Music Program
The Castlemaine Secondary College Music Department has a proud tradition of providing outstanding music education for over 40 years. Our music program is unique in regional Victoria because of its outstanding staff, extensive performance opportunities, comprehensive curriculum, and connection to the community.
The confluence of these elements allows us to deliver an extensive curricular music program which develops instrumental, aural, theoretical and analytical skills. This structure not only provides students with the opportunities to develop their own musical identities, but is also delivered in a way which maximises the extra-musical benefits of music education. The benefits that high-quality music programs such as ours have been shown to provide include improvements in:
- Literacy and language skills¹
- Numeracy skills²
- Concentration and focus³
- Emotional literacy and self-regulation⁴
- Independent learning and self-motivation⁵
- Social skills⁶
- Engagement and attendance at school⁷
Instrumental Program
The Music Program at CSC encompasses a diverse range of genres and styles and offers lessons on a diverse range of instruments from specialist staff. All staff at the college work as professional performers as well as educators. This experience allows staff to situate their educational practice within professional contexts and makes sure that students are receiving the best possible instruction on their instruments.
The instruments offered at CSC in 2026 are:
- Flute
- Clarinet
- Saxophone
- French Horn
- Trumpet
- Trombone
- Euphonium
- Tuba
- Percussion
- Voice
- Violin
- Viola
- Cello
- Double Bass
- Guitar
- Bass Guitar
- Piano
Students enrolled in Music Enrichment at year 7 or 8 are required to learn a traditional orchestral instrument. These include all instruments listed above excluding Voice, Guitar and Piano. Students in music enrichment may choose to do one of these instruments but this would be in addition to their orchestral instrument and incur an additional fee.
Our Curriculum
The quality of our staff works hand-in-hand with our music curriculum. The College’s Music Department has designed our curriculum to support the development of students’ musical skills with a particular emphasis on developing performance skills. Each student in the program receives an instrumental music lesson once per week, as well as a theory class and a practical class run by a specialist on their instrumental or stylistic focus.
Our classroom music curriculum has its foundations in the Kodaly method which places a strong emphasis on audiation and music notation. This approach has been proven to improve literacy and numeracy and is considered best-practice for delivering theory and aural training. Additionally, our instrumental music program is fully integrated into the classroom curriculum with students performing in a recital and a technical assessment in each semester from year 7 to 12.
Co-Curricular Ensemble Program
CSC offers a diverse range of large and chamber ensembles for our instrumental students. These ensembles are offered to all students in the program and participation is only limited by the instrumentation of the ensemble and ability level. The ensemble program is therefore a truly vertical educational structure where students perform alongside students of different year levels and ability levels. This environment encourages peer-to-peer mentorship, role-modelling and different social relationships.
One highlight of the ensemble program is that we are the only public school in regional Victoria to have a regularly-rehearsing symphony orchestra. The orchestra is the college’s largest ensemble and has performed at the Victorian School’s Music Festival, the Castlemaine State Festival and at various school functions. Each year the orchestra collaborates with the college’s contemporary musicians to produce the Finale to the Annual Music Concert, a large-scale whole-department collaborative performance with every music student on stage.
The ensembles that are on offer in 2026 are:
- Symphony Orchestra
- Concert Band
- Vocal Ensemble
- Kreisler String Orchestra
- Du Pre String Orchestra
- Stage Band
- Guitar Ensemble
- Percussion Ensemble
- Rock Bands
Performances
Music is central to the cultural identity of the college and as such, musical performances play an important role in all college events. Students perform at all college assemblies, our awards ceremony, special celebrations such as Wear it Purple Day, IDAHOBIT Day, Year 12 Celebration Day, Open Evening and various other events throughout the year.
As a department, we pride ourselves on the outstanding standard of our students’ performances. In recent times, we have competed at the Generations in Jazz Festival with our stage band winning Division 4+ and had the Symphony Orchestra perform at the Victorian Schools’ Music Festival where we have received a silver award for the last three years. It is a focus of the music program to not only give students the opportunity to perform locally but also in contexts where they see the level of performance of other young musicians their age.
These performances are in addition to our largest and most prestigious performance, the Annual Music Concert which takes place at the Castlemaine Town Hall during term two each year. The Annual Music Concert is a public event which showcases our co-curricular ensemble program, and the hard work and dedication of our music students.
In 2026 we are introducing another large ensemble concert, the Musical Breakfast. This event will occur on a weekend morning during term 4 and celebrate the achievements of the year in a relaxed atmosphere.
Students also develop their performance skills by performing in a recital each semester, In these recitals, each student performs as a soloist and in an ensemble. Students are coached during class on performance etiquette and are given the opportunity to develop their solo skills through working with one of the college’s accompanists. This is not only an outstanding opportunity to develop musical empathy but also prepares students for the requirements of music performance in VCE.
Friends of Music
CSC Friends of Music are the parent group which fundraise and support the music department at CSC. The Friends of Music fundraised over $22,000 to send the students to Generations in Jazz in 2024. They also provided the funds to purchase a new set of timpani in 2025 and previously raised money for headset microphones for the college musical and a grand piano.
In addition to financial support, Friends of Music also help with concerts and rehearsals. Any parent or community member who wishes to join the CSC Friends of Music is encouraged to email cscfriendsofmusic@gmail.com to express interest.
Community Connections
The Music Department at CSC has many connections with the local community and the broader musical community. These include:
Resonance String Orchestra with whom we have a longstanding partnership. Resonance provides opportunities for students to extend themselves; to learn from and perform with a group of outstanding musicians who are regular tutors at Resonance; and to work with some of the best musicians in Australia including Zoe Knighton and Wilma Smith from the Flinders’ Quartet.
Thompsons Foundry Band who are the oldest, continuously running industry brass band in Australia. The band not only provides opportunities for young brass players to learn and perform but also generously allow the college to use their instruments and resources.
Castlemaine State Festival who bring world-renowned musicians to Castlemaine and provide opportunities for students to perform with and meet these musicians. In 2026, the CSC Symphony Orchestra performed their own standalone concert at the festival, and in 2025 the festival gave the opportunity to some of our finest young violinists to meet the concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Elder Conservatorium at the University of Adelaide who are donating their time later this year to work with our string ensembles and our senior string players. This partnership provides tangible links to those students considering tertiary music study and exceptional educational opportunities.
Castlemaine Jazz Festival who not only provide opportunities for the college to perform but also to collaborate with professional artists.
Castlemaine Rotary who support us financially and through the donation of staging for performances.
Castlemaine Lions Club who support us financially and help facilitate fundraising endeavours
