Music and arts programs
State schools provide opportunities for students to engage in activities which support and enhance the curriculum in areas such as:
- instrumental music
- dance
- visual art
- choral music
- debating and public speaking competitions.
Contact your school to find out what's available as not all activities are offered through every school. School contact details are available by phoning 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or searching the schools directory.
Instrumental Music Program
More than 400 instrumental teachers and over 50,000 students are involved in our Instrumental Music Program.
Students learn band and orchestral instruments in small groups and participate in larger ensembles, such as concert bands and orchestras.
Contact your school to find out what's available. School contact details are available by phoning 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or searching the schools directory.
Choral Fanfare
Choral Fanfare is a statewide festival showcasing bands and orchestras (i.e. school-based ensembles) from Queensland state schools.
Fanfare is held every 2 years. It gives school communities a chance to celebrate their young musicians and instrumental teachers and encourage musical excellence through performance.
Creative Generation
Excellence Awards in Instrumental Music
The Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Instrumental Music (MOST—Musically Outstanding STudents) is a residential extension program for up to 77 students from Queensland state secondary schools.
The program is held every 2 years and provides music students with 10 days of extensive musical development through:
- performing with large and small ensembles
- tutorial groups
- aural musicianship
- a range of music and cultural activities.
Nominations for MOST are now open.
Students must nominate for MOST through their school's contact teacher.
State Schools Onstage
Creative Generation – State Schools Onstage is one of Queensland's largest performing arts events and gives young performers the chance to work with and learn from professional artists.
More than 1,500 talented dancers, singers and musicians from Queensland state schools perform each year alongside leading professional artists.
Nominations are now open. Students must nominate through their school's coordinating teacher.
Visual Art
The Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art are for senior students studying visual art in Queensland state and non-state schools.
Students need to nominate for the awards through their school's contact teacher.
Award winning works are shown in an exhibition at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). Winners and selected students are also given the chance to learn from professional artists in regional workshops.
Wakakirri
Wakakirri is Australia's largest arts challenge for primary schools. The stories schools tell are limited only by imagination. These stories are shared through dance, film, singing or writing.
Meanjin Writers' Camp
The Meanjin (Brisbane) Local Council of the Australian Literacy Educators' Association Inc. holds a writers' camp to encourage and develop talented young writers. This organisation represents more than 300 educators throughout South East Queensland interested in literacy and learning.
Find out more about Meanjin Writers' Camp.
Debating
The Queensland Debating Union (QDU) runs a series of debating competitions for Years 5–12, in Toowoomba, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, and associated regions.