Our School Concert reminds us why we do music. Music brings beauty to our lives, it moves us, it gives expression to our feelings, and as such, it is meaningful. Everyone needs beauty, and meaning, and that’s why we do music, and why everyone does music at Glenaeon. All our students from Class 5 to Year 11, plus our Year 12 Music students, will be on stage on Friday August 9 and we invite you to be part of this entertaining and uplifting evening.
Without music, life is a journey through a desert.
– Pat Conroy (American writer)
Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.
- Pablo Casals
The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was on to something. Our lives need beauty, and poetry, to fulfil and enrich us, and to make meaning out of the myriad of what life brings us.
How do we build meaningful lives, how do we make meaning from all that comes to us in life? How do prepare our students to live and to love, in the deepest and broadest sense?
Music is one of the greatest of ways. We may not play at the highest standard nor appreciate the greatest of musical complexities. But we all need the flow, the harmony, the rhythm, the ineffable inner place where some melodies can take us. Just to be part of a choir, an ensemble or an orchestra should be a fundamental part of every child’s education, establishing a connection with the world of music that can then take root and flourish throughout the rest of life as a living form within us.
There is now a wealth of evidence demonstrating the positive impact of music on education and learning for children, so much so that a discussion on whether children should all learn music is out of date. We understand this argument, but at a human level, the debate could be said to be beyond evidence. It’s a given, a human need, and like food, water and air, music gives us nourishment. As Pat Conroy wrote, music makes the desert of life into a green and refreshing place.
Our annual Art Show is also on display at Art Space on The Concourse in Chatswood, and we invite all parents and friends of the school to join us for the official opening prior to the music concert on August 9. Drinks will be available from 5.30pm, so after you drop your child/ren off at the Stage Door, please come and join us officially to launch the show.
This year we are celebrating 100 years of Steiner Education, and worldwide celebrations are underway marking this significant milestone. Our Concert and Art Show are part of our local contributions to the international event known as Waldorf 100.