From the Principal

Be here. Be you. Belong.  Brene Brown

Congratulations to all the award recipients who were recognised at the Primary and Secondary School assemblies. 

It is so wonderful that we had the opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding academic achievements of such a large group. I am, however, incredibly proud of the efforts of all students, as I know that each of you has achieved personal bests and individual goals in your academic endeavours throughout Semester One. I also know that all students are currently reflecting on their achievements from Semester One as they look toward the remainder of the year.  

A key aspect of this reflection is thinking about the personal ingredients which help you achieve a successful outcome. As College Captains Alice and Mia mentioned at the Secondary Assembly, you need to be intentional about the way you discover these elements and that we are all unique in what works for us. It can also be a combination of elements that may vary depending on the subject matter, task, and even how we are feeling.  

For me, no matter what the situation, I find that music provides an important component in either getting me in the right mindset to approach academic tasks or as a method of providing the opportunity to relax and unwind. This can either take the form of music making or music appreciation.   

Throughout the week, all students had the opportunity to engage with a genre of music that would be less familiar to many. All students at the College had the chance to see the Opera Queensland performance of either La Boheme or The Frog Prince. These performances have been cleverly adapted to make them age-appropriate as a way of introducing students to the genre of Opera. Opera Queensland will also be returning later in the term to work with a variety of students and ensembles. This is such a wonderful opportunity for all students to develop an appreciation for this genre, and I thank Angela Lockyer and Karen Gordon for organising this opportunity along with Pheobe Rouse from Opera Queensland.    

Learning to appreciate music and, indeed, the creative arts is such a wonderful way to foster and develop an open mindset. Appreciation of music in all its forms assists the development of self-confidence in communicating honesty, affords the opportunity to share your most authentic self, facilitates your capacity to demonstrate empathy and compassion, and contributes to a useful lifelong skill.  

We are incredibly fortunate at Clayfield to have an amazing team of music staff who create an environment that enables all students to experience the joy of music making and foster the lifelong skill of music appreciation. Whilst many of our community will know each of these staff as a classroom teacher, peripatetic teacher, or ensemble director, what you may not know is that they are each world-class musicians who are incredibly talented educators and performers passionate about sharing their love of music. I share with you below a snapshot of some of our amazing music team.

Karen Gordon

Director of Co-curricular Music / Coordinator of Strings

Karen completed a Bachelor of Music (Honours) and Master of Music degree, specialising in Viola studies, during which she was awarded a Scholarship to receive lessons at the Royal College of Music in London. Karen has enjoyed an extensive career as a freelance musician, performing in her early years with the National Academy of Music and Australian Youth Orchestra, to the more recent years in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Australian Session Orchestra and the Queensland Pops Orchestra. She has performed in many QPAC productions including The Lion King, Les Misérables, Sound of Music, The King and I, and Chess the Musical. Karen has held instrumental teaching positions since 2001 at Moreton Bay College, Brisbane Grammar and Somerville House. She is passionate about the importance of Music Education and the many benefits it provides to students. 

Angela Lockyer

Head of Creative Arts and Languages

Angela Lockyer completed her Bachelor of Music in classical voice with Margret Schindler and Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary teaching) and since this time has been teaching curriculum music and working with choirs for over 20 years in both State and Independent schools. As well as her teaching and conducting role at Clayfield College she has been a regular conductor and sectional leader for the Australian National Choral Association workshops and has also conducted and directed choirs for the Mt Gravatt District Advanced Primary school music camps. She was also selected to accompany the Brisbane City Voices, a choir that was formed from students all over Brisbane, to Osaka Japan for the International Choral Festival. Angela was the Panel Chair for the Music Extension Brisbane Central for over 10 years and continues to work as an endorser and confirmer in the ATAR Senior system. She has also been a council member for the Australian Society of Music Education and a committee member on KMEIA.

Her love of singing and performing allowed her to engage in many and varied roles throughout her career including a soloist and chorister in the Brisbane Chamber Choir and a singer in the award-winning chamber choir Sola Voce who travelled throughout Europe and Australia on a regular basis. Angela has worked as a part-time lecturer at Griffith University - Mt Gravatt in Music Education and conducted the Mt Gravatt chorus consisting of 3rd and 4th year education students.

Angela is passionate about bringing a quality music education to all students and allowing them to experience the joy of music making together.

Tim Opstelten

Coordinator of Bands and Activities Pre-Prep to Year 12

Tim studied a Bachelor of Music on trumpet and following this worked at several schools including Moreton Bay College and Brisbane Boys’ College. Tim commenced at Clayfield College in 2015 as Coordinator of Bands. Since then, he has established a thriving brass, woodwind and percussion program and is also currently Henderson House Leader. Tim also assists with audio visual requirements at special events and assemblies and has a strong passion in this field, participating in numerous professional development sessions on recording, mixing and mastering student compositions in a  studio and live environment. Outside of Clayfield Tim plays trumpet in two community ensembles, The Queensland Wind Orchestra and the Brisbane City Big Band.