The Marie Madeleine Hall at FCJ College came alive with singing, dancing and music on Thursday, June 13.
The house was full as the 2024 Let’s Find Our Voice concert hit the stage at 7pm, celebrating the college’s connection to the community.
What had started out as a partnership with Cooinda aged care has grown over the years to become a true community concert with smiling faces as far as the eye could see.
The driving force behind the annual concert is FCJ College’s Cath Burton who couldn’t contain her delight at how the shows went.
“I was thrilled with it. I think everyone enjoyed it,” Ms Burton said.
“We had students reading memoirs that they had written. We had a string quartet. We had students doing solos, and I felt that everyone gave it their best shot.
“A lot of the community members were really appreciative of working with young people and vice-versa.
“We were extremely pleased with the short film, by Christine Knight.
“It really captured the spirit of the project.”
Principal Shaun Mason said it was remarkable.
“What I loved seeing was the smiles on the faces of the audiences all night long, they were just smiling,” Mr Mason said.
“This isn't just a wellbeing program for the people that are involved in the concert. It's a wellbeing program for everyone who comes and sees it and experiences it, because you can't leave a concert like that without a smile on your face. It was amazing.”
Mr Mason said the audience was singing along virtually straight away.
“Adam Toms, the band leader, got that started really early on with a Neil Diamond medley, and got everyone joining in at the start. That made everyone join in all night long.”
He said he was proud of the young students who had solo performances in the concert.
“Our theme this year is courage and confidence across the college,” he said.
“I reflected on that at our assembly today about how much courage it takes to actually stand up and sing in front of a group of strangers.
“They were outstanding and brave, but with a smile they got through it all beautifully.”
Students, and performers, Mabel Tilton, Lily Ramsay and Ethan Rush said they loved the experience.
“It was nice meeting all the people,” Mabel said.
Lily said she liked how the concert involved the whole community.
The students had performed the concert for local primary students before the 7pm show, and Ethan said that helped alleviate some nerves.