It was late summer, and a crowd was gathered in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens for the Chihuly Glass exhibition. A jazz trio was playing to the masses gathered in the Schomburgk Pavilion when a young man was invited to the stage to join the band – he proceeded to give a captivating vocal performance of Moonlight Serenade and, quite rightly, received a warm and enthusiastic cheer from the public. The young man, Jack Elms, a Senior student at PAC, had the opportunity to run his performance with a professional jazz combo in front of a crowd - not of judges, not family and friends but total strangers – one week before performing this piece at the renowned ‘Generations in Jazz’ festival. It’s the perfect litmus test of where you are as an emerging artist and a chance to experience the connection and joy your music can bring to the community.
Since joining the College as Voice Coordinator, I’ve witnessed the strength of our singing culture firsthand. With six choirs spanning the Prep and Secondary Schools and a consistent presence at ‘Generations in Jazz’, PAC has built a program where singing is both valued and visible.
Singing is an extremely powerful form of expression. One of our key goals is to continue increasing the number of boys who participate in the ensembles, who sing freely and proudly. Part of this is maintaining the high standard of our ensembles and making their excellence more visible in the wider community.
