ANBOC 2026

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As we know, every minute of rehearsal counts and is important! This clinic (“Creating Meaningful Rehearsals in Limited Time”) will focus on rehearsal planning, ensemble development strategies, and conducting tips to maximize limited rehearsal time. Dr. Nick will share helpful hints and best practices learned over his decades long career as a music teacher and conductor. The session will include collaborative ideas on effective rehearsals, conducting hints to SHOW instead of SAY, and practical suggestions to maximize limited rehearsal time. Additional topics will include using student leadership to enhance the ensemble experience and help create focused and meaningful musical growth time (rehearsals). 

How often do we say to students, “ you learn the violin AND the bow….”?

Come along for a session of warmup exercise exercises and games that get students thinking about the association between speech, rhythm, and bow division.  

Ensemble directors are some of the busiest educators around—constantly balancing programming, preparation, and performance—so finding tools that make rehearsals more efficient and engaging is invaluable. With new technologies emerging every day, we have more opportunities than ever to choose tools that genuinely enhance our teaching and empower our students. But in the ensemble classroom, effective technology use isn’t about having the latest gadgets—it’s about finding simple, purposeful tools that make our rehearsals more musical, efficient, and engaging.


In this practical and down-to-earth session, participants will explore how technology can be used to support, rather than complicate, the rehearsal process. Participants will discover how thoughtful use of tech can streamline day-to-day instruction, open new creative possibilities, and help solve common challenges faced by conductors in today’s ensemble settings.


From improving pacing and efficiency to deepening musical understanding and student ownership, this session focuses on accessible ideas that directors can apply immediately. General usage and contexts of technology will be explored, along with specific recommendations for apps and hardware to make it happen. Whether you’re looking to refresh your approach, modernise your toolkit, or simply make rehearsals run more smoothly, this session offers practical strategies and inspiration for integrating technology in a way that feels natural, efficient, and musically driven.


Teachers will be encouraged to think critically about when and why to use technology, highlighting that it should always enhance the rehearsal rather than distract from it. Whether you’re looking to refresh your approach, modernise your toolkit, or simply make rehearsals run more smoothly, this session offers practical strategies and inspiration for integrating technology in a way that feels natural, efficient, and musically driven.

In this session, we will explore how repertoire can be used to teach fundamental concepts. How we begin a rehearsal and how we begin a sound have a great deal in common. Using real musical examples, we will reinforce these concepts and experiment with ways to shape the music to fit the goals you have for your students and ensemble.

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The Castle Hill RSL North West Wind Ensemble (NWWE) was born in 2003 and has grown to become one of Australia’s finest and most reputable wind orchestras.

With performance credentials of 15 NSW State and 9 Australian National Championship title performances, previous International CD release of ‘Wild Nights’ in 2008, and subsequent professional CD release of ‘No String’s Attached – A Date with the North West Wind Ensemble’ in July 2018, recordings for Manhattan Beach Music, Reed Music, ABODA - NSW Good Music Guide (Parts 1 & 2), the launch of Australian Sounds 2022, 2023, and 2025 together with and a host of reference recordings for fellow Australian composers, the NWWE are earnestly committed to performing and showcasing extraordinary Wind Orchestra repertoire and transcriptions from composers and arrangers around the world.

Under the baton of their Musical and Artistic Director Mr. James Brice OAM, the Castle Hill RSL North West Wind Ensemble (NWWE) are an exceptionally active and highly dedicated ‘professionally recognised’ community band, drawing their players from a wide variety of settings.  Many members are graduates from the nationally acclaimed Castle Hill RSL Youth Wind Orchestra (YWO), tertiary students, Sydney Conservatorium graduates, talented community musicians from varied and diverse occupations, and many local music teachers.

The Castle Hill RSL North West Wind Ensemble (NWWE) have gained and retained their international reputation as one of Australia’s premier wind orchestras, renowned for their interpretation of classic and new wind band and orchestral literature, whilst dedicated to the exposure and promotion of new Australian works for wind orchestra as part of their standard repertoire.

