A $37.5 million facility featuring purpose-built music, drama and performance spaces has opened at a Sunshine Coast school.
Almost two years after construction started, the Performing Arts and Administration Precinct was officially launched at St Andrew’s Anglican College in Peregian Springs on October 16.
The official opening was led by Archbishop Jeremy Greaves, chair of college council Ros Cheales and college principal Karen Gorrie, marking a significant milestone in the college’s long-term master plan.
The opening also featured a specially commissioned musical work by Thomas Green: a composer and lecturer in composition at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Mr Green recently completed works for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Youth Orchestra.
Created in consultation and collaboration with Kabi Kabi, Birri Gubba, Yuru and South Sea Islander man Mack Muckan, the work was performed for the college community as a musical acknowledgement of Country.
For St Andrew’s principal Karen Gorrie, the precinct is an important investment in the creative life of the college and in the opportunities available to its students.
“This building represents our belief in the extraordinary potential of the arts to shape young people,” she said.
“The performing arts give students opportunities to find their voice, develop confidence, work collaboratively, persevere through challenge and experience the joy of creating something together. This new precinct gives those opportunities the space, facilities and sense of possibility they deserve.”
The centre, designed by COX Architecture, responds to the significant growth of St Andrew’s music and drama programs, bringing together spaces for music, drama, rehearsal and learning around a central courtyard and new cafe. The design creates a welcoming, connected space where students can learn, practise, perform and come together as a community.
The purpose-built spaces, including dedicated band and strings rooms, a black box theatre, break out studio rooms as well as general learning areas and more, have been designed to support the needs of students and performers, with state of the art acoustics, natural light and flexible areas for learning and performance. The central courtyard also provides an outdoor space for performances, gatherings and learning.
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“A building like this only reaches its potential when it is filled with people, ideas, music, performance and creativity,” Ms Gorrie said.
“Our hope is that this will be a place where students create memories, discover talents they didn’t know they had, build friendships, take creative risks and develop the confidence to share their work with others.”
The investment comes at a time of significant growth and diversification across the college’s performing arts program, with opportunities for students across traditional and contemporary programs as well as other creative disciplines.
The college’s Headliner Collective, for example, provides students in Years 5 to 12 with opportunities to explore popular, contemporary and rock music, including ensemble playing, songwriting, covers and original music.
Recent initiatives such as Headliner Amped have also seen St Andrew’s open its stage to young musicians from across the Sunshine Coast, bringing together student bands from multiple schools for a live contemporary music event.
The new performing arts precinct is expected to provide the physical environment to build on that momentum.
“We want students to walk into this precinct and feel that there is a place here for their creativity,” Ms Gorrie said.
“Whether their passion is music, drama, performance, songwriting, technical production or something they haven’t discovered yet, we want these spaces to encourage them to have a go, collaborate with others and find out what they are capable of.”
The performing arts precinct forms part of St Andrew’s broader master plan, which will continue to evolve in coming years. Future stages include a wellbeing hub, additional learning environments, a sports hub and improvements to the primary precinct.
