The Hunter School of Performing Arts, a marching school band that’s just finished a tour of the Riverina. Photo: Marguerite McKinnon.
They are three of the most recognisable solemn bugle calls heard at Anzac Day services.
“The Last Post” traditionally signals the end of the day’s activities. At commemorative events, it marks a final farewell at military funerals and Anzac Day or Remembrance Day services, symbolising a soldier’s final rest after duty is done.
“Reveille” was traditionally played to wake sleeping soldiers, and in modern ceremonies it marks the end of silence as flags are raised to the masthead.
“The Rouse” is the short, brisk call that followed in military tradition to get soldiers out of bed. Today it is used to signal the end of silence and a symbolic “waking” of the fallen, carrying a sense of hope for a future reunion of the living and the dead.
Alongside Anzac Day staples such as Abide with Me, O Valiant Hearts and In Flanders Fields, the common thread is the skill of buglers, trumpet players and marching band musicians who bring the ceremonies to life.
One of Australia’s most impressive school marching bands has just wrapped up a 10-day “Red Dirt Tour” across the Riverina and surrounding regions — and it wasn’t just the music that left an impression.
It was the hospitality.
“Fantastic. Absolutely blown away and our kids really appreciate the country hospitality,” band director Kylie Gardner said.
The students, from the state’s only fully selective performing arts school — the Hunter School of Performing Arts in Newcastle — travelled from Broken Hill via Cobar, then on to Hillston, Yanco and Leeton, finishing their tour at the SunRice Balloon Festival.
They slept in swags, delivered workshops and performances in schools, and worked directly with local students to share skills, technique and a love of music.
A highlight came at Hillston Central School, where the students ran sessions and collaborated with local performers.
Year 12 student Leslie Mooney, 17, the band’s drum major, said the tour had been unforgettable.
“I’ve played trombone since Year 3. The highlight for me has definitely been meeting all the people and engaging with all the schools.”
Another student, Archibald Houcken, 17, senior stage band leader, joined the school in 2024 after moving from France.
“I was born in France and came to Australia when I was nine years old and moved around a bit before arriving in Newcastle in 2024.
“It’s beautiful. It’s the most calm school. Serene. Shielded. I’ve been able to bond with people really well there, so it’s a great school.”
He now hopes to pursue aeronautical engineering.
“I want to do aeronautical engineering, or be a pilot, or do something with planes or the air,” he said.
Fellow student Quincy Quayle, trumpet player and senior concert band leader, said performing arts remained his passion.
“I really want to stay in the performing arts. I really enjoy teaching. I feel like I have a huge passion for it, so something teaching in the performing arts – either dance or music.”
Entry into the Hunter School of Performing Arts requires audition, with students selected across streams including dance, drama, creative arts and visual arts.
For older readers, the school has often been likened to the New York School of Performing Arts depicted in the 1980 film Fame — a story loosely based on the real-life Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
Its alumni include a long list of high-profile names such as Timothee Chalamet, Jennifer Aniston, Al Pacino, and Paul Stanley from KISS.
Closer to home, Hunter School of Performing Arts alumni include Charli Robinson from Hi-5, now a Channel 9 Getaway reporter; Olympic diver Matthew Helm; writer and director Genevieve Clay-Smith, who was named Young Australian of the Year; and members of indie/pop-punk band Short Stack — Shaun Diviney, Andy Clemmensen and Bradie Webb.
As Anzac Day services unfold across the Riverina, the marching bands and school musicians carrying those bugles and trumpets are not just playing history – they are stepping in time with it – and, in their own way, helping carry it forward.
