Former Gloucester High School student, Hamish McClure is taking his guitar to the Glasshouse Port Macquarie to play among some of the State's best music students.
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On Wednesday, February 12 Hamish will take part in Bravissimo, a showcase of the best HSC students from the Mid North Coast and Tablelands regions.
The top HSC performers are selected from the State, Catholic and private high schools to create a two hour line-up of performances.
Students travel from as far south as Wingham, Gloucester and Forster, west out to Armidale and Tamworth, and north from Kempsey up to Coffs Harbour for the event.
"When I got my HSC score and email about Bravissimo, apart from being shocked that I had been selected, I was excited to play at the venue and perform with other like-minded musicians," Hamish said.
While it's not his first time playing on the stage at the Glasshouse, having accompanied former GHS student Liam Chester for his 2019 performance, it's now Hamish's time to shine.
He'll be accompanied by Gloucester musicians Mike De Angelis on drums and Rob Llewellyn on bass as he performance his HSC piece.
"I chose to play Lenny, as Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my guitar idols, and is one of my biggest influences," he said.
Hamish has been interested in playing music from a young age and picked up his first guitar when he was eight years old.
"I had a cheap toy guitar and drove everyone crazy with it," he smiled. "It was something I was interested in and my passion grew from there."
Hamish is mainly self-taught, spending hours listening to a wide range of music styles and learning how to recreate the sound. But he has also had various teachers and sessions with other musicians over the years.
His first real guitar was an old red one with nylon strings and he's been upgrading his repertoire ever since, now owning several electric and acoustic guitars.
Over the years, he's been seen performing in Gloucester at various venues.
"Gloucester High School staff and the community provided me with lots of opportunities to perform and be involved in school performances," he said. "I was also fortunate to work with (Gloucester musician) Ty Soupidis as part of the group for my HSC music performances."
After the concert is over, Hamish will be packing up and moving to Newcastle where he'll attend university.
"I am hoping to join or form a blues-based group playing gigs and getting some more experience, maybe even go on tour," Hamish smiled.
Hamish will join the other musicians in Port Macquarie on the Tuesday before the performance so they can all rehearse together to play Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics.
For more information about Bravissimo, visit www.glasshouse.org.au
