On Friday 22 May, a wonderful concert of past and current music students was held in the Marian Theatre to honour the music legacy of our College. Family and friends, past students and members of the community enjoyed the concert, which was a further celebration of 150 years since the arrival in 1876 of Sister Aloysius Martyn and the Sisters of Mercy to commence their ministry of Catholic education in Bendigo.

The Performance Gala honoured the performance talent fostered by the school over 150 years, reliving the excitement and magic of past performances and reuniting members of our ‘music family’.

When the founding Sisters arrived from Ireland in 1876, they quickly established themselves at St Kilian’s and set up their new school, St Aloysius Select School in Barkly Street. Opening in April 1876, the advertised scale of fees for St Aloysius included extra costs for vocal music and instrumental music tuition.

The early concerts held in the schoolroom to honour Bishop Crane, the school’s patron, included traditional Irish songs, short dramas, vocal acts and four- or six-handed piano performances. The Sisters came prepared, bringing with them from Ireland two pianos, a full-size harp, steel banjos, violins, a zither and two steel guitars. Sister Joseph Woods, who was the first nun to be professed in Bendigo, was known as a gifted musician and vocalist.

When the new school was built in 1897, the Sisters ensured that the schoolroom (St Mary’s Hall) could double as an entertainment hall, with the side rooms originally designed as music rooms.

An early pupil, Amy Castles, went on to become an international opera singer, considered to be one of the greatest sopranos of her time.

Since then, generations of students have experienced the joy of studying music: as a pathway to a future career, nurturing irrepressible talent or just for the pleasure of singing or learning a musical instrument.

The Performance Gala was hosted by Ms Nicole Cilauro, an enthusiastic alumna who graduated from CCB in 2006. Now a teacher at CMCB, Nicole is also a passionate supporter of the Arts and in particular, the College Production, wanting to give students the same opportunities for performance that she had. This year, she is the Executive Producer of Rock of Ages, which will be performed at the Ulumbarra Theatre on 4 and 5 June.

Friday's show was opened by the Catherine McAuley College Bendigo Concert Band, who performed a medley of the Blues Brothers Greatest Hits and Libertango by Astor Piazzolla.

The first soloist was current Year 11 student, Jamie Dearricott, on the piano, who performed Experience by Ludovico Einaudi. Jamie has previously placed second in the Classical section of the Musician of the Year for both 2024 and 2025, and demonstrated great poise and skill on the piano.

Jamie was followed by Year 12 student, Rory Thompson, who sang an expressive version of ‘Me and the Sky’ from Come From Away by Irene Sankoff & David Hein. Rory has previously achieved third places in the Musician of Year Contemporary section in both 2024 and 2025.

The next performer was Kiara Clarke (Class of 2022), who played Shuffle De Funk by Bob Mintzer on the saxophone. Kiara was Musician of the Year in 2021 and took third place in 2022. She is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Science at Monash University in Melbourne.

Year 11 student, Elyssa Bhowon, returned to CMCB to sing Die on This Hill by Sienna Spiro. Elyssa’s incredible achievements include being the winner of Musician of the Year, Contemporary in 2024 and 2025, and winner of the Audience Choice Award in 2025.

Currently completing her final year of a Bachelor of Marketing (Psychology) at Deakin University in Melbourne, and working towards her Grade 8 exams, Sarah Duane (Class of 2023) and 2023 winner of Musician of the Year, performed a piano solo of Oltramare by Ludovico Einaudi.

Oliver Sexton (Class of 2024) rounded out the first section by singing ‘Stars’ from Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Oliver has won the Emerging Arts award twice at Musician of the Year: in 2021 (saxophone) and 2022 (voice).

During the interval, there was lively conversation as guests enjoyed a light supper while viewing nostalgic photos and the Jubilee Community Art Show, which was on display for the final time.

