2024 NSW New Band Repertoire Reading & Resource Day - Highlights Reel

NSW New Band Repertoire Reading Day

The Band Association of NSW is delighted to announce that the 2027 New Band Repertoire Reading Day will be held on Saturday, February 6, for concert bands and stage/jazz bands at Arden Anglican School in Epping.

Closer to the event day, we will email all registered attendees with more information about access to the school, parking, etc. The school is quite close to public transport options.

A Brass Band repertoire reading day will be scheduled for later on in the year.

As well as playing through new release band music from Australian and International publishers, participants will be able to visit trade displays, catch up with colleagues, share ideas and enjoy a tasty lunch.

Early Bird Registration will be available until 7 January, 2027 costs $77 (inc. GST)
Registration for the event following this date will be $90 (inc. GST)
The cost will cover all sessions and catering.

KEY DATES:
September 29, 2026 – Opening Date for Music Submission for Composers/Publishers
November 13, 2026 – Closing Date for Music Submission for Composers/Publishers

January 7, 2027 – Close for Early Bird Registration
January 7, 2027 – Close for Expressions of Interest for a Trade Stand

January 15, 2027 – Close for scores and parts for featured works to be submitted to BANSW

Proposed Schedule (may be subject to change):

08:30 Registration

09:00 Concert Band Session 1 (90mins)

10:30 m/t break (30 mins)

11:00 Concert Band Session 2 (90mins)

12:30 Lunch (30 mins)

1:00 Concert Band Session 3 (90mins)

2:30 a/t break (30 mins)

3:00 Stage/Jazz Band Session 1 (90mins)

4:30 Conclusion

Composers & Publishers - Submit Works

Please complete the below form to register your work for consideration at the 2027 New Band Repertoire Reading Day. We are accepting works for consideration up to grade 3.5.

Click here to submit your work for consideration.

For Publishers and Distributors that have multiple works to submit, please email a spreadsheet directly to the Reading Day team - musicreadingday@bandnsw.com. Please note that your spreadsheet needs to contain a link to a copy of the score and either an mp3 file or Youtube link.

We can accept multiple works for consideration; however, any work submitted must have a publishing date within the last 18 months of the Reading Day weekend and be only NEW works not featured at previous reading days.

As we wish to support local businesses, all works submitted must be available for purchase from an Australian store/website.

Participants - Register Here

Click here for early bird registration - available soon

Music Suppliers - Trade Display Application

We are calling for expressions of interest for a limited number of boutique publishers and retailers who are interested in setting up a trade stand on the day.

Trade area space is limited. Please contact the team at musicreadingday@bandnsw.com to book in your space by January 7, 2027. Cost of trade stand will be determined by space requested and will be advised on enquiry.

Conductors

Welcome to our returning conductors for the New Band Repertoire Reading Day!

Andrew McWade

Andrew was appointed Director of Bands at Barker in 2015 and has worked as an ensemble director for over a decade. He is also the founding music director of the Old Barker Association’s North Shore Wind Symphony, one of Australia’s premiere wind bands. He holds two degrees from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a Bachelor of Music Education, with a principal study in saxophone, and a Master of Music Studies in conducting.

Andrew has been involved in wind ensembles since a very young age. He has been a guest conductor for many high school ensembles, representative combined high school music camps and university ensembles including the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Wind Symphony. He has also toured around Australia and internationally, performing with and conducting groups on three continents.

Andrew has been fortunate to study and learn from many of Australia’s leading music educators and has also participated in international conducting symposiums. He is the President of the NSW Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA), where he organises and leads professional development courses for aspiring conductors and ensemble educators.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019 he received the ABODA Prize for the conductor who prepared the most challenging and entertaining program of the Australian School Band and Orchestra Festivals.

Garry Clark

Garry brings an abundance of conducting, performing and teaching experience to his leadership of several Bands in Western Sydney. He has a well-deserved reputation for his commitment to the development of instrumental music at a community level, and to providing opportunities for community engagement with the Arts.

He has performed regularly with a wide variety of groups including The Occasional Performing Sinfonia (TOPS), a Western Sydney-based community orchestra, Penrith Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Wind Symphony, North Shore Wind Symphony, Australian Wind Orchestra, Sydney Wind Orchestra, and various other ensembles, orchestras, musical societies and concert bands across Sydney.

As conductor, teacher, performer, administrator and more, Garry has dedicated his professional life to developing public school music programs and community band programs that work together to create an outstanding pathway of learning for young musicians. Garry holds a B Mus/B Teach degree from the University of New England in Armidale, and was awarded the UNE Alumni Achievement Award in 2019. He is one of only three recipients of the 'National Citation of Excellence' from the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors' Association (ABODA).

John Buckley

John Buckley has enjoyed a long, successful career as a conductor, multi-instrumentalist,
adjudicator, clinician and music educator. He began his professional musical career at the age of sixteen in the Australian Defence Force serving in many locations throughout Australia and overseas in the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force. In 1994 he was selected for Band Officer Training for appointment as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. On graduation, he was awarded the Chief Instructor’s Prize in Conducting and also the Dux of the Band Officer’s Course.

In 1999, he was appointed Commanding Officer and Music Director of the RAAF Air Command Band in Sydney, leading this ensemble until its disbandment in 2009. He proudly led this band on successful tours of New Zealand, East Timor, Gallipoli, Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout Australia. He also led the band during the 2000 Sydney Olympic, Paralympics Games and Federation Celebrations in 2001. John was selected on two occasions to participate in the Symphony Australia Conductor's Program in which he conducted the Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. John has continued to pursue his passion for music education completing a Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Sydney in 2011. In the same year, he was appointed Music Director of the Corrective Services NSW Band which is a 45-piece professional ensemble serving the people of NSW. He was recently appointed as Head of Bands at Arden Anglican School in Sydney. John has served as the Music Director of both the Sydney Wind Symphony and the Wind Symphony at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and an active clinician and adjudicator for the Sydney Eisteddfod. He has also featured as Guest Conductor of the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra since 2018.