Although it feels in many ways like the year has just begun, our time as a community for 2020 is coming to an end. This term we have grappled with ever changing guidelines which required us to reimagine programs on a weekly basis and dealt with the technological challenges inherent in running so many programs online.
I am enormously proud of the way our community has responded to these challenges. This term, we have been delighted to share online recitals and concerts, run online auditions, present alternatives to both Senior School Speech Night and Middle School Presentation Night as well as many other events, all of which were intended to bring our community together and celebrate the work of our students in this most extraordinary year.
The transformative power of the Performing Arts is achieved through shared experiences, and in this regard, nothing is more powerful than a live performance. This in no way diminishes the astonishing efforts of staff and students this year, but the reality is that music and theatre are disciplines that are meant to be experienced in real life. We look forward the rediscovery of that which has been so sorely missed this year, and I would like to highlight two significant concerts next year which sit alongside our usual schedule of performances and productions.
In early 2020, Carey commissioned Melbourne composer Ed Fairlie to write a new work for wind band and chamber choir. This was to be premiered at the Whole School Concert on 8 September, along with a superb visual art piece to be presented with live music, poetry and electronic soundscapes. We hope to present these works in March next year with our senior ensembles, and to extend an invitation to all musicians from the Class of 2020 to join us on stage, finish well and create a lasting memory of their time in the music program at Carey.
On 10 June next year, will we hold our first Combined Junior School Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre. If 2021 is a rebuilding year for the arts in our society, then no group of performing artists is more significant than those in their formative years. This concert will celebrate students at the beginning of their journey in the Performing Arts at Carey in a wonderful showcase of talent and possibility.
As the year draws to a close, so does my time at this extraordinary school. I wish Sally Davis and Daniel Neal the very best as they take on leadership of the Performing Arts and would like to express my profound gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful community.
Nick Mulder
Head of Performing Arts
