NSSWE’s Senior Wind Ensemble (SWE) is the organisation's flagship ensemble and is well recognised for its high level of musicianship and its excellence in performance. They play a wide range of professional grade repertoire and challenges its musicians to develop their sound and ensemble techniques. It features over 50 talented musicians from the Northern Sydney region many of whom go on to study music at a tertiary level.
In 2016 NSSWE commissioned The Magic of This Dawn by Christopher Sainsbury, an Australian composer, which premiered at our Spring Festival and was performed whilst on tour in Japan.
The Senior ensemble is open to students from Years 10 through to 12 and school leavers who are continuing their music studies.
The Carey Big Band is the senior-most of 3 big bands at Carey. It’s an auditioned group
that includes students from Years 9-12. The band most recently performed at the
Generations in Jazz event in Mount Gambier where they placed 3rd in Division 2, an
exciting achievement for the group as we progress beyond the pandemic years.
The Carey Big Band often performs within the school community, but additionally is
involved in various festivals, workshops and external events during the year. In recent
years the band has been lucky enough to perform with, or be tutored by the likes of Matt
Jodrell, Nina Ferro, Jordan Murray and Fem Belling.