by

Tina Broad

Tina Broad went to the McLaren Vale and didn't touch a drop. Instead, she got intoxication of a musical kind at the Classic FM FLAME Awards winner"s concert

Unlike his peers around Australia busily packing their cossies and sunscreen for Schoolies Week, Tatachilla Lutheran College year 12 student, Peter Majoros, couldn't quite let his hair down just yet. As if the stresses of the HSC weren't enough, he had another big milestone to get through: playing his clarinet in a live concert, broadcast all over Australia on national radio as part of the FLAME Award winner"s concert. Maybe it"s his fascination with snakes and lizards which helps keep his blood cool (he"s hoping for high marks to get into Science at Uni, as a precursor to a career as a zoologist), for he didn"t put a foot – or finger – wrong.

Hosted by Classic FM's Graham Abbott, the FLAME Awards concert not only saw some of South Australia"s most accomplished musicians take to the stage, it also showcased the community connections which so impressed the Awards judges and landed Tatachilla this year"s top gong. With the stage so admirably set by Peter, the rainbow-clad singers of the McLaren Vale Community Choir followed -- a composite choir comprising students, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and assorted other lovers of song did justice to the 'Hallelujah Chorus" as they too made their national broadcast debut.

Tatachilla's younger students (and some of the older ones) may have been speculating about what a vibraphone looks like when they read Nick Parnell"s name and credits on the program, but their curiosity didn"t last long. Nick took to the stage with accompanist, Graeme Burgan – and interpreted Gershwin on the vibes, much to the kids" fascination. Musica Viva"s South Australian stalwarts, Adelaide's Zephyr Quartet, were up next: Belinda Gehlert (violin), Emma Luker (violin), Anna Webb (viola) and Hilary Kleinig (cello) are no strangers to working a school age audience. Their homage to one of the girls" pet cats -- all scratching strings and musical meeows -- was a crowd pleaser. Pianist Mark Ferguson"s Marmalade Trio brought the concert home -- Shireen Khemlani on bass and Gilli Atkinson on drums -- with some original Latin-inspired numbers which got the littlies moving. Mark also took the opportunity to say hello to Mrs Majoros, Peter's mum, after the concert. She was his teacher a couple of decades ago. Everyone knows everyone in Adelaide, right?

Because Tatachilla Lutheran College doesn't have a space big enough to accommodate the entire student body as well as a broadcast production team, this year"s FLAME concert was held at the historic original Tatachilla winery next to the school. It's now a conference and camping centre. Before handing over the prize money and certificate to the school, ABC State Director for South Australia, Sandra Winter-Dewhirst recounted a memory of childhood sunburn in an early visit to the Tatachilla camp. Apparently the local wisdom at the time was to rub the burn with sliced tomato. She says she"s never been the same since!

Next time, Tatachilla Lutheran College will no doubt host an event of this size in its own brand new Performing Arts complex. Go-getter Greg John is on a mission to raise $8 million to do just that so that the entire McLaren Vale community, of which Tatachilla Lutheran College is such an integral part, can continue to make its music on any scale.