Arts Fest
ARTS FEST 2023
What a whirlwind this week of Arts Fest has been!
During Term 2, many primary and secondary school students, under the leadership of their Drama and Music teachers, practised different poetry, choral and musical items in preparation for the events and performances that culminated this week at Arts Fest.
Multiple Arts Fest events took place this week at 3 different locations, the Empire Theatre, St Patrick’s Cathedral and the Callaghan Centre at St Saviour’s College, involving schools from Toowoomba, surrounding areas and as far as Chinchilla, Roma, Charleville and Quilpie.
St Saviour’s Primary School students participated and featured in the following activities:
Verse Speaking & Collaborative Drama
On Tuesday some of our students were involved in the Arts Fest Collaborative Drama workshop with primary students from various other schools. They worked with Mrs Carmel Treasure to create a performance piece called ‘Harriet and the Promised Land’, the finale at the Tuesday afternoon Verse Speaking Concert at the Empire Theatre.
Another highlight of this concert was our fabulous SSPS Verse Speaking Choir, presenting a lively and engaging interpretation of “Hist!”, a classic poem by CJ Dennis. Their confident, polished performance was a credit to them and the artistic direction of our talented and much-loved drama teacher, Mrs Anita McVeigh.
Musical Theatre
On Tuesday and Wednesday, our Music Theatre ensembles (comprising of singers and dancers from Years 5 and 6) attended rehearsals with 170 primary school students involved in a production of ‘The Little Mermaid’ medley. During the lead up to Arts Fest, our students have been lucky enough to work with special guest choreographer, our very own Miss Madelyn Robinson, in learning the dances for this performance. In addition, there were lyrics and harmonies for our singers to learn!
The Little Mermaid medley was the final performance in Act I at the Belief in the Arts Concert at the Empire Theatre on Wednesday evening. It was a fantastic performance, full of energy, colour and movement. It was wonderful to see many familiar faces of family, friends and staff enjoying the show. It made all the hours of lunchtime rehearsals and home practice worthwhile!
It was incredible to watch this performance come together, under the capable direction of local Musical Theatre extraordinaire, Mrs Vicki Bravery, and the ever-encouraging, patient Miss Robinson.
Congratulations to all our students involved in this production: Alexis Allen, Emily Carrigan, Zoe Giles, Estelle Harlen, Annabelle Horne, Akshara Manojkumar, Alessandra Ocampo, Eve Phillips, Emily Ray, Gorgi Saad, Lacey Sanders, Alistair Scotts and Kacey White. Special mention goes to Alessandra Ocampo, Year 5, who was successful in her audition and featured in a leading role as one of the mersisters.
Another highlight of this concert was the outstanding and highly entertaining duo of Alexis Allen and Estelle Harlen, who performed their prize-winning Eisteddfod performance of the poem ‘Nits’. It was incredible to see these two girls in character on stage, capturing the attention of an audience of 800+. Their clever characterisation and comedic rendition of this poem is a tribute to their dedication and teamwork in rehearsing, as well as another example of Mrs McVeigh’s creative genius!
Improvisation
Whilst the Music Theatre students prepared for the evening concert, another group of students were fortunate enough to attend a full-day improvisation workshop that culminated in performances improvised by students in their school-specific teams. Two teams were selected to represent St Saviour’s Primary School at this workshop. Students auditioned in Drama lessons this term, then worked together at lunchtimes to hone their craft with Mrs McVeigh.
The improvisation workshop was led by our very own Mrs McVeigh and local guest drama teacher Mrs Dani Cripps. Claudia Shoebridge, one of our Year 6 students who participated in various Arts Fest events, said that the Improvisation workshop was an Arts Fest favourite for her:
“For the first half an hour we played fun drama games and warmed-up with interactive activities, such as ‘Fill in the empty space’ and ‘Pick your character’. In our groups we did two separate improvisations. I loved all the unique ideas that people came up with. Dani helped us grow in confidence and skills. Mrs McVeigh was a big help.”
Sacred Choral Concert
The Sacred Choral Concert at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Thursday morning was the final fabulous performance for Arts Fest.
The primary school students were fortunate enough to work with accomplished and nationally renowned choral conductors, Mrs Tess Laird and Dr James Cuskelly, as well as St Mary’s Music teacher, conductor and vocal tutor, Mrs Cherie Runcimann, who coordinated this concert.
We thoroughly enjoyed learning and performing the choral music for this concert. Our students joined the first group to perform, singing the Alleuia canon, ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ and ‘I Sing Because I’m Happy’ (repertoire chosen and conducted by guest conductor, Mrs Tess Laird).
A highlight of this concert was an exquisite solo by St Saviour’s student, Alessandra Ocampo, singing a beautiful song of dedication, ‘I Offer My Life’. Many of the audience were moved to tears by this sensitive and sincere interpretation of the song.
What a thrill and privilege it was for us to join the massed choir of 480 primary and secondary students, who somehow managed to fit into St Patrick’s Cathedral, at the conclusion of the concert. Conducted by Mrs Cherie Runcimann, hundreds of voices filled the atmosphere with a joyful rendition of ‘Sing Alleluia, Clap Your Hands’.
Student Quotes & Arts Fest Highlights
Here are some other comments and reflections from students:
Alexis Allen, who participated in various events, commented after ‘The Little Mermaid’ performance:
"I was feeling very nervous and excited at the same time, but it was a great experience to join in with other kids from lots of different schools."
Alessandra OCampo:
“The Art Fest was a wonderful experience. Having a chance to make new friends from different Catholic schools all over Toowoomba was amazing. Having a chance to showcase our talent in front of a huge crowd was overwhelming.”
Alistair Scotts:
“While I was doing musical theatre, I made a lot of new friends and I have had a lot of new experiences that I’ve never had before. I appreciate having the opportunity to perform on stage.”
Georgina Sullivan, reflected on the Sacred Choral concert:
“These events required hours of practice and dedication of the children directed by our Music teacher and conductor, Mrs Stewart.”
Piper Sullivan, one of our youngest choristers, said,
“I loved singing and had a great time!”
Some of our students were very excited to be interviewed for newspaper and television on Thursday morning. Keep an eye out for Arts Fest articles in The Chronicle and on local WIN news.
We hope to showcase some of these performance items for our school community in Term 3.
A Note of Thanks
Thanks to all the St Saviour’s staff and parents who have supported Arts Fest and worked as a team to enable our students to benefit from the opportunities on offer.
We are especially grateful to God for the gift of creativity and the joy of music, art, dance and drama.
In addition, we are deeply grateful to Mrs Anne-Maree Spalding from the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office who was responsible for planning, organising and coordinating this inaugural Arts Fest for Toowoomba Catholic Schools. Mrs Spalding is well known to the St Saviour’s Primary School community as a past-Music teacher here. For over six months, she has worked tirelessly, solving many logistical challenges to envision and bring this spectacular event to life. We truly appreciate the way she has included our school in this experience. It has certainly been an exciting, memorable and worthwhile opportunity for our students, staff and wider community.
Zoe Giles:
“Thanks everyone involved that put Arts Fest together because I had so much fun. I have loved the opportunity to have a go at everything like singing, dancing and drama. I had fun meeting new people from different schools from these events. I loved how we got to practise to see how it was going to go and try different things we mightn’t have done before.
I loved the wonderful dances Miss Robinson taught us. She has been a great teacher. We will miss you Miss Robinson but we hope you have fun with the next school you are going to. Also thank you Mrs McVeigh and Mrs Stewart for all that you have taught us.”
