FROM 11am on Tuesday 11 November, 11-year-old trumpet player Alannah Guselli performed the Last Post and Reveille at the Coffs Harbour Remembrance Day ceremony.
It was her first public performance.
The St Augustine Primary School Year 5 student had spent weeks preparing for that moment.
“Standing beside the town’s Cenotaph, Alannah’s small hands trembled slightly as she lifted the trumpet to her lips,” Senior Vice President Coffs Harbour RSL sub-Branch Garry Heskett told News Of The Area.
“As the crowd fell silent at precisely 11am, a single clear note rose into the warm November air.
“The haunting melody carried effortlessly across the gathered crowd, veterans and families alike – who stood in solemn reflection.”
Alannah was chosen after a St Augustine’s Primary School visit to the C.ex Club in April 2025 to learn about Anzac Day.
Tennille O’Rourke-Cox, Alannah’s school teacher, had asked her to perform The Last Post at the Cenotaph during a small ceremony in front of her classmates.
It was conducted by Mr Heskett, who was one of the sub-Branch tour guides.
Alannah played the Last Post, but did not know the music for Reveille.
Mr Heskett gave her the encouragement to learn the second part of the Last Post (Reveille) and invited her to play on Remembrance Day.
Local Coffs Harbour veterans and the public praised the young musician’s effort, many moved to tears by the solemnity of the moment.
Mr Heskett, Parade Marshall on the day, said, “Hearing that young girl play reminded us all that remembrance isn’t fading – it lives on, not only in memory, also in the bright steady breath of youth.”
By Andrea FERRARI
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