Junior School Concerts Through the Years

September of even-numbered years heralds the Junior School Concert. As this newsletter is published in the same week as the concert, it seemed to be a very suitable topic.

Performances were part of the culture even in the very first year but, prior to 2001, there was not the established pattern that we have now. The now familiar rhythm of a Lower Junior School Nativity performance every year, a Junior School Concert in even years and a Secondary Musical in odd years is firmly established.

One of the variations along the way was a combination of an Open Night and a Primary Concert together so one of the featured years in this newsletter (1992) showcases this approach.

The photos from 1992 will be of special interest to many of the earlier alumni while the 2014 and 2016 concert photos will be special for those currently enrolled, including this year’s graduates.

The management and organisation of the performances has had to be adapted through the years.

When the school was very small, everyone could be seated in the auditorium. However, iIt has been a very long time since the students and parents of the whole Primary/Junior School could fit into the auditorium at one time. In the past, when the church auditorium had the balcony, the students were divided by year levels to be able to watch the concert.

For each concert performance, some students would sit in the balcony as part of the audience. They would come up to the auditorium with their class group and sit together in reserved sections from where their teachers would direct them on to the stage when it was their time to perform. Alternative year levels would stay in classrooms and only come up to the church for their performance. This allowed all children the opportunity of watching one full concert performance.

To accommodate everyone, the students in Years 1,3,5 would be in the balcony on Wednesday night, the 2,4,6 students on Thursday night and the Preps on Friday morning for the Grandparents’ Matinee.

The students who were not in the auditorium would be in the classrooms and would be taken up to the auditorium as a class. It has always an amazing feat, and a tribute to the staff, that everyone was ready to go on stage at the right time. When you add the additional non-class items, such as choirs and instrumental groups, it adds even more complexity to the timing.

The parents could select a night to attend when their children (or most of them) were in the auditorium, to allow for easier pick-up at the end of the night.

As with many other things in life, 2020 brought a change to the concert arrangements.

During that first Covid year, when crowds were forbidden, the concert went digital and, in 2022, the new arrangement began with all students staying in their classrooms. (They now have the opportunity to watch the entire concert at a full rehearsal.) Having close to 600 students in classrooms, with some in more than one item, makes the feat of being on stage at the correct time even more remarkable.