The NCV Factor: A Night of Entertainment

Over the last five years NCV has developed quite a bit of tradition in the area of music. Starting in 2010 as an evening of primarily classical music, NCV’s Music Night has morphed into a more contemporary talent quest, in the tradition of the X Factor (but without the scathing feedback from the judges!).

This semester we were treated to performances (among others) of the Maroon 5 hit “Harder to Breathe”, Nena’s cold war classic “99 Luftballons”, Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable”. There was also a shout out to the retiring Federal Member for Kingsford Smith Peter Garrett, with the NCV Band performing Midnight Oil’s classic “Beds Are Burning”.

The NCV Choir went retro with renditions of the ABBA hits “Thank You for the Music” and “Mamma Mia”. The night was great fun, with the NCV Band now turning it’s attention to the Inter Residence Band Night at the Roundhouse in mid September.

The NCV Factor: A Night of Entertainment

NCV Winter Formal Dinner 2013

Three times each year the NCV Community gathers for a Formal Dinner. Formal Dinners are part of a long standing university tradition, and usually include an address by a prominent member of the university or wider community. The meal is a bit more special than your typical college dinner, and includes entrée, main and dessert. Since it opened in 2009 NCV has held 14 Formal Dinners, with the guests drawn from the sciences, the arts, the media, law and the business community.

Dr Terry Percival

For our 2013 Winter Formal Dinner the speaker was Dr Terry Percival. Dr Percival is currently the Director of Broadband and the Digital Economy at NICTA. Dr Percival has had a long and distinguished career in electrical engineering, having worked on radiotelescopes, optical fibre technology and wireless local area networks. As part of the CSIRO team that developed WiFi technology, Dr Percival’s research has had a direct impact on almost everyone’s day to day life. Terry proved to be a very popular speaker, with his presentation prompting a string of interesting questions. At the end of his talk he was practically mobbed by students wanting to get a photo with one of the inventors of WiFi. It was a fantastic night.

During the evening we were also treated to a musical performance by NCV’s Callum Savage. Callum is undertaking studies in chemistry and physics in the university, and also maintains a strong interest in classical guitar. Callum played Stanley Myers’ Cavatina from” The Deer Hunter”. It was a lovely performance.

Above: Posing for group photos after dinner with Dr Quinn

NCV Winter Formal Dinner 2013

NCV Harbour Cruise 2013

On Friday 2nd August, NCV’s Residents put on their best clothes and headed out onto Sydney’s Harbour for NCV’s biggest social event of the year, the NCV Harbour Cruise. This year the boat was again the “Sydney Harbour Ballroom” a stylish paddlesteamer. We set off from Sydney’s King Street Wharf at about 7:30, and enjoyed everything that Sydney’s iconic harbour had to offer. After enjoying some canapés on the top deck, everyone headed downstairs for more food, drinks and dancing. The DJ played everything from Beyonce to Tina Turner, and even a little bit of Stevie Wonder. As always Nutbush City Limits and the Macarena were popular items. After boat docked at 11 pm the cruisers rocked on to some of the local establishments. A great night was had by all.

This is the fourth annual NCV Harbour Cruise, with the event having become an important fixture on the NCV Social Calendar.

NCV Harbour Cruise 2013