lessons as part of their school curriculum. Music theory, song writing, arranging, composition, technology and solo performance make up the various components of the curriculum which is taught from year 7-12.
Eltham High School is highly regarded as an educational institution. Its reputation as an outstanding academic school is well recognised within the community and education circles. The co-curricular opportunities offered to our students across a range of areas including the performing and visual arts programs and the elite sports program are outstanding. Engagement with student leadership initiatives is sustained across all areas and levels of the school.
In the last 80 Years Eltham High School has established a tradition through its strong commitment to the areas of:
• Inspiring through excellence
• Creativity
• Individuality
• Social Justice
Eltham High School is a school with high expectations where you feel safe to be yourself and challenged to think critically, to work independently and in teams, to show leadership and to achieve success along many pathways.
We believe that the “Deeds that Count” are:
• Respect
• Integrity
• Respect for diversity
• Environmental and social responsibility.