Both the Castle Hill RSL Youth Wind Orchestra (YWO) and North West Wind Ensemble share a proud tradition of being regarded as two of Australia’s finest and most successful symphonic wind bands, united under the one umbrella organisation, the Castle Hill RSL Wind Orchestras, with a combined membership of 140 members.
With a shared vision, ethos and objective of providing local musicians with opportunities to perform a diverse and extensive range of quality wind band repertoire, at the highest possible level, our bands proudly and regularly present performances at State and Nationals Championship events, embracing the opportunity to present performances on the world stage, having attained an impressive 58 Australian National and NSW State titles since 2003.
Having led the Castle Hill RSL Youth Wind Orchestra and North West Wind Ensemble for 21 years (2005-2026), I am excited and delighted to share my experience, skills and insights of how successful community musical organisations are formed and nurtured.
In addition to the music making, recruitment and programming, ethos, mission and vision, I will share my insights into additional areas such as ‘youth & senior programs’, longevity, governance and collaborative teams inclusive of committees, members, supporters, the importance of budgeting, scheduling, vision, performance calendar, creating and protecting culture, defining what this looks like, membership and motivation!
Music for life, and we never stop learning!

This presentation explores ensemble direction and rehearsal technique with a central focus on the psychological component of group music-making. Drawing on years of practical experience, it aims to equip educators and conductors with strategies to foster cohesive ensemble culture, draw out individual student strengths, and — most importantly — ensure that every rehearsal is meaningful and worth attending.
At some stage, most musicians will step into a conducting role with an ensemble. Yet despite our musical training, the highly specialised skills required to rehearse effectively, motivate students, and manage the group dynamic are rarely part of formal education. The result? Rehearsals that lack impact, disengaged students, and missed musical potential.
This session offers practical, research-informed strategies to:

• Create a strong ensemble culture built on trust and accountability
  
  
  
• Harness the individual strengths of each student
  
  
  
• Structure rehearsals that students genuinely look forward to
  
  
  
• Navigate the growing pressures on student time and wellbeing
  
  
  
• Develop habits that lead to consistent musical growth
  
  
  

These tools are adaptable across all ensemble types and age groups, and are particularly relevant in today’s time-poor climate, where every minute of every rehearsal must count.

Fundamental in understanding composition is for the conductor to understand the compositional process themselves – to some degree. "Understanding Composition Basics" will address what you, the conductor, need to know so you can then set about passing that knowledge on to your students in rehearsal. What’s more important, the melody or the counter melody? How complex is form or is it just an extended rhythmic structure? What is it about harmony that makes the piece sound like it does and how does the harmony shape the melody and rhythm? What basic skills in composition do you need to assist your students to make music – to be artistically responsive to the composer’s intent. Simple, really...

• The aim of this presentation is to explore the original marches of the celebrated British March King, Kenneth J. Alford. 
• This interactive presentation will:
  1. give an overview of Alford’s original marches,
  2. demonstrate ways conductors can vary the common ‘two’ pattern,
  3. offer practical rehearsal techniques, and
  4. suggest possible performance applications.
• This presentation will be of interest to conductors of bands and orchestras at all levels; in particular, those preparing ensembles for competitions and commemorative events.
• With over 20 years’ experience as a professional musician in the Australian Defence Force, this presentation is based on practical experience (this includes professional performances of Alford's entire catalogue of original marches) and knowledge gained from the presenter's career as a conductor and instrumentalist.

The Australian Music Centre (AMC) is the national service organisation dedicated to the promotion and support of art music in Australia. At the heart of our mission is a commitment to the representation, advocacy, promotion and support of Australian creators and their music. 
In 2025 the Australian Music Centre celebrated its 50th year and a key part of the celebrations was an opportunity for reflection and renewal. It is vital that we give recognition to the teaching and performance of Australian art music from the past as well as acknowledge new initiatives practiced in curricula and co-curricular programs of today.
The focus of this workshop/discussion is to demonstrate ways that educators can include more Australian music within their programs.   It will include repertoire that celebrates our cultural diversity as well as acknowledging a deep commitment to promoting a wide range of compositional approaches within the orchestral context.
Consider the question: how are you embedding Australian culture and, importantly, Australian ‘art music’ into your ensembles?   My role as Music Education Specialist is to help facilitate this process with a degree of ease, so that educators, performers, conductors, and students can access the music that is right for their purpose.
In this orchestral reading workshop, there will be information shared on how to source repertoire for your ensemble as well as the opportunity for delegates to play through orchestral works on offer at the AMC alongside a live orchestra. In addition, strategies will be discussed on how to include more Australian music in our co-curricular ensembles. 
The purpose of this discussion is for educators to connect and understand the services and resources that are provided at the AMC as well as give a deeper insight into the cultural significance of the Australian Music Centre.

