Ellenbrook Secondary College is proud to announce that students from our Specialist Music Program have placed second in the choir division of the ASPIRE International Youth Festival.
Held across three days from 17-20 July 2019 at The Star Theatre (Gold Coast), entry to the choir division of ASPIRE was by audition only and just five schools were chosen to compete. Overall, 11 schools participated in the entire competition with Ellenbrook Secondary College being the sole government school involved and the only one representing Western Australia.
In addition to competing and performing during the festival, our students also attended a number of music workshops and were given the honour of closing the final gala event.
Students debuted Nintirritjaku Nganampa Ngurraku (composed by Ashlee Clapp) at the gala and it was extremely well received. The piece involves seven Aboriginal Languages and was written in conjunction with the children and families from the Communities of Kintore, Watiyawanu, Ampilatwatja, Jilkminggan, Areyonga, Wilora and Yorta Yorta professor, Lou Bennet.
With the recent celebration of NAIDOC Week and 2019 being the International Year of Indigenous Language, Ellenbrook Secondary College is delighted to play a role in promoting indigenous language within Australia and to the world.
The song will next be performed at our College on Wednesday, 31 July 2019 to all staff and students at a NAIDOC Assembly.
Four staff members accompanied 35 students across Years 7-12 to Queensland – Director of Music Mr. Stuart Rhine-Davis, Tour Coordinator Ms. Felice Morris, Mr. Warren Bracken and Ms. Luan Cryne. In addition to the competition the group took part in some fun activities including a visit to Movie World, Australia Zoo and more.
Our participation in the prestigious ASPIRE International Youth Festival was made possible by parent funding, paired with support from the City of Swan, Ellenbrook Lions Club and the Ellenbrook Secondary College P&C.
The choir adjudicators at ASPIRE for 2019 were David Lawrence, Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestraโs Community Choir and Senior Youth Choir and Dan Walker, Artistic Director of Choristry.