I was invited by Mr Jason Ziino, Director of Music, to give a short speech at the 70th Anniversary of Blackburn High School in their Concert “Illuminations” on Monday 24th August held at The Round, formerly the Nunawading Arts Centre. For those who are connected with the school, you might like to read my address.

Blackburn High School presents – Illumination

Illumination: Growing Together for 70 Years is Blackburn High School’s celebration of its 70th anniversary, staged at The Round in Nunawading. The evening combines student artistry and performance with a broader look back at the school’s history, making it a good fit for alumni, current families and anyone connected to the school community. Expect a mix of music, art and celebration rather than a single traditional concert format. Check The Round’s listing for ticketing and start time.

BLACKBURN HIGH SCHOOL

ILLUMINATION – 70th Anniversary of Blackburn High

70th ANNIVERSARY SPEECH

Roland Yeung

Monday 24th August 2026 The Round, Nunawading

Hello, I am Roland Yeung, a former Head of Music at the school. What wonderful concert this has been. You can be very proud.

It is a great honour to be invited back (I taught at the school from 1976 to 1992) to conduct the orchestra tonight. The students in the orchestra has responded beautifully to my conducting. They are well taught, they listen and they play beautifully. (We performed Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man arr. Longfield for Symphony Orchestra.)

Jason invited me to speak for a few minutes – I wish to illuminate one thing about music and about my time teaching music at the school.

There is something that happens at every one of our concerts. We practise it at every rehearsal.

What is the first thing musicians create together?

It isn’t a sound.

We create SILENCE.

Before we can make music together, we learn to be silent together.

That silence says: we are here, we are ready, and we are about to do something together.

Perhaps silence is harder to create today. Our lives are noisier, our minds are busier, and technology constantly tugs our attention elsewhere. Yet for musicians, silence brings focus. We begin hearing the music before we play it.

And listen for silence tonight. It can create anticipation, tension, surprise — and sometimes even make you smile.

I started at Blackburn High School in 1976. My Principal was Mr Bill Charlton, my Music Coordinator was Ross Millikan, and I was one of four classroom music teachers.

At that time, schools had considerable freedom to develop their own curriculum.

Blackburn High School wisely chose Music.

Instrumental participation grew rapidly. Large junior ensembles meant that many students continued playing through to Year 12. Some studied Music academically; many others simply kept playing because they loved music and loved belonging to the community of the Music Department.

Later, as Jason has mentioned, I was seconded to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board as the VCE Music writer.

So what did I put into the new VCE Music Study Designs?

Much of it came from Blackburn High School.

The Music Craft courses developed and refined here became core elements of VCE Music Study Designs, and many of those approaches can still be recognised today.

Thank you, Blackburn High!

When I arrived here, concert bands were new to me. My conducting experience had been with orchestras, choirs and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

So how did I become a band conductor?

Blackburn High School taught me.

In my time the school went on to win the Royal South Street Society Nicholson Prize seven times — an extraordinary achievement.

But the most important lesson was that conducting is never something you finish learning.

I am still learning about music, conducting and working with musicians. One of my greatest pleasures is meeting former Blackburn High students around Victoria who still have music in their lives. I have had the pleasure of conducting three of David Goddard’s compositions-two were world premieres.

I am now in my 40th year with the Grainger Wind Symphony, a community group based on excellence, based at the school, and in retirement I continue to conduct, teach and write about conducting.

When I think about where all of that began, I come back here.

Blackburn High School provided the foundation for the conductor and teacher I became.

So tonight, before the musicians play, listen for something that isn’t a sound.

Listen to the silence.

And perhaps, on this 70th anniversary, within that silence are:

seventy years of memories — and the anticipation of the next note.

Thank you, now on with the show!

Roland Yeung