Fairbairn College held its annual culture showcase earlier this month in two night performances of their show, entitled Back to Life – A Celebration of Everyday Heroes.
According to Eloise Jurgens, head of the music department at Fairbairn College, their estate manager, John Blight, came to the music department with an idea to pay homage to the essential workers and especially medical personnel who worked so hard during the pandemic.
Jurgens said: “We wanted to celebrate our everyday heroes – those who are not thanked enough for the sacrifices they make for our community.”
The production involved their music department: the orchestra, instrumental ensembles, choir and vocal soloists. The drama and dance departments also participated, and the school had some special guest appearances from the school staff.
According to Jurgens, they generally make these types of shows an annual event, but due to Covid, their last production was in 2019.
The principal, Ruschda O’Shea, said the first part of the show contained songs about commitment towards your job, no matter what the challenges. The choir sang a beautiful rendition of “Go the Distance” and one of our fun numbers was “I’ll Be There”, the title song from the TV series Friends.
The next part of the show used music that had titles tying in with examples of essential workers. The instrumental ensembles played “Light My Fire” and “Smoke on the Water” and Rebecca May and Jemma Mackriel were our soloists in the songs “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Everybody Hurts” – both gave outstanding renditions of these songs.
One of the highlights of the dancing items was the dance to the song “We Could Be Heroes”, which was enthusiastically received by the audience, O’Shea said.
The final part of the show was a message of positivity, announced by the choir singing “Here Comes the Sun” and “Seasons of Love”. The stirring finales of “Fight Song”, “Brave” and “Happy” ended the concert on a high note and everybody went home smiling.
O’Shea said both nights were booked out and had lively audiences who were complimentary of the performances.
According to O’Shea the school includes a variety of different languages, cultures and traditions in its musical production.
“Inclusivity is our main focus and showcases and expands learners’ passion and love for arts, culture and music.”
O’Shea described Fairbairn College as a community-orientated school with a focus on academic excellence and discipline and focus on a variety of sports and co-curricular activities.
