Looking Ahead / Key Dates & Events

Evening of Excellence:

T4 Wk3 | Tuesday 21st October

MDP Semester 2 Ensemble Concert:

T4 Wk 8 | Thursday 27th November – Berwick Church of Christ

PERFORMING ARTS

Production 2025 - High School Musical

We are absolutely delighted to share the resounding success of our recent production of Disney’s High School Musical: On Stage! After months of dedicated rehearsals and tireless efforts from our talented students and staff, the show has truly been a sweet triumph. With over 180 students and staff, this was yet again our biggest show and something that everyone involved should truly feel so very proud of.

Our cast brought the iconic characters from the High School Musical movie to life, showcasing talents in singing dancing, and acting on the stage. Our art crew, stage crew, and tech crews worked hard to transform our stage into the wonderful world of the show, whilst our costume/hair/makeup teams sorted numerous costumes and looks. Our Front of House crew did a fantastic job with all the pre-show treats and delightful customer service, welcoming audiences into a sold-out theatre for every show! We were thrilled to have a live band again this year, conducted by our very own Adrian Violi, and ENTIRELY filled by our own students. This is an incredible feat and is certainly not the norm across other school productions. Huge congratulations to the music department for this wonderful achievement.

We extend our gratitude to the parents, staff, and volunteers whose support always plays a crucial role in bringing the production to life. Your encouragement and involvement have been invaluable, and we greatly appreciate your support. Our Saturday matinee audience might even have noticed a guest appearance in the audition scene by our principal, Mr Martin McDonald himself!

As we reflect on this incredible achievement, we’re reminded of the power of creativity and teamwork. This production has not only showcased the extraordinary talents of our students but also highlighted the spirit of collaboration and community that we are so proud to foster at Kambrya College. I am so grateful to work with the most incredible group of students and staff within our Performing Arts department and am so proud of this team and show.

To view our show program, which includes more photos and information about the performance, follow the link here!

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGxVTQzXrU/zCOfE9u38UjGeTSoc6qmWA/view?utm_content=DAGxVTQzXrU&ut…

Schools on Stage

We topped off our production season with a spectacular performance at the 2025 Schools on Stage competition, where all cast members performed brilliantly, as well as demonstrating incredible spirit and community behind the scenes and with other schools. We’re so proud of this positive engagement. And the icing on the cake was bringing home a trophy! Extended congrats to Matthew Fernando, Rashika Banerjee, Bella Townend (and Aimie Hill in spirit!) for taking out the Award for Best Song! Brilliant work and what a way to wrap up our HSM season!

Again, huge congratulations to all involved, and the sincerest thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Leya Mackus

Director

The Victorian State Schools Spectacular – Saturday 13th of September

The annual Victorian State Schools Spectacular program is an invaluable performing arts opportunity for Victoria’s government primary and secondary school students.

The program showcases and unites government school communities through working towards a common goal of more students reaching the highest level of achievement in the arts, ensuring kids are happy, healthy and resilient, and building pride in our schools.

The Spectacular has become an invaluable rite of passage for Victoria’s top young talent, and a cherished, memorable education experience for all participants.

This year, two of our incredible music students were featured in the selective VSSS Orchestra! Congratulations to Luca Salguero playing bass and Nathan Cazar playing piano/keyboard.

We also had some fabulous year 7-9 students participating in the Mass Dance and Mass Choir. Our students did an amazing job this year, performing in multiple songs and working hard to make sure they did their part in this massive show.

Information regarding when the Victorian State School Spectacular will be shown on Channel 7 to come soon.

In the mean time you can download the program here:

For mobile: Victorian State Schools Spectacular Souvenir Program Acts 2025 (PDF, 12.1MB)(opens in a new window)

For desktop: Victorian State Schools Spectacular Souvenir Program 2025 (PDF, 7.6MB)(opens in a new window)

Leya Mackus

Head Of Department - Visual & Performing Arts

MUSICIAN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM – MDP

Term 3 has been a great one for MDP students and music in general! The students and teachers have been busy in lessons and ensembles.

As always, please get in touch with your instrumental music teacher in your private channel/teams space if you have any questions regarding your lessons/ensemble. A reminder also to enable notifications for Teams channels so students can remain up to date with communication from instrumental music teachers. MS Teams is our primary source of contact for teachers to students so always great to be checking this.

Production Band

Having a live band for our production of High School Musical this year was a true highlight and our MDP students who filled these roles did an amazing job learning the material and performing so professionally in this setting. It’s truly one of the most challenging ensembles we have at the college and I’m very proud of the student’s efforts. A shout out to Freddy Gerges, Luca Salguero, Paru Iyer, Thiyon Subadrage, Tours Luo, Nathan Cazar and Taewoo Heaven-Lee.

Studio Concerts

Our recent run of Studio Concerts showcased the talents of so many of our students. I love these concerts as they really show the progress of the kids from term to term. You can literally hear the growth! It’s also wonderful to see the sense of achievement the students get by performing in front of a live and respectful audience. Congratulations to all students who performed this term – green compass post for you! Term 4 Studio Concert dates will be announced shortly.

Masterclass – Michael Dolce

Recently, the MDP cohort were treated to a masterclass with guitarist from The Voice, Michael Dolce in the theatre. Michael engaged the students with tales of the process behind getting ready for a season of the well known TV show, what it takes to learn 130 songs in two weeks and how he prepares for rocking the stage with the contestants. Myself and Mr Mitch Cairns agreed to play with Michael on the day as a band but a true wildcard entry was our very own Nathan Cazar who jumped in on piano and played some of Michael’s tunes wonderfully. Nice work Nathan!

Masterclasses continue to be a great source of inspiration for the students in MDP. I urge every student to prioritise these sessions as they allow for learning opportunities like no other, up close and personal with some of Australia’s finest musicians and performers.

Semester 2 Ensemble Concert – November 27

As per previous correspondence, our Semester 2 Ensemble concert is on the way on Thursday 27th November at the Berwick Church of Christ. More information to come for this big event. A reminder, this concert is a compulsory MDP event. Really looking forward to a great event. So much great talent at this school! A big thanks to our wonderful MDP staff who continually strive to get the best from our students each week in lessons and ensemble rehearsals.

Victorian State Schools Spectacular (VSSS)

As mentioned from Leya Mackus, our head of Arts, I also wanted to do a big shout out to Nathan Cazar (piano) and Luca Salguero (bass guitar) – two talented MDP students - for getting selected for the orchestra and all their efforts with VSSS this year. Looking forward to watching you on Channel 7 in December!

MDP Fees / Housekeeping

A reminder for anyone who does not have updated fees yet, this needs to be addressed ASAP otherwise lessons will continue to be suspended or cancelled. Your cooperation is appreciated. If you require assistance with MDP fees, please contact accounts and they will be happy to help.

Another reminder for students to not leave their instruments at school overnight without a good reason. Instruments that are on loan/hire should be taken home so practice can be done. We’re finding lots of instruments – guitars also – left in practice rooms or near the doorways of rooms after hours. Many thanks for your cooperation here.

If you have any queries about MDP please reach out via our MDP email – MDP@kambryacollege.vic.edu.au

Here’s to a great final term for 2025. I’m looking forward to some great music!

Adrian Violi

Director of Music / MDP Coordinator

Important Dates

To be read in conjunction with the Compass calendar