The first performer after interval was the most recent graduate, Tarah Frawley (Class of 2025), who is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Education with the intention of teaching music in primary schools. Tarah sang and played guitar for her own composition, Little Me. In 2023, Tarah won third place in Musician of the Year

Next was Angus Killick (Class of 2011), who had previously won Musician of the Year in 2009 and achieved the Outstanding Performance Award in 2010 and 2011. Angus played his own composition on the piano: Mercurial Life. Angus has a Bachelor of Music from Victorian College of the Arts and writes music and performs piano, organ, keys and synths in multiple musical lineups.

Musical Theatre professional Amy McMillan (Class of 2015) stepped up to the microphone to sing ‘For Good’ from Wicked the Musical. Since winning Musician of the Year and the Audience Choice Award in 2015, Amy has followed her passion with a Diploma of Music Theatre from Patrick School, appearing in numerous productions and working at the JMC Academy in Melbourne. Amy dedicated her performance to the late Cathy Moore, whose guidance and mentorship as her VCE Music Teacher played a huge part in the establishment of her career.

Amy was followed by Mariah McCarthy (Class of 2013), who sang Old Picture Slide and accompanied herself with an acoustic guitar. Mariah won the Outstanding Performance Award at Musician of the Year in 2012 and went on to study a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance in Melbourne before recording an EP with former duo Deer Prudence and her debut album At Home in 2022.

The penultimate soloist of the evening was coloratura soprano Elizabeth Barrow (Class of 2009). Elizabeth wowed the audience with her rendition of O Mio Babbino Caro by Rossini. Singing and competing since she was a child, Elizabeth was the winner of Musician of the Year in 2006 and 2009, as well as the winner of the Outstanding Performance Award in 2007 and Audience Choice Award in 2009.

Elizabeth has since gained a Bachelor of Music at Australian Catholic University, Honours at the Conservatorium of Music and a Master’s of Music Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She has also performed with Victorian Opera and Berlin Opera Academy and has recorded three CDs alongside organist Dr Robert James Stove.

We were honoured to have harpist Alana Conway (Class of 2008) as our final soloist. Alana has built a career performing across Australia and around the world as both a singer and a harpist.

Winning the Outstanding Performance Award at Musician of the Year in 2007, Alana went on to gain a Bachelor of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. In 2010, she was a semi-finalist on the 10th season of Australia’s Got Talent in 2010, a national finalist in the Limelight Magazine Singing Competition in 2011, and signed with ABC Music/Universal Music Group to release her debut album, Fields of Gold, in 2013, which debuted at #2 on the ARIA Classical Crossover charts and led to her first Australian headline tour.

Her performing career has included many of Australia’s premier events and venues, including television, major sporting events and festivals, and on cruise ships.

On Friday night, Alana transfixed the audience as she sang and played the harp, performing Eva Cassidy’s version of Over the Rainbow by Arlen & Harburg.

The performance lineup concluded with a sneak peek at the upcoming CMCB Production Rock of Ages. Members of the cast performed the scene ‘Any Way You Want It’ with the Venus a-Go-Go Girls.

Apart from honouring our Mercy heritage and the legacy of the founding Sisters, the evening also paused to honour the memory of former music, singing and religious education teacher, Cathy Moore, who passed away in late 2025. Cathy established the Musician of the Year competition, led the music at Masses and liturgies and was instrumental in annual productions throughout her years at the College from 1988 to 2021.

Her contributions and commitment during those years left a lasting impact, and she will be fondly remembered by all who had the privilege of being taught by her, including many of her former students who were performers or audience members on Friday night.

The evening was a great success and a tribute to music teachers, past and present, whose passion and skill encourage the love of music and performance in children, promoting self-development and learning, leading to a lifelong career, hobby or love of music.

Thank you to the performers who gave so generously of their time and talent. Thank you to our MC, Nicole Cilauro, student performers and helpers, Music Facilitator Ms Deb Ross, Arts Learning Leader Mr Peter Hughes, accompanist Dr Peter Butler and other staff who helped on the night to present such a memorable and enjoyable event.