DANDENONG BAND
City of Greater
DANDENONG BRASS NEWS
VICTORIAN YOUTH BAND FESTIVAL FUN!
Sun 26 Oct 2025
On the 26th of October, Dandenong Brass participated in the Youth Band Festival at the Hawthorn Town Hall. Over the course of the day the members of the band got to participate in warm up workshops and masterclasses to work on their own solos. Getting to learn some tips and tricks from the top players in the state like members from the MSO had the band intently engaged and keen to improve their skills.
After the classes, the bands had the opportunity to play for each other, where Dandenong brass were free to show off their own skills playing ‘Blackforest Overture’, featuring every section of the band and displaying their dynamic range. The band then played the Bond favourite ‘Nobody Does It Better’ - featuring Ivy on trombone as our soloist. With the beautiful sounds that were made, the audience were enthralled to hear our last item, the march ‘Victorian Rifles’. The band played extremely well after hours of concentration and learning and I’m immensely pleased with their performance. ​
Before finishing off the day, all the bands were invited to join the Victorian State Youth Brass Band on (and off) stage - with over 70 youth all combining to play the theme from Batman. There were so many of us that we couldn’t all fit on the stage! The sonorous sound from everyone playing filled the hall and was such a fun way to end the day.
A huge thank you to all of Dandenong Brass for their behaviour and amazing playing throughout the day, as well as to those that helped fill up our ranks. I also wanted to thank the amazing parents and supporters for bringing their kids along, as well as the helpers throughout the day that made them feel welcomed. And of course, a huge thank you to the team at Skunkworks for organising the whole event with all the guest tutors! It was a great day that ran smoothly and was enjoyed by all. Hope to be back next year!
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Written by Caleb Robertson
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SPRINGVALE COMMUNITY HUB CONCERT
Thur 8 Oct 2025
Well done to our training band Dandenong Brass on a fantastic concert at the Springvale Community Hub last night! The Band provided pre-show entertainment for the City of Greater Dandenong Deckchair Movies screening of Scooby-Doo as part of the Greater Dandenong Children's Festival ... Scooby-Dooby-Doo!
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2025 UPDATE
Thur 18 Sep 2025
What a year it has been for Dandenong Brass! Our training band has been busy, not only honing their musical skills but also taking part in some truly memorable performances. We had the opportunity to join the senior band for ANZAC day services in Dandenong, which included getting up before sunrise for the dawn service and participating in the 10.30am march down the main street to the Pillars of Freedom. We also opened the Band’s AGM with a wonderful set of pieces: “Mid all the Traffic”, a wonderful and melodic hymn; “Everybody Needs Somebody”, an iconic piece from The Blues Brothers that often gets the crowd up and dancing; and “Victorian Rifles”, a strong march to finish off the set.
Dandenong Brass News
We are so fortunate to have Caleb Robertson officially join our team and take on his new role as Assistant Musical Director. Caleb is a fantastic addition, working alongside our amazing Musical Director, Rachael. He’s already brought so much musical knowledge and positive energy to our band. A huge thank you to Caleb for his time and dedication in making our rehearsal so great each week!​
Celebrating Our Members
We had some big highlights at the AGM, too! Two of our regular members received well-deserved Dandenong Brass awards. Our bass trombone star, Lucy Green, took home the Excellence Award. And the Endeavour Award went to Mikey Waugh, our awesome percussionist who also happens to be our youngest (and most enthusiastic!) player.
What’s next?
As we approach into the last few months of the year, our schedule is jam-packed with exciting playouts from October through December.
Our upcoming performances include:
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Wednesday, October 8th, 2025: Catch us as the pre-entertainment for the Deckchair Movies outdoor movie event at the Springvale Community Hub.
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Sunday, October 26th, 2025: We're heading to the Victorian Youth Band Festival at Hawthorn Town Hall. It's going to be a huge day of learning new tips and skills from experienced brass players in small ensemble workshops throughout the day.
Keep an eye out for us in November, as we have a few more events in the works (more details to come soon)! Plus, our annual Christmas carols performances will be happening again on various dates throughout December.
Join Our Community!
Dandenong Brass is more than just a band; it’s a community where friendships are forged and a love of music is shared. If you or someone you know plays a brass or percussion instrument, we invite you to become a part of our community. We’re always looking for new members to join our weekly rehearsals and share in the fun.
For more information, please contact Natalie Potenzi at dandenongbrass@dandenongband.org.au
2024 OPEN AIR MOVIES PRE-SHOW CONCERT
Fri 16 Feb 2024
Well we've had a wonderful start to the year, kicking off February with our first gig of 2024!
Dandenong Brass were given the opportunity to play a 20 minute set at the Open Air Movies Event out the front of Springvale City Hall on Friday 16th of February run by the City of Greater Dandenong Council.
Using our repertoire of songs, we dazzled the crowd with music like Shake it Off by Taylor Swift to movie blockbusters like Soul Bossa Nova and several others. It's always great fun playing well known pieces of music to a welcoming audience.
Playing to approximately 290 people in the audience before getting the chance to watch the Super Mario Movie outdoors in the open air, was a blast for all involved.
It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of such a wonderful community event. We look forward to many more opportunities, and events to play at coming up in the near future.
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Written by Nat Potenzi
A WONDERFUL WEEKEND OF MUSIC AND COMMUNITY!
Mon 30 Oct 2023
On Saturday 28th October, Dandenong Brass dazzled the audience at Springvale Town Hall. This enthusiastic ensemble performed two iconic pieces at the City of Greater Dandenong Band's annual concert: A Night at the Oscars.
Dandenong Brass kicked off their set with a beautiful rendition of I Dreamed A Dream, from the musical Les Miserables, featuring soloist Ciya on cornet. Next we changed our style and performed a very upbeat and energetic piece: a medley from the various songs heard in the 1964 film Mary Poppins. As well as the wonderful work from euphonium soloist, Ethan, in Feed the Birds, our percussionists also helped us to ''step (and play) in time'' throughout the many moods and song transitions within the piece. The audience loved this song so much, it was voted ''Best Brass Performance of the Night''.
The music performance continued into Sunday as well, where Dandenong Brass had the opportunity to play in the inaugural Victorian State Youth Festival of Brass at the Hawthorn Town Hall. Led by Rachael Shineton, the members of Dandenong Brass were able to dazzle the audience once again. This time, starting our set off with Scarborough Fair in which the trombones got the chance to show off their skills with this beautiful and melodic tune. Playing for the second time of the weekend, the audience were encapsulated with another beautiful rendition of I Dreamed A Dream and then finishing off the set with the much loved Mary Poppins Suite.
As well as having the opportunity to play for and to listen to other Youth and Training Bands throughout the afternoon, the Festival ended with a massed item in which all members from each of the bands were invited to join the State Youth Band on stage and play one final piece altogether (How to Train Your Dragon).
The rich sounds that came from the stage during this piece were incredible. To see more than 60 young people on the stage, playing music and finding pure joy from it was such an amazing thing to witness for an ''old'' gal like me!
Well done to all of those involved and a HUGE thank you to everyone who supported us over the weekend and who continue to do so each week! I am extremely proud of the efforts from the Dandenong Brass team and am super excited to see where this group will go next!
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Written by Nat Potenzi
