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The Catholic Schools Music Festival (CSMF) has wrapped for another year.

Running from September 20 to 23 in 2021, the annual festival brings together approximately 1400 students from Catholic schools across South Australia to showcase their vast musical gifts.

Held across four nights, each performance comprises a carefully crafted medley of talented youth.

A 400-voice choir of students in Years 5 to 7 from approximately 65 Catholic primary schools are accompanied by a Secondary Girls Vocal Ensemble and a Secondary Boys Vocal Ensemble providing a rich baritone element.

The arrangements of the choral songs involve soloists chosen by audition and are complemented by selected secondary students in both the Festival String Ensemble and Festival Rhythm Section.

Throughout the evening, their song brackets are interspersed with performances by support acts which consist of soloists and ensembles who are selected by audition from Catholic secondary schools.

Denise Rothall, Catholic Schools Music Festival Director, said the Arts have an important role to play in the education of young people.

“The Catholic Schools Music Festival is the premier Arts event in the Catholic Education SA calendar. It is a joyous annual celebration involving the full range of schools and colleges in the Catholic education system.”

Students come from right around the state to be a part of the festival.

Kate Slade, Year 7 Student at Saint Columba’s Memorial School, Yorketown said the festival gives regional students new opportunities.

“It is important for us, especially in rural areas, to have these opportunities so that we can experience what it is like to stand in front of an audience and sing. We don’t have any chance to be involved in the Performing Arts on the southern Yorke Peninsula, so being part of the choir gives us an opportunity that we would never have.

“Personally, these experiences have helped me to gain confidence and shown me what it takes to work with groups of new people. I believe that the Catholic Schools Music Festival inspires many students to want to perform more in the future and to try new things that they might find challenging,” said Kate.

Not even a venue change or COVID restrictions could prevent the festival, now in its 33rd year, from going ahead.

Just a few days into the beginning of the school year, the CSMF team received communication that the Festival Centre will again be closed to enable works around the plaza, so they were faced with a sixth year of change.

The September 2016 festival was cancelled due to the state-wide blackout and rescheduled to the following November at St Michaels’ College. The 2020 festival could not be held in person due to COVID-19 restrictions, so students attended a series of film recording sessions to bring all the performances together.

Denise said she had no doubt that despite the venue change, this year would be just as spectacular as every other year.

“We’re excited to be performing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. After 28 years in the same venue, no two years have been the same!”

“Weather events, renovations, and coronavirus have put adaptability, agility and flexibility at the core of our working philosophy!” said Denise.

“We've re-scheduled, re-imagined and reinvented the production. Across the last five years our students have been privileged to take to the stage of the Adelaide Festival Centre, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, and attend a series of professional film recording sessions.

“This year we embraced change once again and drew on our agility and ability to reimagine this extraordinary event.”

The Music Festival Management Committee are very grateful to the 65 primary school choir trainers, the 20 secondary school music coordinators, the supportive school communities, our sponsors, the Entertainment Centre staff, the sound, lights & stage teams who worked tirelessly to realise this enormous event for students, and the 60 volunteers behind the scenes across the course of the event who helped make the 2021 Festival a great success.