Director of Music P-12

Music at Santa Sabina

As we approach the end of Term 1, we celebrate the extraordinary collaborations and accomplishments of our Santa Sabina students across the year so far, and commend all our young musicians for their application and hard work in pursuit of their musical goals, and in service of others.

Please read on to hear about all the happenings of the past few weeks in Music at Santa, and save the date for the events, concerts and learning opportunities still to come.

Wishing our whole community a soul-nourishing Easter and Term 1 break.

Amy Richardson
Director of Music P-12

Australian Composers Day 2025

This coming Monday 7 April, Santa Sabina is set to play host to students from all over NSW for our acclaimed annual Australian Composers Day for 2025! Looking to be our most highly attended day ever, we look forward to welcoming JESSICA WELLS, HEATHER SHANNON and PAUL STANHOPE as our mentors for the day. All Elective Music students are automatically enrolled to attend this incursion, however expressions of interest are also receivable from Year 7-12 students in advanced co-curricular ensembles. If not in Elective Music, please register to join the event with the Music Office or via music@ssc.nsw.edu.au.

Santa Sabina students in Years 7-12 can attend Australian Composers Day FREE of charge, and can confirm their attendance through the Parent lounge. More information can be found in the Australian Composers Day Flyer HERE.

Gala Concert 2025 – Save the Date!

On Tuesday 24 June 2025 commencing at 6:00pm, our annual Gala Concert will take place on the Sydney Town Hall stage, featuring all co-curricular ensembles; our curricular strings, our Year 4-7 curricular choirs and a host of special guests as we raise the roof in another memorable concert (as only Santa does!). Fitting with the Year of Jubilee theme, this year’s concert program is set to stir and inspire as we take our place in the world, seeking to be Voices of Hope.

Open Recital Series

The first of our Open Recital Series for 2025 took place on Friday 14 March in Holyrood Adams, and we were treated to a range of performances from Piano, Vocal and Violin solos to the Chinese Pipa and a Music Theatre Ensemble!

With such a surge in growth in our program, we aim to facilitate more of these informal recitals across the year. We look forward to hearing more students from our Private Tuition program this coming Friday 4 April as they present their work for families and friends.

There is still opportunity for students to sign up to our recitals next term to be held on Friday 9 May and Friday 30 May. Please speak to your tutor if you would like to take advantage of this wonderful learning opportunity.

Italy Tour – rehearsals starting!

On Wednesday 2 April we held our first official Italy Tour Music preparation meeting – gathering all participants and discussing the plan for the development of our performances in the term to come. We are delighted to welcome a few late joiners! Rehearsals commence next term, so there is still the smallest window for you to jump on board if you’re feeling FOMO!

Music industry offerings – new Thursday class!

Music Production & Studio Engineering classes are launching as a pilot program every Thursday from 3:30-4:30pm. This free co-curricular offering is available to students in Years 7-12, with registration available via

Director’s Honour Roll

Congratulations to Abigail Yang and Estelle Gilmovich who were conferred their Associate Diploma of Music for Viola (2 of only 11 Viola Diplomas awarded for the whole NSW/ACT region!) at a prestigious graduation ceremony held at UNSW this month.

Riha Han in Year 5 has been invited to perform in New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall in July after coming 2nd in the soloist category of the NY Classical Debut Awards and 3rd in the Gold International Classical Music Competition. We congratulate Riha on this extraordinary achievement!

As part of a SYO Masterclass, Celine Choi in Year 10, had the extraordinary opportunity to perform for and receive feedback from the Concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Yamen Saadi. A truly invaluable experience for a talented young musician! (image in folder)

Aiden Curran (Year 6) and Natalie Sun (Year 4), members of the extension group Cadenza Strings formed after the 2024 TMO Junior String Camp, were awarded First Prize with Honours at the International Youth Music Competition. The competition drew entries from musical groups from Australia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, so an incredible achievement! Congratulations to these superstar young musicians!

We congratulate the following students who completed their AMEB examinations:

Esther Chiew – 2nd Grade Violin – Pass with Credit
Estelle Gilmovich – 8th Grade Piano – Pass with Honours
Chelsey Fa – 8th Grade Violin – Pass with Honours
Grace Welsh – 1st Grade Violin – Pass with Honours
Natalie Sun – 6th Grade Violin – Pass with Distinction
Natalie Sun – 2nd Grade Musicianship – Pass with Honours

Consort 8 Concert – free tickets!

As part of our enduring relationship with early music ensemble Consort 8, Santa Sabina College community members are offered free tickets to attend beautiful concerts in the Santa Sabina chapel whenever they occur. Featuring our former Director of Music Mr Tim Chung and colleagues, all are invited to attend their Lent and Passiontide themed concert, Voces Angelorum on Saturday 12 April 2025, commencing at 6:00pm.

Join a Music activity?

Innumerable Music opportunities are available to Santa Sabina students from P-12. You can register for an Ensemble or Private Tuition via the Co-curricular Button on the College App or directly via this link: Register for Music Opportunities

Please reach out to our Music Office if we can assist you further.

Amy Richardson
Director of Music P-12

music@ssc.nsw.edu.au