Hunter Valley Masons help school choir
25 September 23
Freemasons from three Hunter lodges, Paxton, Cessnock and Weston- Kurri Kurri, dug deep to answer the call to assist the Cessnock East Public School choir.
The choir, consisting of 25 students, has successfully applied to participate in the Festival of Choral Music held in October at the Sydney Opera House, ‘An achievement the choir students and school community are extremely proud and excited about,’ said Ms Annie Devine, Choir/Music/Library teacher at Cessnock East Public School.
A call for financial assistance to aid in the cost of participating was quickly answered by the community and Freemasons alike with a combined donation of $650 contributed to aid the students in their quest for choral success.
‘When we see our local young people striving for excellence, it makes it easy to support them in their endeavours,’ said W Bro Peter Pratt, the WM of Lodge Paxton.
His sentiments were echoed by fellow WMs of Lodge Cessnock and Lodge Weston-Kurri Kurri; W Bro Kieron Allen and W Bro Terry Stothard agreed. ‘Supporting the community we live in and share is at the core of what Freemasons strive for in life,’ they said.
Ms Devine added, ‘The students worked extremely hard to learn the repertoire, starting literally from scratch as we have not had a choir for many years due to COVID-19 restrictions. Singing at the Opera House motivated our students to step outside their comfort zone; begin to sing again, feel confident in doing so, and then, after hard work, dedication and lots of fun, developed a beautiful choral sound singing in two-part harmony with pride!’
Cessnock East Principal Mrs Kristin Culley said, ‘For most of the choir members, to have performed at the Sydney Opera House was a dream come true as some students have never travelled to Sydney, let alone seen, or been, inside the Opera House.’
‘They had a wonderful day, we’re amazed by skyscrapers, had lunch under the Opera House, saw the ferries in the Harbour, actually went on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and then sang in a sold-out Opera House.
‘We had dinner looking over Circular Quay as well. All of the choir were exhausted but truly proud of themselves and we must say thanks to the Freemasons for their support.’
The combined schools choir event is not a competition, with the schools singing as a combined choir with 700 other students and accompanied by orchestras made up of students from around the state.
From December 2022 Freemason Magazine