Musical Weekend

I spent the weekend volunteering at the Queensland Catholic Music Festival (or QCMF), which is a great event where catholic schools from all over Queensland – and they mean all over- come together for three days of amazing music at Villanova College in Coorparoo. Acts ranged from contemporary ensembles, jazz bands, choirs and symphony orchestras. The groups are awarded either a bronze, silver or gold certificate, but are not compared, rather they are judged by a panel of musical experts who have a preconceived idea of the standard which is asked by the certification. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the phenomenal talent displayed by young Queenslanders, as well as the community feel of the festival, where hundreds of volunteers helped to organise, feed and entertain the thousands who attended.  

The highlight, for me, was experiencing an amazing guitar ensemble that I have been following for a number of years. The ensemble, named Spatula, was made of a dozen high school seniors from two schools. Spatula (as pictured below) is conducted by the renowned Finnish musician and composer Paul Svoboda.

The level of commitment and talent possessed by these seventeen year olds was humbling. It really goes to show that this talk of generation Y being (as stated by Brian Patterson of the Sydney Morning Herald) “hip, smart-talking, brash and sometimes seeming to suffer from an overdose of self-esteem” as a massive generalisation. These students proved themselves to be dedicated, gifted and motivated, and are only a dozen of the thousands who participated in the festival. It was inspiring to see.

Also, the link to a performance by a Celtic Ensemble that caught my ear can be found below: another example of some great kids making great music... IN KILTS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuJg11EnLMI&feature=related