The Arts

Exposure to the arts develops a child’s creative and critical thinking skills, important proficiencies that contribute to their learning in all other fields and also desirable traits for the future workforce. The arts can also encourage and help develop teamwork and collaboration, also critical skills for young minds to develop.

Soaring Upwards

The annual Soaring Upwards festival was a unique opportunity for our music and performing arts students to perform to the whole school community, including both primary and secondary students.

The festival gives students the opportunity to develop their performance skills and share those skills with their peers, live on stage to a big and appreciative audience. Students also benefit from the experience of working with a professional sound crew.

The rock bands stole the show last year, giving high energy performances that got the audience up and dancing, while Eva Matyear (’22) gave an impressive rap during Uptown Funk. Congratulations to all music and performing arts students for putting on a successful show.

Classics In The Cathedral

It was a wonderful evening of music at the 26th annual Classics in the Cathedral with more than 120 St Margaret’s musicians involved in orchestral, ensemble and vocal performances.

St John’s Cathedral was once again the spectacular backdrop for the event.

‘The students are always overcome with awe when they walk into the cathedral, with the setting providing a real sense of occasion. The acoustics within the cathedral are both exciting and challenging, but it always makes for a very memorable event,’ said Brad King, St Margaret’s Head of Performance.

The program included a mix of classical repertoire alongside more contemporary classical music, such as Oblivion, written by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla. It also featured a tribute to composer Stephen Sondheim who passed away not long before the event. The primary students sang Children Will Listen from Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

It is becoming a tradition that an Old Girl is invited to perform each year and the school was privileged to have Xanthe Lowe-Brown (’18) as the 2022 guest performer. Xanthe performed a classic acoustic guitar piece entitled Anji, written by Davey Graham but made famous by Bert Jansch.

All student performers combined for the evening’s finale performance of O Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, a dramatic piece well suited to the cathedral setting where the sound resonated for many seconds, even after the final notes were played.

The theme for the annual Arts Spectacular was ‘Sunshine Dreaming’, chosen for its connection to the Book Week theme ‘Dreaming with eyes open…’ and our Sunshine State.

Under the guidance of Primary Art

Teacher Kerry Rider, Year 6 students spent months researching, experimenting and creating in their weekly art classes to produce extravagant wearable art pieces which they brought to life on the stage through a combination of choregraphed dance and movement. The audience was transfixed by the elaborate headpieces devoted to Queensland icons including cockatoos, mozzies and flies, the Daintree and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as the Year 5s bin chicken sculptures hunting for scraps around the performance space.

Specific learning intentions were written into the curriculum giving students clear objectives when it comes to the project, one of which was to embellish their creations using everyday objects and recycled materials including cardboard, spoons, sponges, garbage bags and paper doilies. While they were given guidelines, including a colour palette, students individualised their piece based on how they embellished and adorned them. Many parents lent their assistance behind the scenes whether sewing costumes, fitting headpieces or, in Simon and Sharni Moody’s case, creating a giant sized ‘Big Pineapple’ to add to the evening’s creative display.

Mayo Arts Festival

It could not have been a more glorious winter’s day to host St Margaret’s spectacular biennial tradition – the MAYO Arts Festival.

The festival officially launched with a cocktail party providing guests with the first chance to view the three-dimensional work of more than 45 artists and hear from special guest, leading Australian artist Michael Zavros.

The next day, the school campus took on a festival atmosphere. Music students performed in concert bands and percussion ensembles, choirs, string ensembles and rock bands, while there were pop up performances throughout the grounds provided by saxophone, clarinet and flute ensembles and the Beath String Quartet.

The Boarder Island Dance Group performed traditional cultural dances while Years 9 and 10 drama students gave a showcase performance of ‘Wisdom’ in the drama room.

The exhibition continued in the Arts Centre Foyer while the Student Gallery on the ground floor of the Arts Centre displayed projects created by students in Years 7 to 10 in conjunction with artist in residence Glen Skien.

Tantalising smells from the gourmet food trucks wafted across Circular Drive, enticing visitors to sample delicious fare. Petrie Street was abuzz with amusement rides and excited squeals, and Eton Hall and Eton Courtyard were transformed into a shoppers’ haven, filled with the wares of artisan market stalls.

The MAYO Arts Festival brings together both the school and wider community to appreciate and celebrate the arts in its many forms while also giving students an opportunity to develop their artistic or performance skills and share those with a wider audience.

The festival was a resounding success. Thank you to the wonderful

Art Connecting Cultures

At first glance, a new sculpture gracing the Toorak Gardens could be thought to be just a clever – and rather lovely –representation of the universal rock paper scissors game. Created by contemporary Australian artist Michael Eather and featured at last year’s MAYO Arts Festival, the piece is a series of bronze, patina and steel ‘hand-casts’.

Upon closer inspection, these hands are, in fact, moving parts, inviting interactivity from passing students.

However, it’s only when we come closer still and read the sculpture’s accompanying didactic label that we learn the deeper meaning behind this piece – entitled ‘One, two, three’ – and how beautifully it relates to the St Margaret’s community.

Michael says: “At the base, the rock hand is of my middle daughter, Grace, representative of the First Nations through her mother Helen, a Kunnibidji traditional landowner from remote Arnhem Land.

‘In the centre, the paper hand is mine, a seventh generation Australian from my father James’ side. His ancestor, Thomas, arrived in Australia from England in 1790 aboard the Neptune in the tumultuous second fleet.

‘On top, the scissor hand is that of my wife, Danica, a second generation Australian born to Serbian parents (Dusan and Javrorka), representative of the extensive post-World War II migrant stories that have continued to build and diversify Australia.

‘Together this stack of (kinetic) forms acknowledges three symbolic chapters within our Australian national identity: The First Nations; British Coloniser; and Immigrant Wave. All have uniquely and collectively contributed to the Australian story… a story that is still being articulated; the game is still being played,’ Michael said. ‘One, two, three’ symbolises the story of diversity, aligning perfectly with our St Margaret’s diverse community. Its location, adjacent to the boarding house, is of particular significance given the wideranging cultural heritages of our boarding students. The sculpture also represents our school value of Inclusivity, a value which when enacted embraces diversity.

29 July Soaring Upwards Festival (Community)

1 August Soaring Upwards Festival (Students)

15 August Classics in the Cathedral

17 August Open Morning

19 August Netball Support Group Trivia Night

24 August Professional Women’s Network Breakfast #3

25 August Years 5 and 6 Primary Arts Spectacular

29 August Aspiring Young Women’s Breakfast

31 August Father’s Day Breakfast

2 September P&F Sandshoe Ball 10 October Speech Night

18 October Professional Women’s Network Breakfast #4

20 October Aspiring Young Women’s Breakfast