Chior in top voice

By Dion Teasdale
YARRA Junction’s St Joseph’s Primary School choir has taken out third place in one of Melbourne’s top music and choral eisteddfods.
The 26-member choir, made up of students from the school’s senior classes, competed in the Boroondara Eisteddfod in Camberwell last month.
The choir, under the direction of the school’s music teacher, Margaret Broderick, competed against choirs from 14 other primary schools across the eastern suburbs.
Mrs Broderick said the students performed in two heats before making it into the finals, which here staged at the Camberwell Civic Centre on Sunday, 28 May.
She said the school, which has competed and won top prizes in the eisteddfod in previous years, was very proud of this year’s entry.
“The students have all worked very hard, rehearsing after school and during lunch breaks and they performed very well on the day,” she said.
“The students were very nervous, particularly performing in front of such a large audience and being up against much larger schools, but they kept their focus.”
Mrs Broderick said the choir performed two songs during the competition, and that the school would receive prize money and a certificate for coming third.
“Being part of the school choir is great for the students. It gives them something to work towards and polish up on,” she said.
“It’s great for developing self discipline and a great opportunity for students from this area to meet and mix with students from other schools.”