More than 40 city kids descended on Gunnedah last week to raise funds for farming families doing it tough in the drought.
Wahroonga Public School Band came to Gunnedah as part of their regional tour and performed on Thursday night in the band hall, led by band master Barrie Gott.
“We had such a great time. It was awesome,” Wahroonga’s band coordinator Kate Spencer said.
“The people that were there were so passionate and appreciative of the bands.”
The Sydney band also performed In the Stillness and Pine Rivers March with Gunnedah Shire Band.
“Without exception, every one of the 44 students we took away said the highlight of the tour was the performance with Gunnedah,” Ms Spencer said,
“The sound, it was incredible. It had to be heard to be believed.”
We were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the Gunnedah community.
- Kate Spencer, Wahroonga Public School Band coordinator
Ms Spencer said coming to a rural community was a learning experience for the band members.
“A lot of them had never been to the country and it was such an eye-opener for them,” she said.
“We talked so much about the drought and how it affected the community and they were quite overwhelmed by seeing how dry it was.”
The band brought 18 hampers with them, which were raffled off. Ms Spencer said a number of locals who won hampers had said they would deliver them to families in need.
“We were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the Gunnedah community,” she said.
Ms Spencer said it was also a great chance for the musicians to make friends.
“The children from our band formed these friendships and these bonds with members of the Gunnedah band,” she said.
“That was the music linking the communities.”
A lot of them had never been to the country and it was such an eye-opener for them.
- Kate Spencer, Wahroonga Public School Band coordinator
Ms Spencer said she wanted to express “heartfelt thanks” to Gunnedah’s residents for being “so welcoming”.
“They opened their arms and their hearts of their community to us,” she said.
“We’re really grateful for the opportunity to show the rural community to our students and we’d like to repay their hospitality to us, so that might be a plan in action.”
Funds raised at the concert will go to Rotary 2380’s Drought Relief Project.