Many young performers engage deeply with the notes on the page, yet have limited awareness of the creative forces that brought that music to life. This disconnect diminishes opportunities for artistic growth. As a student, encountering the “story behind the music” during an honour band clinic was transformative: discovering the composer’s intent and hearing their lived experience was the catalyst that propelled my own development as a musician and ultimately inspired me to become an educator. When we bring living composers into our educational spaces, we do more than host a guest—we create dynamic, communal experiences that energise students, directors, and composers alike, fostering a shared commitment to the music of tomorrow.

This presentation invites educators to enrich the learning environment by engaging directly with living composers. Featuring a Q&A with Ukrainian-Australian composer Cathy Likhuta, our clinician team will share approaches for integrating composers’ perspectives into rehearsals and classroom discussions, deepening artistic understanding and expanding students’ musical identities.

Composer residencies have the potential to reshape students’ relationships with music and performance. Drawing on extensive experience in Australia and internationally, composer Cathy Likhuta and conductors Nick Williams (University of Georgia) and Jackie Hartenberger (Melbourne Conservatorium of Music) will present evidence-based strategies for hosting composers in rehearsal settings. Attendees will learn practical frameworks for residency planning, rehearsal sequencing, and implementation; explore three distinct models of composer engagement; review sample itineraries; and gain actionable advice tailored to both conductors and composers. Ultimately, this session seeks to empower educators to envision ambitious collaborations with living composers and cultivate a culture that champions new musical voices - nurturing performers who will carry forward a vibrant musical future.

Directing the ‘second’ band or orchestra comes with numerous challenges that are different to those associated with taking the beginner or top ensembles. This group can be an eclectic mix of students from a wide range of experiences, abilities, maturity and ages. This presentation will discuss the unique issues facing directors of these ensembles and strategies to address these, including preparing appropriate repertoire, leadership opportunities, motivational techniques and pedagogical considerations.

When most people think of military discipline, they picture the stereotypical “gung-ho” individual drilled to perform under extreme conditions—a far cry from the band room… or is it? Musicians, like service members, are highly driven individuals who thrive on structure to achieve excellence and artistry. This creates a surprising and powerful nexus between military discipline and ensemble leadership.


This presentation explores how principles of military discipline—distinct from militant rigidity—can elevate the art of conducting and ensemble management. Precision, coordination, and adaptability are qualities shared by both worlds. Drawing on experiences from initial entry into the Defence Force through operations and command, we will examine concepts such as chain of command, clear communication protocols, ethics, and situational awareness, and how they translate into effective rehearsal strategies and performance leadership.
Key themes include:

• Discipline as a Foundation for Creativity – How structure enables artistic freedom.
• Command Presence and Authority – Leading with confidence without authoritarianism.
• Decision-Making Under Pressure – Applying military models to live performance challenges.
• Building Cohesion – Lessons from unit dynamics to foster trust and responsiveness in ensembles.
  
  

By understanding and applying these principles, conductors can create environments where discipline and artistry coexist harmoniously, resulting in stronger, more resilient musical teams.

Dr Jim Coyle discusses his new book The First Notes and the First Year: How to compose music for children to perform (Routledge, 2026) and the issues it raises for composers, arrangers and ensemble pedagogues.

Jim will also be speaking on the idea of 'poly-technicality'; music deliberately created for musicians of differing technical abilities to perform together. This idea has particular relevance to the Australian school ensemble scene, and challenges some of the conventional thinking in band and orchestra education.

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