Media Release

Northern Territory Government

Department of Education Congratulations to the 2023 Battle of the School Bands winners

7 June 2023

Nhulunbuy High School and Casuarina Senior College students will take the stage to perform in front of thousands at the Territory Day 2023 Concert after taking out the NT Music School’s 2023 Battle of the School Bands finals this year.

Nhulunbuy High School band QWYA won Best Band, Casuarina Secondary College duo Reverie took out the solo/duo and best song categories and Centralian Senior College duo The Jumiz were announced as the winners of the Air Raid Record’s People Choice Award.

NT Music School’s Simon Pedder says this years’ competition was fierce and the students were thrilled to perform in front of a live crowd at the Darwin Railway Club.

“QWYA put on a stellar performance with judges commenting that they were impressed with the mix of instrumentation and stage presence,” Mr Pedder said.

“Music is a wonderful way of bringing people together and even though this is a competition, all the young musicians were in the same boat, expressing themselves with songs they had created, whether that was as part of a group or as a soloist,” he said.

The young audience also got behind their peers with plenty of encouragement and applause. Alvin Manfong lead singer and guitarist from Mulga Bore Hard Rock, summed this up when he accepted the bands prize, he opened his arms to the crowd, and said, “We did this for you!”

Mr Pedder said the competition, which is now in its 14th year saw qualifying rounds take place through an online video application. This meant that the panel of judges could view each performance fairly and without bias.

“This year’s finalists showcased talents from across the Territory, including performances by Central Australian band Mulga Bore Hard Rock and soloist The Monsieuer from Katherine,” he said.

“Every year the competition gets bigger and better with over 100 people attending the live show on Friday night and over 400 devices streaming the grand final online, which potentially translates to over a 1000 people viewing at home.”

Music is delivered in Territory schools as part of the curriculum, Battle of the School Bands allows students to showcase their talents and creativity in a positive way. Previous winners of Battle of the School Bands have gone on to tour around Australia in bands, recorded albums in Melbourne and Sydney and gone on to study music at prestigious universities interstate.

Media contact

Rickie Abraham | 0401 119 215

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