Instrumental ensembles
The College has an extensive Instrumental and Choral ensemble program, catering to the interests and skills of our students. Performing repertoire from a wide cross-section of musical genres, the College ensembles are engaged in a year-long performance season, including key College events, local competitions and events and other opportunities across Queensland and beyond.
Symphonic Band
The Downlands College Symphonic Band is open to all students who play Woodwind, Brass and Percussion instruments from Years 7 to 12. It performs a wide range of repertoire from original wind ensemble compositions, through to Film Music and Popular Music. After being re-established as an ensemble in 2015, the group went on to achieve second place at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod and was awarded Silver at the Queensland Catholic Music Festival.
Conductor: Mr Joseph Goodman
Big Band
The Downlands Big Band is an audition-based ensemble open to those students who play Saxophone, Brass and rhythm section instruments. As the premier College instrumental ensemble, Big Band is regularly on show representing the College in the wider community. Entry into this group is highly sought after and the ensemble has a strong reputation for excellence. In 2015, they were awarded Gold at the Queensland Catholic Music Festival.
Percussion Ensemble
One of Downland’s most unique ensembles is the Percussion Ensemble. Entry into this elite group of percussionists (tuned and un-tuned) is by audition, and it serves as an extension ensemble for our percussionists. They perform a diverse and eclectic range of repertoire and utilise all manner of traditional and non-traditional percussion instruments in each performance. Percussion Ensemble has been victorious at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod winning the small instrumental section in both 2014 and 2015. In addition, they were awarded Gold at the Queensland Catholic Music Festival.
Jazz Ensemble
Downlands newest instrumental ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, provides an opportunity for all instrumental students with a love for traditional and contemporary Jazz, Swing and Blues. This is a non-auditioned group and is open to all students who play an instrument from Years 7 to 12. With a flexible instrumentation, this group is the ideal place for our students to develop their ensemble skills and gain the experience required to step up into Big Band.
String Ensemble
The Downlands String Ensemble is non-auditioned group and membership is open to all students from Years 7 to 12 who play Violin, Viola, Cello or Double Bass. This group of highly dedicated strings players perform traditional and contemporary repertoire, with a strong focus on tone quality and musicianship. In 2015, the String Ensemble competed at the Queensland Catholic Music Festival and was awarded Silver for their performance.
Guitar Ensemble
The Guitar Ensemble is open to all students at the College who play Guitar. It provides them an opportunity to be part of an ensemble and experience the social, leadership and team building aspects of working with other musicians in a supportive environment. This non-auditioned group performs contemporary and classical Rock/Pop repertoire, with most of the arrangements formed in collaboration between the ensemble director and the students involved. Improvisation and extended solo opportunities are an important focus of this group.
