Instrumental music program

Welcome to the Sydney Secondary College instrumental music program

For current SSC IMP members, parents and carers looking for calendar events, permission notes and other information, please navigate to the SSC IMP website at www.sscimp.com.

Sydney Secondary College Instrumental Music Program's Handbook is available here.

Sydney Secondary College has an extensive and very successful instrumental music program, which includes students from across all three campuses of the college (Balmain, Leichhardt and Blackwattle Bay). The IMP is made up of over 250 students (roughly 10% of all students in the College) and so is one of the largest programs in the College and a highlight of cross-campus life for many SSC students.

These 250+ students are spread across the ten ensembles which make up the program. There are four wind bands, three string groups and three jazz groups, with many students participating in multiple ensembles. Each ensemble rehearses once a week before school during term time. All ensembles involve students from multiple campuses, and the college bus returns students to their home campus in time for the school day.

The IMP features the following ensembles:

Four graded Wind Bands (junior band, concert band, wind ensemble, wind orchestra)
two graded jazz bands (jazz ensemble, jazz orchestra)
a full symphony orchestra and advanced chamber orchestra for strings.

There are also opportunities throughout the year to play in smaller ensembles, such as at various music workshops, IMP Camp and our annual Jazz Camp.

Each ensemble rehearses once a week before school, and performs several times a term throughout the school year. Each ensemble performs at the ONE Concert in Term 1, Music In The Park in Term 3 and at either the NSW Band Festival or the Australian Schools Orchestral Festival. All students attend the annual three-day IMP Camp, a highlight of the college calendar. There are other performance opportunities throughout the year for individual ensembles, such as college ceremonies, open days and local fetes and festivals. Our jazz bands perform at prestigious events such as Manly Jazz Festival and Norton Street Festa.

The SSC IMP caters for every musician, and our students develop from junior musicians through to performers at an exceptional level. Our ensembles regularly feature in the highest categories in regional competitions and festivals, and regularly place highly in their field. Many of our musicians are involved in The Arts Unit ensembles, regional groups, and highly-regarded events such as Schools Spectacular. The SSC IMP is proudly inclusive while developing students to become excellent musicians, students and human beings.