Band

West Pennant Hills Public School (WPHPS) offers an extensive and vibrant band program which is open to all students at school in Years 3 to 6 and currently has around 80 participants.  We have three bands:  Junior, Senior, and Performance Bands.  Students are welcome to enter the band program at any time throughout the school year.

The band program is run in partnership with Key Music Australia (KMA), who conduct rehearsals and provide music tuition.  Rehearsals take place in the mornings before school, at 7.40 am; Junior Band rehearses one morning per week, whereas Senior and Performance Bands each rehearse twice a week.  Music lessons provided by KMA take place during the school day and both shared and individual lessons are available.  Students who have private music lessons outside of school are more than welcome to join one of the bands.

Our bands also get the opportunity to perform at several community events during the school year, such as school fetes.  It has also been a pleasure for our Performance Band students to welcome and perform at our school for youngsters from a local preschool as well as adults who attend a local disability service, on separate occasions.  These last two community performances are becoming fixtures on our yearly calendar of events, and apart from providing performance opportunities, also provide lovely opportunities for our senior students to demonstrate their social maturity and leadership skills.

All band students have the opportunity to perform solo or as part of a duet or small group at our annual Band Recital Night at school, and everyone is encouraged to have a go during this casual event.  The band program culminates in the annual End of Year Band Concert which showcases the achievements of all our bands, and performances by our Senior and Performance Bands at our school presentation day (our "Celebration of Learning Assembly") at Pennant Hills High School in December.

Junior Band is comprised primarily of Year 3 students, Senior Band primarily of Year 4 students, and Performance Band primarily of students from Years 5 and 6.  However, any student upwards of Year 3 who is learning an instrument for the first time is welcome to join our Junior Band.  Further, any student who has already been learning an instrument prior to entering Year 3 will be considered for whichever band best suits their current level of musical attainment.

All bands perform at various school assemblies and events throughout the year.  In recent years some of these events for Senior and Performance Bands have included the Northern Sydney Symphonic Wind Ensemble (NSSWE) Spring Music Festival at the Concourse in Chatswood, the Epping District Music Festival at the Sydney Town Hall, and the Wahroonga Music Festival.  All three of our bands perform at the annual Key Music Australia Charity Concert.  In 2015 the NSW Police Band visited our school and conducted a workshop for Performance Band students, in addition to performing for the whole school.

A much anticipated event on the annual band program calendar is Band Camp.  This is held at Crusaders in Galston from a Friday evening through to a Sunday afternoon.  Run by Crusaders' staff, Band Committee parents, and teaching staff, it is a weekend full of sectional and band rehearsals, team-building activities, and fun, and culminates in a concert for families on Sunday afternoon featuring all three bands.

The band program is not part of the mandatory school curriculum however is strongly supported by the school executive.  The Band Committee is made up of parent volunteers; it works in partnership with KMA, and is a sub-committee of and supported by the P&C.  The current Band Coordinator is Juliet I.