Hosted by St Patricks, Lochinvar, each choir performed two songs - one hymn/spiritual song and one popular song.

Songs performed on the day included:

• St Patrick’s, Lochinvar – Siyahumba (A traditional African hymn) and What About Us (Pink)
• St Paul’s, Rutherford – Yes Lord I Believe (John Burland) and I Can Sing a Rainbow
• Our Lady of Lourdes, Tarro – True Colours Shine (Michael Mangan) and Love is in the Air
• St Aloysius, Chisholm – Noel (Chris Tomlin) and Sing (Pentatonix)
• St Joseph’s, Dungog – Go Now in Peace (John Burland) and Hold My Hand (Jess Glynn)
• St Patrick’s, Cessnock – A Million Dreams (The Greatest Showman)

Every choir sung well together and listened to one another with an impressive blending of voices. The use of choralography in the popular songs and the energy on display from the choirs ensured they had an incredibly engaged audience who loved every minute of the performances.

It’s a credit to these schools that they have such dedicated teachers willing to give their time and energy to rehearsing with the choirs. The sheer volume of students involved shows that being a part of a school choir is still important for many young people and events like this are so important in allowing those young singers to have their time to shine.

The winners on the day were:

Hymn/Sacred Song

1^st place - Our Lady of Lourdes, Tarro

2^nd place - St Patricks, Lochinvar

3^rd place - St Paul’s, Rutherford

Popular Song

1^st place - St Patricks, Cessnock

2^nd place - Our Lady of Lourdes, Tarro

3^rd place - St Aloysius, Chisholm

Being the best is not the most important part of the day, it is about young people having the opportunity to stand up and sing their hearts out. And my word they did!

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