Amadeus Music Program Hits All the Right Notes!

Music fuels the mind, feeds the soul and fires our creativity.  

Today, Sydney Catholic Schools launched the Amadeus Music Program, one of the most ambitious and comprehensive quality music education initiatives undertaken in Sydney’s schools.   

For someone who appreciates the transcendent power of music and the extraordinary impact of education, the launch of Amadeus is one of the most exciting moments in my career, and one of the ambitious programs ever delivered by Sydney Catholic Schools.

We all have a burning desire to create, express, and learn. 

Music is a crucial part of our children’s education, building literacy in a language that unites all humanity.  

At Sydney Catholic Schools, we also believe that music is an important part of life through which we express ourselves as human beings.  It brings communities together, creates joy, and stimulates the brain and the senses. 

It is for these reasons that we have used our scale, and passion, to introduce the Amadeus Music Program to 33,000 students in our 150 schools.  

They will participate in  a music program that is: integrated into the curriculum; supported by more than 80 classroom music teachers and 270 specialist music tutors; and more importantly, available to every student from Year 3 to Year 8.

At Sydney Catholic Schools, we believe that music education should not be a privilege just for those who can afford it. This commitment to equity, a guiding principle in the Catholic faith, is where the power of the Amadeus Program lies.

This program enables access to music education for all students, regardless of abilities and music backgrounds. It embodies our unequivocal ambition to innovate and model global best practice to make our schools hubs of excellence in education. 

The program is named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 

 Possibly the world’s greatest classical composer, Mozart was a child prodigy who discovered the piano and the violin at an incredibly early age, and his Catholic faith was a guiding influence throughout his life. 

The Amadeus Music Program is not only a game changer for our students, but also for music in this City. We are thrilled and humbled to have Opera Australia, The Sydney Conservatorium of Music  and Sydney Youth Orchestras all championing Amadeus.  All three premier arts organisations have thrown their support behind Amadeus, acknowledging it as a highly significant boost to music education in Sydney. It is wonderful to have the support of Lyndon Terracini AM, Mia Patoulios, and Professor Anna Reid.  

Lyndon Terracini AO, Artistic Director, Opera Australia said: Amadeus is visionary and of enormous value to the orchestra world.  We need robust music education in schools, and I applaud Sydney Catholic Schools for its commitment and investment in Amadeus.  Support for music and performing arts is great for Sydney and great for the country.

Professor Anna Reid, Head of School and Dean, Sydney Conservatorium of Music said that she believes that: Amadeus will bring the power of music to more of your people: Having an opportunity to study music in school provides children with a means of thinking creatively as individuals and in groups. They will experience the beauty of music through positive collaborative experiences, and happily, these experiences will impact every other area of their study. 

And, Mia Patoulios, Chief Executive Officer, Sydney Youth Orchestras told me that: The Amadeus music program will create the opportunity for even more young people to discover a lifelong love of music. I look forward to this program continuing to evolve and strengthen the partnerships between the professional orchestral music sector and education. 

On behalf of Sydney Catholic Schools, I thank the many team members who have worked so hard to launch and rollout Amadeus and those who will help deliver it over the next couple of years.  I would especially like to thank The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP for his support of the program, Dr Kate O’Brien, Dr Jacqueline Frost, Eva Spata, Jacinta Adamson and Danielle Fuller.

As we continue to build this program over the coming years, it is my hope that our students will carry their music, and all elements of their Catholic education, into their long and happy futures and maybe even to the concert halls of the world.