Helensburgh & District News

June 2007 - Vol.17 No.5

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Finn and Freyja in the Wollongong Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra performing with James Morrison

Two local teenagers, Finn Ryan from Stanwell Park and Freyja Garbett from Otford were among a group of Wollongong Conservatorium students who recently achieved outstanding acclaim in America.
Director of the Jazz Program of the Wollongong Conservatorium, Eric Dunan took his students to perform in San Francisco, home to some of the hottest modern jazz performers in the world. They also competed in the 45th annual University of Nevada Reno Jazz Festival in April against 330 high schools and colleges from around America - and won!
Two of the conservatorium’s jazz combo groups, with Freyja performing piano in one and Finn playing drums in the other, finished first and second in the competition’s highest division (quadruple A category). The conservatorium’s Jazz Orchestra came second in its division.
In San Francisco at the California State University Finn was nominated best performer of the Wollongong Conservatorium’s Jazz Orchestra.
For Finn Ryan, drummer and composer, it was 10 incredible days that changed his life.
“Walk anywhere in San Francisco and there are buskers all over the place, living the music they love. It’s incredible. The highlight for me would have to be saxophone player Dann Zinn performing on stage. He told me he liked the way I performed ‘outside the square’. I saw plenty of drummers my age who were far better than me technically, but I try to be original in my performance,” Finn said.
Finn practices his drum skills up to two hours a day, attends weekly rehearsals, monthly lessons and visits Sydney every weekend to see live performances and jam with friends. He is a member of seven bands.
“I am not sure what I want to do when I finish school (Finn is currently in year 11) but no matter what I do it will involve music. I would love to live overseas for a while or maybe audition for the Sydney Conservatorium,” Finn said.
Freyja Garbett has played piano since she was 8 years old and comes from a very musical family with her father playing piano and her acclaimed trumpet playing brother Nick Garbett.
“The highlight of the tour for me was winning our division and then playing in the showcase in front of 2000 people in a huge auditorium. We never thought we would win, we just went out there to have fun,” Freyja said.
“We also got to play with trumpet legend Bobby Shrew and attended some amazing workshops with famous musicians standing right in front of you.”
Like Finn, Freyja is considering auditioning for the Sydney Conservatorium jazz program.