Musicians put on a show for GC tour

The sounds of music resounded throughout the Gold Coast as 600 students and their teachers from across Australia and New Zealand descended on the city for the 2019 ASPIRE International Youth Music Festival.

The ice breaker event hosted at Gold Coast Youth Orchestra, set the festival off with a bang! The event opened with a traditional Australian Aboriginal custodial ceremony, before participants had the opportunity to meet fellow musicians, enjoy a meal from a food truck of their choice and play some trivia. 

The three days that followed featured stand-out adjudicated performances from top schools across New Zealand and Australia in The Star Gold Coast theatre.

The St Paul's Big Band, Choir, and Concert Band competed against 11 other schools during the nine-day tour. The Big Band also had the opportunity to perform at Queensland's largest shopping complex, Pacific Fair.

The St Paul's Choir placed third, as did the Concert Band, and although the Big Band didn’t place, they performed extremely well against schools who have music academies that students join from very young ages. 

The team rounded out the tour by performing a stirring haka at the festival's final event, a gala dinner.