On Sunday May 3, many of our flute students including Alex Bogdanich, Elizabeth Jennings, Yassmin Tafaghodi, Sarah Tonkin and Benjamin Ward participated in the third annual WA Flute Competition.

With everyone in lockdown, the competition looked a little different this year. Rebecca Guy (a flute tutor at LJBC), who has brought this event to life since its humble beginnings three years ago, decided that cancelling the competition was not an option. And so, the 2020 WA ‘Virtual’ Flute Competition was born.

Our students worked hard to prepare their two performance pieces. They filmed them along with expertly recorded backing tracks from professional accompanists and then sent them in so they could be compiled and streamed live on May 3. Although students did not have the stress of performing live, they were presented with many new challenges like putting their videos together and following a pre-recorded piano accompaniment rather than an accompanist following them. All the students received excellent feedback from the adjudicators. Andrew Freeman and Andrew Nicholson (both WASO flautists), said they "are to be commended for their high-level performances".

Despite the change in format, the event was a huge success. There were 81 performers across all categories which is over double the entries from last year, and family members from all around the world were able to tune in to watch the competition from the comfort of their own homes. A big thank you to Rebecca for giving our flute students this fantastic performance opportunity and for not giving up on this event despite unprecedented circumstances!

Tammy van der Nest

Director of Music PK-12