Centenary Committee Report
The Committee has met twice so far. We may be meeting again on 6 March, depending on whether enough people are available to meet.
The main ideas we have floated so far include:
• An improved photo wall for the school front foyer, highlighting the achievements of eminent students, both in musical and non-musical worlds;
• A centennial concert, to be held at the Opera House, as well as a professionally made recording of the concert;
• A commissioned original work, to be performed by the school at the centennial concert;
• A competition for CHS students, to find a theme for the centenary. We have asked the English Department to run this for us;
• Possibly another event for the year, such as a Gala Day.
We have obtained lists of all past students up to the current day. I’ve asked committee members to read over these to help us put together a short list of people to invite to participate in the planned events.
We also discussed a facebook page to encourage participation and also getting in touch with some key people, such as music agents, to help us get in touch with some our more eminent past students. We’d also like to tap CHAOS to help us with fundraising.
I’ve discussed our plans with the External Relations officers at the Conservatorium and they are very happy to help us out with a number of our plans, including recording the concert and providing us with names of outstanding composers. Their strong recommendation was not to hold the centennial concert at the Opera House due to expense. They recommended holding 2 concerts at Verbruggen Hall instead. They also suggested we consider mounting a musical production within the school that year as a further celebration. This could be instead of the mooted ‘gala day’. Julie Simmons has agreed to attend our next meeting.
The most urgent things to get done now are to confirm some prizes for the students so we can hold the theme competition (in addition to the itunes gift cards to be provided by the P and C) and to compile a short list of names of past students to invite to participate. Until these things happen, we cannot move ahead with our plans.
All offers of help with getting these tasks done, as well as participation in our preparations, will be enthusiastically received.
Thurza Getzler
