A few weekends ago, I had the pleasure of being part of the Queensland Catholic Schools & Colleges Music Festival, or QCMF. This large event is an exciting chance for a number of secondary institutions to come together and perform, and receive extensive feedback to take back to the rehearsal space and build upon.
In my role as choral director at Ambrose Treacy College, I was conducting my two ensembles in two sections – one for choirs (larger groups) and the other for vocal ensembles (smaller, auditioned groups). I was super proud of their efforts across Festival, achieving both a Silver and Gold Award! We received constructive feedback from the adjudicators, which I’m excited to bring back to rehearsals and deconstruct.
I was privileged to be invited to adjudicate a number of sections across the Festival, from Prep to Grade 4 choirs to secondary school groups. It was such a pleasure to see so many conductors selecting appropriate and engaging repertoire, and facilitating opportunities for young people to be experiencing choral music!
Thank you to Mt Maria College, Mitchelton, for selecting a piece for which I contributed lyrics – ‘Fields of Allonville‘, with music by Joe Twist! What a pleasant surprise!
Joshua Clifford 
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