Max McCann is just 13 years old, but has recently returned from playing his alto saxophone at the Sydney Opera House.
A year seven student at Ballina Coast High School, Max was one of a small group of young musicians from the Northern Rivers selected by the Arts Unit to play in the NSW Junior State Wind Ensemble, which is made up of 60 students from 51 public schools across the state. They were performing as part of the Festival of Instrumental Music.
Max told the Echo it was a great experience to play with the other young musicians, and he was grateful for the opportunity. This is the second year he’s been selected for this prestigious event.
He says he originally wanted to play guitar, but since there was no guitar in his school’s concert band he became an alto sax player. He’s now been playing four years, since he was in third grade.
Max said it was quite a buzz to play on one of the most amazing stages in the world, with 2,000 people in the audience.
The wind ensemble played two challenging pieces, ‘Symphonic Overture’ and ‘Gain Wisdom’ with conductors Cathy Chan and Brad Lucas.
With the band only coming together days before the performance, Max said he practised on his own before an intensive rehearsal period with the other musicians in Sydney.
He’d never met most of the other players before, with two other young saxophonists and a percussionist coming from Byron Bay. He was endorsed by the Arts Unit to perform at the Opera House after attending the North Coast Creative Arts Camp, two years running.
Max McCann says he’s keen to keep playing and entertaining people with music. Growing up in Ballina, he comes from a musical family, with his dad playing guitar and mum being a multi-instrumentalist.
He feels that ‘music is a bit of an overlooked thing’ at his school, with sport being the main focus, and he would like to see that change.
Shared anticipation
Sarah Armour is the Arts Coordination Officer at the Arts Unit of the NSW Department of Education, and one of the people involved with organising the concert.
She says Max was one of eight accomplished music students from local Northern Rivers schools to attend this year, which also included Murwillumbah Public School, Uki Public School, Banora Point High School, Byron Bay Public School and Byron Bay High School.
She told the Echo, ‘This exciting achievement illustrates the excellent musical opportunities happening in these public schools and their communities. State Wind Band offers an extension not otherwise available to them – rehearsing and performing challenging repertoire in such a prestigious venue to create a memory of a lifetime!’
Ms Armour said that for young people from regional areas, programs such as State Wind Band also offer a chance to come together with like-minded children, to make new friends and to do something they really love, while being inspired and challenged by professional musicians and music educators.
‘It was super special to share in the anticipation of our local students leading up to their big performances… the excitement of having their own dressing room, waiting eagerly backstage and the buzz when the lights finally hit them on that famous stage,’ she said.
‘I encourage other local musicians to keep playing their instruments and to become involved in our programs with The Arts Unit. It may just lead to you also being able to experience the thrill of performing at the Sydney Opera House.’
Max McCann is hoping to become a pilot when he leaves school, so he’ll have something to fall back on if saxophone stardom loses its appeal.
Look out for him in the skies or on a concert stage near you!
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