I teach at Redeemer Lutheran College, a Christian school in Rochedale in Brisbane, Queensland. Our community is thoroughly spoilt by the physical environment in which we work.

The school has beautiful gardens and many large trees which are part of a much bigger bush-land corridor on the southern outskirts of Brisbane. We can even lay claim to a small rainforest of our very own on the schools grounds! We often see koalas, tawny frog mouths and tree snakes which occasionally make their way into our classrooms. Although we are not so keen about the wildlife inside our classrooms, our students enjoy the distraction. Our community is very diverse and we have students from a large number of different ethnic backgrounds. Many of our students come from South-East Asia and speak little English when they arrive. It constantly amazes me how students who come to us with limited English in year 8, leave us being so confident and proficient in English.

We see a lot of these students in our music program as many students learn stringed instruments in particular from a very young age in their country of origin. This year we decided to take 98 students on a music tour to Melbourne. As part of this tour, the students shared their music with a number of different Melbourne schools, as well as performing in Federation Square. Many of our students said that this performance was a highlight for them. As one of the teachers who accompanied them on this tour, it was personally delightful for me to see the way the students bonded together to make music. Irrespective of their background, they shared their love of music with appreciative audiences in and around Melbourne.

All of the teachers who went with them were amazed at the level of musicianship they developed whilst on the tour.

They made the most of any and every opportunity to make music. I will always remember our singers singing “Sunset”, one of the Australian Bush Songs by the composer Ian Grandage; while the sun was setting on one of the lookouts along the Great Ocean Road. The atmosphere formed by the music created a whole new dimension to the magnificence of the setting. After they finished singing you could hear the silence as the sun illumined the last remnants of colour on the rocks and the ocean. Other tourists were also moved by this spontaneous performance of music in its intended setting.

The memories that we returned with, will be treasured forever. As Music Staff, we were so pleased that our students developed a greater musical maturity as part of this experience. They have since shared their music to great acclaim within our own community. However, more importantly, we hoped that this tour would foster a greater personal awareness of others outside of our community; and the difference that music-making within schools as well as in public spaces can make in their lives and in their communities.