Music Festival Week 2025
In early August, St Augustine’s College hosted Music Festival Week 2025, a celebration of musical excellence, creativity and community spirit. This year’s festival once again brought students and staff together through a full program of performances, workshops and collaboration for all of our year levels.
The vibrant program of events was designed to highlight the diverse talents of our students, which demonstrated teamwork, vertical integration, and a shared sense of purpose. All these qualities are essential to musical success and personal development, and this Music Week was a testament to that, and to the power of music.
Thanks to our Music Department for their dedication and hard work in curating this musical extravaganza. The contributions of the teachers, support staff, and 25 tutors, along with those of all guest artists and the input from every student, made this Festival memorable.
Festival Highlights
Music Showcase Concert
The festival began with the Music Showcase Concert at The Concourse in Chatswood. The Leadership Team, including College Principal Jonathan Byrne, was there to support our young musicians.
The Year 5 Choir performed three songs by our Artist in Residence, Paul Jarman. Paul ran composition and choral workshops, directed rehearsals, and contributed to the Music Department’s professional development sessions.
Incursion Performances and Workshops
Students from Year 5 through to Year 9 all took part in a range of workshops and outstanding performances led by Hot Potato Band, Jack Stoneham 5, DJ Nino Brown and Opera Petites. Covering opera classics, jazz, rock, and hip-hop, these sessions were designed to engage and inspire the students through practical musical education. Our students approached these workshops with enthusiasm as they gained great insights into musical styles, techniques, and creative processes.
Studio Concerts
Showcasing the incredible depth of talent within our Private Music Tuition Program and the outstanding work of our peripatetic staff, eighty students performed solo pieces in the Studio Concerts. Each student was supported by professional accompanist Lindsay Gilroy, in front of a panel of guest artists; Reace Cameron, Brendan Collins, David Holmes, Kathy Day, and David Theak.
Rock in the Quad
Each day in the Goold Quad our Rock in the Quad sessions featured performances from contemporary, rock and pop musicians. In an exciting addition this year, we introduced a DJ section. Rock in the Quad captivated our College audience whose cheers could be heard streets away, along with the riffs and beats from our wonderful musicians.
We would like to congratulate all of our winners from Rock in the Quad:
- Junior School: IGNITE Music 2025 – Cameron B, Eli B, Hugo K, Jaxon M, Felix O, Leo R, Joseph Y, Alex Z
- Middle School: Rock Band 2 – Sam C, Max S, Sebby T, Lucian B, Henry R
- Senior School: Rock Band 1 – Roman B, James C, Josh F, Tom H, Ronan H, Chris P, Jonah R
Composition Competition
The Composition Competition provides an opportunity for our students to create original lyrics and song compositions, showcasing their creativity and passion for songwriting. This is a long-standing tradition of our Music Festival Week and our students excelled. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Timi J, and to all our students’ entries. It was challenging picking one winner!
Music Festival Week is a wonderful reminder of how music enriches College life.
Students inspired by this celebration are encouraged to explore our Private Music Tuition Program or get involved in one of our many Co-curricular Music Ensembles to continue developing their skills and passion for performance.
