Veteran teacher Wilf MacBeth has been bringing rural students to the Festival of Instrumental Music for 33 years.
This year he brought six students from Currabubula Public School near Tamworth, including his grand-daughter Kayla, who is in Year 6.
Mr MacBeth OAM started teaching in 1962, tried to retire 20 years ago and at age 81 still teaches recorder, clarinet and guitar one day a week at Currabubula.
The self-taught musician has performed in bands in Sydney, across NSW and in his hometown of Coonabarabran.
At age 14, Mr MacBeth contracted polio and switched to music as a hobby when he couldn’t play sport.
During his recovery from polio, his father taught his horse, Shandy, to kneel down so the teenager could mount and dismount and have some form of mobility.
Mr MacBeth said he loved seeing how quickly the students he has taught progress with their music abilities.
“When you get a little kid in Year 2 who has very little coordination and just wants to make a lot of noise – and then by Year 3 they’re ready to go to the Opera House, it’s mind-blowing how fast they learn and improve,” he said.
“And when you get 500 recorders in the Opera House, with the full range from bass to descant, it sounds like a pipe organ. It’s the most amazing sound.”
Mr MacBeth was interviewed by the Sunrise breakfast program on Channel 7 as 23 students from public schools participating in the Festival of Instrumental Music performed ‘Marche Militaire’ live in the studio, directed by conductor Susan Sukkar.
- The Festival of Instrumental Music continues at the Sydney Opera House tonight and Friday night.