Our incredible experience at Generations in Jazz, Mount Gambier 2025
From Friday 2 May to Sunday 4 May, we took 24 students to Mount Gambier for a jazz festival. Joined by over 4,000 high school students from across Australia, we all came together to celebrate music and perform.
Over the weekend, we enjoyed listening to professional musicians perform original pieces, incredible solos, vocal performances and were inspired by their talent. It was also wonderful to share meals together and be apart of something bigger.
We were proud to take three ensembles this year: our Vocal Ensemble, Small Jazz Combo and Stage Band. Each band worked hard to prepare leading up to the weekend and performed brilliantly.
A special thanks to Andrew Verco and Laura Worley for directing their ensembles, and we greatly appreciated Nikki Meinel, Matthew Shilling and David Argent, who travelled on the 5-hour bus ride, helping the students keep safe and sound.
We are very proud and excited to share that our Stand Band came first in Division 4+ out of 25 other schools! 🥇
Well done to all students who performed! We look forward to returning next year and giving more students this opportunity to hear world-renowned musicians perform and use their God-given gifts.
It was also fantastic for our students to perform their songs again in all Secondary assemblies on Monday to show the Secondary School what they've been learning and to promote this opportunity.
A very big thank you to our sponsors Kaide Real Estate, Primary Audio and Design and Generations in Jazz for supporting us so we could bring all our students to the event and make it more affordable for families.
Saxon Wilson, Alison Miller, Nikki Meinel, Andrew Verco, Laura Worley
Music team
Chloe's Generations in Jazz experience
Prior to Generations in Jazz, I knew almost nothing about the festival. After attending, I can confidently say that my expectations were greatly exceeded, as I ended up having one of the best weekends of my life.
From the absolutely jaw-dropping performances by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, various local musicians, and even other schools to our own performances, every moment was packed with excitement. The Gala concert was certainly a highlight. In addition to the masterful playing and funky sound, seeing so many young people be so excited about not only jazz but music in general was both beautiful and exhilarating.
I also loved that I got the opportunity to perform myself. It was made abundantly clear by every person in attendance, even the members of the Big Phat Band, that music is not a competition, it is not something reserved for professionals or those who we deem “good”, it is for the sake of joy both to the performer and the viewer. Anyone can be a musician, and music is for everyone.
I feel as though I learnt a lifetime's worth of valuable information that I would not have been able to otherwise and made many lifelong memories with friends both pre-existing and new.
I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of a band and play music with so many talented musicians each week. I’m so lucky to have had this irreplaceable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. To those considering joining stage band or any ensemble, go for it. It’s great fun, and you won’t regret it. Sure, there will be the occasional hard song or tough performance, but for what it’s worth, it’s an amazing thing to be a part of.
Chloe H (Year 10)
Bass Player, Singer
