Our SCOTS PGC College Pipes and Drums and Senior Girls’ Choir hit the road in Week 8 on a three-day musical tour to visit communities in western Queensland and northern New South Wales.  The tour is renowned for the development of teamwork between the two groups and the engagement of the communities we are connected with.

Setting off early on the Monday, the first day comprised a stop-off to St Mary’s School in Goondiwindi to warm up the vocal chords and play some tunes as part of the first performance of the tour.  The next stop was St George, where our students performed to St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School and the residents at the local aged care facility.  We later joined forces with the St Pat’s Choir to put on a community concert for the people of St George.  We were treated to some fantastic country hospitality, kindly provided by one of our SCOTS mums – Mrs Anna Twidale with the help of her mum, Laurel Cornford and sister Kylie.  Thank you ladies!

Day two saw a further three school performances at Thallon State School, Mungindi Central School and Moree Public School.  Once again our pipers and drummers treated the local Moree aged care residents to some tunes in the garden, whilst our choir worked alongside the Moree school choir to polish their performance which was later delivered at the Moree Community Concert.  A big thank you to all of the boarding parent community who turned out to support our students in Moree – it was wonderful to catch up with you all.

Our last day was just as busy as the previous two.  The morning kicked off with a radio interview at 2NZ Inverell where Abby Dalziel, Ewan McFarland and Jacolene DeJager spoke to listeners about all things SCOTS PGC.  They finished off by playing the bagpipes, chalking up the first ever live performance carried out in the Inverell studio.

School performances later that day included stop-offs to Inverell Public School, Glen Innes and finally, Tenterfield.

In essence, the trip was a wonderful way to connect with regional schools who may not have the opportunity to see cultural performances on a regular basis.  Students at each of the schools were genuinely engaged and the SCOTS PGC boys and girls thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the tour.  Thank you to all of the staff who were involved in making the trip possible, especially Mrs Wendy Whittaker, Mrs Gabi Laws, Mr Sandy Dalziel and Mrs Christine Peterson – your efforts are greatly appreciated.