Waverley College Ensembles with La Filarmonica Big Band

Waverley College

Waverley College is a Catholic day school for boys in the Edmund Rice tradition, located at Waverley, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1903, Waverley has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1500 students from Years 5 to 12.

Chris Balkizas - Head of Music

Chris Balkizas is the Head of Music at Waverley College and has held this position for the past 12 years. He has previously served as Head of Performance at the College (1996-2011). Chris studied both at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and at the University of New South Wales.

He has extensive performance experience both as a Classical guitarist, conductor and educator within Sydney. In 2008 he oversaw the first international music tour to China for Waverley College and has since toured interstate and to the USA. The Music Department has developed into a vibrant and creative environment that both enriches and develops young musicians for challenges that they face in the 21st Century.

Jaz Dolso - Music Teacher and Choral Director

Jaz Dolso is a passionate educator and vocalist, and holds a Bachelor of Music and Music Education from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia, majoring in voice. She is currently a Music Teacher and Choral Director at Waverley College, where she has led performances encompassing both secular and non-secular music. She is committed to nurturing talent and fostering an appreciation for choral music, while cultivating an atmosphere where students can flourish creatively and artistically.

Jazz de Witte - Music Teacher and Conductor

Jazz de Witte holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of New South Wales and a Masters of Secondary Teaching from Southern Cross University, where she specialised in Jazz Performance on piano and voice. With a commitment to nurturing young talent, Jazz's extensive experience performing in Concert and Jazz Bands has ignited her passion for inspiring the next generation of musicians. Jazz is a Music Teacher and Conductor of the Concert and Jazz Bands at Waverley College, bringing a blend of musical proficiency and skill to her role, shaping the musical journey of her students with dedication and enthusiasm.

Alexander Lee - Conductor

Alexander Lee is a Sydney based multi-instrumentalist, teacher and conductor. He studied saxophone under Dr Michael Duke at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and now has over ten years of experience working with both student and professional ensembles and students of all ages. As an active freelance musician, Alexander has performed with Judy Bailey’s Big Band, Catalyst Saxophone Quartet and many other small ensembles all over Australia, from the Sydney Opera House to the back of a truck in central west New South Wales. He has been teaching saxophone and clarinet at Waverley College since 2016, and conducting the concert band and jazz band since 2018.

La Filarmonica - Local ensemble

The Filarmonica Big Band was born in 2013 from the idea of a little group of musicians; its repertoire includes the greatest successes of the big bands of the first half of the '900.

It will be an exciting performance for everyone!

The Band Ensemble 'La Filarmonica' was founded in 1846 and currently boasts a line-up of around 70 members. The repertoire consists not only of original band pieces, but also of soundtracks, musicals, opera and other musical genres. The Filarmonica's activities include concerts, gatherings, band competitions, public, civil, religious and patriotic events in the city, in Lombardy and abroad. During the year, there are four main concerts: one on 25 April, two in June and one towards the end of November. Throughout the year, the Philharmonic also participates in a number of civil and religious services, in addition to which there are the farmhouse tours in spring and the Christmas greetings tours in December.

It is our pride to mention that to this day, some of the Filarmonica's young musicians are continuing the musical journey begun in the band (where they continue to be present), attending courses at prestigious musical institutes. All no more than twenty years old, they have been given the opportunity to study at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, the Conservatorio A. Cantelli in Novara and the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan. Their activity in the 'band' is greatly enriched, as they have the opportunity to enrich the ensemble with their new experiences and skills.

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