Co-curricular Arts News

Marist College Ashgrove to Shine at Queensland Catholic Colleges Music Festival

Marist College Ashgrove is once again proud to be represented at the Queensland Catholic Colleges Music Festival (QCMF)—one of Australia’s largest and most prestigious school music festivals. Held annually at Villanova College in Brisbane, QCMF celebrates the rich musical life of Catholic schools across Queensland and beyond, welcoming over 15,000 students from more than 100 schools to perform across four days.

The festival provides a unique platform for ensembles of all types—bands, choirs, orchestras, and instrumental groups—to perform in a supportive and encouraging environment. It is a celebration of collaboration, creativity, and the shared joy of making music.

PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO A DEATH IN MISS BRAIDWOOD’S FAMILY WE HAVE HAD TO CANCEL THE PERFORMANCES FOR MARIST VOICES AND PERFORMANCE CHOIR.

ALL OTHER PERFORMANCES WILL PROCEED. Families and supporters are warmly encouraged to attend and cheer on our talented musicians at the following sessions:

Further details regarding venue locations and arrival times have been shared with families via email.

MCA Battle of the Bands 2025

The annual Marist College Ashgrove Battle of the Bands returned to its longtime home—the John Eales Grandstand—on a spectacular Brisbane winter day. This year’s event featured a high standard of performances, showcasing some great original music.

Old Boy Mr. Laurent Dubois judged this year’s competition, awarding:

• Best Up-and-Coming Band: Burnaway (Luke Dwyer, Baxter Jordan, Rafael Berkovich-Robbles, Harrison Hind)
• Third Place: Gpoll and the Monkey Men (George Pollard, Tom Duffy, Harry Marshall, Killian Menzies)
• Second Place: The Tallows (Kalan Schnaubelt, Hamish McAlonan, Max James, Tom Mellare)
• First Place: The Waiting List (Ben Gibson, Max Hammond, Addi Allen, Christian Weston-Kelly, Ambrose Gonzalez)

Well done to all the bands who performed!

Year 5 Band and String Concert

Congratulations to the Year 5 boys who began their instrumental performance journey last week in the Draney Theatre. The event featured several highlights presented by the String, Band and vocal groups. We look forward to the continued growth and development of our Year 5 students in the future. The photos below capture what a special night it was.

Essentially Ellington

Monday, August 18 | 2:30 PM | Draney Theatre

Marist College Ashgrove is proud to announce that we will once again host the Brisbane leg of the Ellington Down Under Regional Festival 2025, held in partnership with the Jazz Music Institute (JMI) and New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.

This prestigious event is part of the Essentially Ellington program, a world-renowned celebration of jazz that brings together some of the finest high school big bands from across Australia. Each ensemble will perform classic and contemporary jazz repertoire, and will receive expert feedback from leading adjudicators from Jazz at Lincoln Center.

We are especially excited to share that Big Band 1 will be representing Marist College Ashgrove with a live performance at 2:30PM, Monday, August 18, in the Experimental Theatre. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear our talented musicians perform in a professional festival environment. All parents and families are warmly invited to attend and support our students.

ASHCAM 2025