The Friends' School

In 1996 the parent support group Friendsmusic was formed. The last foundingmember of the group, Gill Edmondson, retired only last year aftersixteen years of superb service.Friendsmusic has made a significant contribution by fund-raising and supportinga wide range of musical events. Members of the group were importantin ensuring that High School and Clemes students were provided withspecialist music facilities; for much of the School's history, rehearsals andMusic classes had taken place in an odd assortment of rooms and buildings.In 2002 the Sheila Given Music Centre was opened and a specialist teachingspace in Morris soon followed.An unforeseen development in the musical life of the School has been theemergence of the open-entry marimba program. What started as a one-dayworkshop for Year 5 and 6 students in 2001 has evolved into an ensembleexperience now involving close to 150 students from Morris to Year 12.Judith Tudball became Director of Music in 2004. Her energetic leadershipand firm belief in what could be achieved created a dynamic music programwhich saw Friends' become one of the top Tasmanian schools for Music. In2007 the School celebrated its 120th anniversary, and to mark the occasion,well-known Australian composer Paul Jarman was commissioned to writeLet Your Life Speak which was performed at the Federation Concert Hall inAugust of that year.In 2009 Craig Fullerton's interest in symphonic music saw an orchestra reformonce more, meeting on an occasional basis as the Symphony of Friends.In 2011 the orchestra performed another commissioned work, this time bySouth Australian Quaker musician and composer, Peter Webb. The piece,Of Friends, The Spirit, was written for choir and orchestra and in Peter'swords, "... reflected in some way on the Quaker beliefs which underpin theunique culture of The Friends' School".Two significant developments have marked the very recent history of Musicat the School. The first is the 2011 opening of the very beautiful FarrallCentre and the second is the 2012 acquisition of a grand piano for the Centre.The Farrall Centre, the building of which was commemorated by PeterWebb's piece, has quickly become a place to gatherand enjoy the talents, musical or otherwise, of membersof the School community. The acquisition of thegrand piano, made possible by the School's Parentsand Friends Association, has enhanced the use ofthe space and helped to ensure the longevity of amusical heritage at The Friends' School.