At the start of the 2020 school year, the St Peters Music program was on track for another incredible year. Fresh off the high from another successful international tour (Chorale’s 2019 Europe Tour), the St Peters Music department had a range of concerts and events planned. The 2020 Band Tour was a success, the students were eagerly preparing for upcoming performances and then…COVID-19 happened. As was the case for most planned events across the nation, Australia’s coronavirus lockdown caused the St Peters Music department’s plans to be cancelled. Even now, on the other side of lock-down, Music events cannot go ahead without the ability to host large gatherings…or so we thought.
No Audience, No Worries
Like other departments and teams at St Peters, the Music department refused to accept that new restrictions would mean Game Over for them. Without missing a beat, Music lessons were moved online. Zoom and a range of technologies were used to communicate with students, and key community events were still observed. On ANZAC Day, Music students and staff joined in the coordinated initiative to ‘Light Up the Dawn’. Each set up on their driveways and front yards to play the Last Post for their neighbours and the footage was featured across social media for the rest of the College community.
These efforts created a buzz at St Peters—the College is usually so spoilt for musical showcases throughout the year, that the absence of live school music definitely stood out. But that’s where the St Peters Music department reached Plus Ultra (Ever Higher). When faced with no audience, they said, “No worries.”
Over the past few months, the St Peters Strings and Band ensembles have produced a range of ‘At Home Performances’. To do so, students have filmed themselves playing their individual parts at home, before sending their files to Co-Director of Cocurricular Music, Mr David Deacon, to pull together. The quality of the video production, and the student talent featured in each video has been outstanding. Rave reviews have been received on the College’s social media accounts and the videos have been ‘Liked’, ‘Loved’, commented on and shared multiple times.
Wide-reaching Technology
Thanks to the wonder of technology, the reach of the St Peters Music program has not been curbed by COVID-19 restrictions. While not face-to-face, the musical talents of our students has been enjoyed by the wider community—the videos added a brightness to the lock-down period and made everyone feel connected, even while in their own homes. If you’ve missed them, the first of the St Peters Music ‘At Home Performances’ can be viewed below. The others can be accessed via the 'Music' Playlist on our MyStPeters Youtube channel. To read more about Music at St Peters, click here.