Arts Alive Choral Festival
The Arts Alive Choral Festival provides the opportunity for public schools to come together annually to showcase high-quality individual items and combined school choirs.
Students from Kindergarten to Year 12 are provided with an opportunity to develop and refine music and performance skills. In 2023, the Arts Alive Choral Festival is open to all public schools across NSW.
Opportunities are available for school groups of up to 30 students to participate in the combined primary choir and for soloists, duets, small groups and large ensembles to perform as individual items in one of four performances.
2023
Arts Alive Choral Festival - performance dates
- Pinaroo Concert –Monday 7 August 2023 (Term 3 Week 4) – Sydney Opera House
- Wyangan Concert - Monday 11 September 2023 (Term 3 Week 9) – Sydney Opera House
- On the day of the performance, groups in the combined primary choir will be expected to rehearse at the Sydney Opera House from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm and then return at 6:15 pm for a 7:00 pm performance.
Arts Alive Choral Festival - preliminary rehearsal information
- Schools participating in the Pinaroo Concert – Tuesday 25 July 2023 (Term 3 Week 2) – 9:30 am to 1:00 pm – Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park
- Schools participating in the Wyangan Concert – Wednesday 26 July 2023 (Term 3 Week 2) – 9:30 am to 1:00 pm – Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park
- Schools should attend the rehearsal for the concert in which they have been allocated.
How to apply
The Arts Alive Choral Festival invites school groups from NSW public schools to apply to be part of the combined choir for the event in 2023
Instrumental and vocal item and student compere applications for the 2023 Arts Alive Choral Festival are still open!
- Combined primary choir applications – applications have now closed
- Instrumental and vocal item applications – applications close Friday 16 June 2023 (Term 2 Week 8)
- Student compere applications – applications close Monday 22 May 2023 (Term 2 Week 5)
Combined Primary Choir
The 2023 repertoire will feature an array of diverse choral works for primary school choirs and is most suitable for students in Years 4 to 6.
As with the 2022 Arts Alive Choral Festival, a series of videos will be created to assist teachers in teaching the repertoire. These videos will be released in early Term 2 2023.
There is no audition necessary for schools to join the 2023 Arts Alive Choral Festival combined primary choir. Schools may apply for a group of up to 30 students to participate, and there will be an option on the online application form to indicate that you would like to bring more than 30 students if we have space available.
Please note, the number of students accepted from your school will be confirmed on acceptance into the concert. Due to capacity limitations in each venue, we may not be able to accept the full number of students each school applies to have involved. Schools will be notified of their final numbers accepted by Friday 5 May 2023 (Term 2 Week 2).
Participation Fee
- The student resource fee for each student participant is $40.00. As part of this, students will receive access to digital copies of the repertoire and teaching materials, and a concert t-shirt. In the event of a COVID-19 related withdrawal from the festival performance, schools will be refunded 50% of the participation fee paid.
- Payment will be made to the student's school and direct debited by The Arts Unit.
Instrumental and vocal items
In 2023 performance opportunities are available for outstanding instrumental and vocal items at the Festival of Instrumental Music, Arts Alive Choral Festival, Festival of Choral Music, Cantabile Music Festival and Primary Proms. These opportunities are open to all public school students and can include music ensembles of all sizes, large or small – including soloists and choirs. To find out more and to apply, visit the Instrumental and vocal items page. Applications to be considered for a performance at the Festival of Instrumental Music must be submitted by Monday 24 April 2023. Applications for a performance at all other festivals close on Friday 16 June 2023.
Student comperes
The Arts Alive Choral Festival is looking for 2 students to compere each performance of the 2023 festival. Comperes must currently be in Years 5 to 10 at a NSW public school. A different pair of students will be selected to host each performance.
To apply, students should complete the online application form by Monday 22 May 2023. Students will need to submit a video of themselves reading the following text:
Good evening and welcome to the Sydney Opera House for the NSW Department of Education’s Arts Alive Choral Festival for 2023. The festival has been developed to showcase the musical achievements of our primary and secondary school students, and will feature students and their teachers from public schools across NSW. The Arts Alive programs provide outstanding learning, performing, and exhibition opportunities for students in public schools from Kindergarten to Year 12. Teachers and students are supported in all art forms: music, dance, drama and visual arts. Training, opportunity, innovation and excellence are the hallmarks of the Arts Alive programs where students have opportunities to work alongside creative artists of the highest calibre.
Please ensure the text is read as if you are in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. Students should not look directly into the camera when presenting the text.
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