With thanks to Deputy Principal, Mrs Judith Dobson

‘Let the music play’ was a line from the opening song, ‘Sing It’ at the first performance of the Girls’ School Musical Soiree season. With a huge enthusiasm, 200 students from Year 0-8 gathered on the stage to open the biennial music festival with this toe tapping piece; setting the scene for a night of great music!

Following the whole school opening number, the orchestra played three magical show tunes: ‘When you wish upon a star’ from Pinocchio, the lyrical show piece ‘Music of the Night’ from Phantom of the Opera, and then wrapped up their section with ‘Raindrops keep falling’ from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Actions, movement, stamp, clap and sing were all incorporated into Year 0-2s special song ‘Lean forward, lean back’ after which the Year 4 instrumentalists demonstrated their skills on the violin, recorder and percussion. For the first time ever, we were treated to a world premiere at Saint Kentigern Girls’ School! Year 4 student, Endrica Dhani presented and conducted her own composition entitled ‘Endrica’s Piece’ for recorders and percussion. Well done!

Rhythm and movement were to the fore as Year 5 swung and danced in time to the Latin American music of Cuba, after which there followed by an intricate and nimble routine using ribbons, hoops and balls. Both items thoroughly tested the dance skills and athleticism of all these students.

Three part singing and the combination of two songs about flies showed that Year 3 could multi task as they slapped their hands, sung their parts and then cleverly combined the music of two songs to produce a new two part rendition of the songs ‘Shoo Fly’ and ‘Get that Fly.’

Year 6 presented a haunting rap; full of atmosphere and menace which built to a crescendo of ‘We are not alone.’ But who was there? ‘Spiders gathered beneath your bed, shadows lengthen round your wall, wallpaper full of eyes’ were some of the frightening images which made up this moody piece!

Two separate choral groups entertained the audience with a wide variety of music. The Performers Choir executed their two pieces ‘A Joyful Song’ and ‘Daughter of the Water’; sung a capella, which clearly demonstrated why they were a silver medal choir at the Kids Sing this year. The One Voice Singers are a group of singing students who love to sing and entertain at school. Singing songs that are a little different and at times challenging is just the test they enjoy. Adding a dance routine enhanced the performance of ‘Walking in the Air’; one of two songs they presented, and Anastasia Mulcahy provided a beautiful interpretation in dance. The singers other piece was a Liberian folk song entitled ‘Banuwa’ which also featured traditional African sounds in percussion.

Proving that oldies are still goodies, the Year 7 & 8 class orchestras rocked into ‘Little Brown Jug’ and ‘Mango Walk’ finishing with the one of the irresistible greats, ‘Rock Around the Clock’. Toes tapped and hands clapped as the audience showed their love for the golden oldies!

Being mindful of what Saint Kentigern stands for in love and service, it was fitting to conclude the Soiree with the whole school joining together to sing the lyrics of Michael Jackson’s song ‘Heal the World.’ Making the world a better place through love, service and song is so intrinsically bound into the Saint Kentigern Way and the joy of the performance was evident to all in the audience! What a great opening night!

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