Music

A Joyful Few Weeks!

It’s been a busy and joyful time in the Music Department over the past few weeks, with three major events taking place. These are among the final highlights for the year and once again showcase the generosity and college spirit that are at the heart of our music program.

2025 Music Camp

Held at Cave Hill Creek on the weekend of 10-12 October, our annual Music Camp was a fantastic event filled with intensive rehearsals, tutorials, practice sessions, and of course, a wonderful mix of team-building and social activities. The effort from both staff and students was outstanding. An especially important event as many of our 2026 ensembles were formed finalised during the camp.

Our ensembles have gone from strength to strength over the past two years, and it was terrific to see that momentum continue. A special shout-out to our Year 8 musicians, who are making excellent contributions—some have only been playing for a year and are already performing well above expectations!

Saturday night brought plenty of laughs with a fiercely contested trivia competition. Who knew you could sing Waltzing Matilda to lyrics taken from a book on welding? 10 points for that!

Another highlight of the camp was the creative time spent preparing music for our final community events. When college leaders requested a fanfare for Speech Day, our students didn’t settle for a known piece—they composed a brand-new work! Students created rhythms, melodies, and harmonies, and with input on style and structure, the piece was refined and notated by Mr Pankhurst with help from senior students. The result? A unique “St Pat’s only” composition: Four Pillars Fanfare. It was proudly performed at Speech Day to welcome the official party and staff into the Auditorium. Congratulations to all involved!

Speech Day

We were thrilled to open Speech Day with Four Pillars Fanfare, performed by Noah Vallance, Alex Clark, Benny Eckel, and Rafael Pankhurst, assisted by Mr Pankhurst.

We also celebrated the talents of piano soloist Riley Hayes and the members of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, who performed feature items and accompanied George Rogers in a stirring rendition of the National Anthem.

Congratulations to our Performing Arts students who presented excerpts from this year’s productions, Newsies and Aladdin—one scene was hilarious, the other deeply moving. Great singing boys!

Primary Schools Music Tour

On Tuesday October 21, students visited three local primary schools—St Alipius, Siena Primary School, and St Thomas More Primary School—bringing with them a diverse and engaging concert program titled Music: Moods and Movement.

The program was designed to both entertain and educate, encouraging children to reflect on emotions, dance, and participate in other fun activities. From classical pieces to the heavy rock “banger” Seven Nation Army, the variety was impressive. A standout moment was the entire audience joining in a “Bunjil” Eagle dance to our rock band’s performance of Eagle Rock, led by Oliver Jackson’s excellent vocals.

Thank You to Our 2025 Music Captains

Alex Clark and Reuben Hackwill—take a bow! Your dedication, generosity, and warm, compassionate leadership have been hallmarks of our music program this year. Thank you for being outstanding role models, and best of luck with your end-of-year exams.

A special thank you also to Year 12 student Charlie Horne, whose contribution to the Senior Stage Band has been exceptional. We’re so grateful!

Wrapping Up 2025

There are just three more events left on the calendar for our music students this year. Two of these feature our younger players: the Rising Stars Concert Band will perform at the Victorian School Music Festival in November and again for our incoming Year 7 students on Orientation Day.

Our final community performance will be on Remembrance Day. Noah Vallance will once again sound the Last Post and Reveille, with the Symphonic Winds adding to the solemnity of the occasion.