Director of Music

Discovery Tour performances; HSC Practical Trials and Composition & Recordings; the annual Chamber Recital; Year 9 Recital; Assemblies and two Father’s Day Masses… The past few weeks have been their usual hive of activity for our Santa musicians across the College!

While our Year 12 students begin counting in weeks until the end of their schooling journey, these students remain impressively enthusiastic and engaged in all their co-curricular music ensembles – rehearsing and collaborating with their younger peers, and determined to leave a legacy behind for the next cohort to build upon.

Interestingly, the statistics do seem to indicate that those Year 12 students who keep up these pursuits to the very end of their schooling journey seem to consistently perform better in their studies than their less ‘busy’ counterparts! Perhaps it’s the aspect of social connectivity, or the healthy life balance that these commitments ensure, but this phenomenon has always been an interesting one to observe.

Regarding the passing of proverbial batons, it was pleasing at the Chamber Recital on Tuesday evening to see the transition to new leadership begin as Lucia Juarez was succeeded by incoming Arts Prefect for 2025, Lily Vincent, who offered her first official duty in welcoming our concert attendees.  

I would like to take this moment to thank Lucia for her service and example in 2024 (and across her whole school journey!) and to congratulate Lily for her appointment. I would also like to commend all of the worthy Year 11 applicants who applied for the role of Arts Prefect for 2025. These students are invariably already demonstrating exceptional leadership in our programs, and we are looking forward to seeing the extraordinary mark the Class of 2025 will make through their music and leadership in the year to come.

Chamber Recital

Thank you to the wonderful attendance who joined us for our Chamber Recital on Tuesday evening. From the opening performance of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis for two orchestras – one in the balcony of the Chapel in conversation with the one in the heart of the Chapel, our students dazzled with both their musical maturity and their superlative musicianship. From student-led chamber ensembles to Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Choir, an ambitious program of new Australian and international works was presented. A programming masterstroke from our Head of Strings 5-12 Victoria Jacono, was this year’s innovative inclusion of Violin Quartets, a Viola Quintet and even a Cello Octet (with a featured Double Bass) – in place of the traditional string quartet. We commend all our students for their excellence – in both attitude and skill – and thank our wonderful Music staff for their investment here.

Santa Sabina Recital Series

Open Studio Recitals

Continuing in our Recital Series for the semester, this Friday 30 August in the Adams room of Holyrood, an Open Studio Recital will feature learners from Prep to Year 12 from within our Private Tuition stream at Santa Sabina College. All members of our community are welcome to attend!

Curriculum Recitals

The Year 9 class is a huge cohort in 2024 – and this talented class presented their learnings last Friday afternoon for family and friends. I commend Mr Choe for his work with this group of students to support so many students to be ready for performance to such a high standard. 

On Friday 6 September, Years 11 & 12 will also be presenting recitals for the community as part of their final HSC preparation this term. Year 12 IB & HSC students will also be showcasing their compositions and other projects on Thursday 12 September. We welcome you to come along to support these students.

Sinfonietta & Gioia House Strings Open Rehearsal

There is no doubt that our Santa Sabina Strings programs have been experiencing tremendous growth in the last year. For Year 6 Gioia House Strings students approaching the end of their curriculum String learning journey, if they have yet to do so, now is a perfect time to consider joining the Sinfonietta Strings to continue realising their potential in this domain. We look forward to showcasing our learning with parents and friends on 23 September in our annual BREAKFAST CONCERT, with a featured performance also from our Chamber Orchestra, as we showcase Santa’s full successive program and the growth opportunities for our beginner and intermediate string players.

Existing participants will be receiving an email early next week with key information about two exciting performances that are proposed before the year is out. It’s not too late to add your expression of interest to join the fun!  Start clearing out your Monday evenings, and get ready for this wonderful, low pressure way to spend some time together as a community – with a remarkable outcome and experience on the other side. All experience (or inexperience!) levels welcome… 

Ignore the hesitation, and just jump in! We can’t wait to sing with you! 

Register for Music opportunities at Santa Sabina

The start of semester is the perfect chance to consider what skills and experiences might still be waiting for you as part of your holistic schooling journey! In addition to signing up to be part of our ensembles (choirs, bands and orchestras), you can now register via the College App or by using the link below for lessons in any of the following instruments:

Piano, Harpsichord, Harp, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Voice, Flute, Recorder, Zheng, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, French Horn, Orchestral Percussion, Drum Kit, Guitar, Bass Guitar and individual or group tuition in Composition or Musicianship!

This week, we welcome internationally respected Saxophonist and Educator, Dr Peter Leung to our Santa Sabina specialist team. There has never been a better time to sign up for Saxophone lessons (or any of our other great offerings for that matter)! Register with the link below.

Find out more!

If you would like to know more about one of our music offerings across the school (be it choirs, bands, orchestras or private tuition) please reach out via music@ssc.nsw.edu.au or to Ms Suzanna Touma in the Music Office at s.touma@ssc.nsw.edu.au and we will be happy to assist you.

To find out more about what’s happening in Curriculum Music at Santa Sabina, be sure to check out the Curriculum Music pages under each of our campus headers.

Wishing a lovely few weeks until our next VV post.

Amy Richardson
Director of Music P-12