09 July 2025
A celebration of musical talent and creativity filled the Cyril Tyler Auditorium at Perth Modern School as student musicians from across the state came together for the annual Opus concert.
Presented by Instrumental Music School Services (IMSS), Opus showcases exceptional performances by public school students. This year’s concert embraced the theme Time and Space and inspired a diverse range of musical and artistic interpretations, with some schools incorporating dance into their acts for the first time.
Students from various schools came together for the annual Opus concert.
Students from metropolitan and regional schools performed, including ensembles from the Perth Modern School Chamber Choirs, Bob Hawke College, Leeming Senior High School Senior Classical Guitar Ensemble, Mount Lawley Senior High School Feeder Primary Band, Lakeland Senior High School, Rossmoyne Senior High School Symphony Orchestra, Fremantle College, John Curtain College of the Arts, Kinglsey Primary School, John Forrest Secondary College, Deanmore Primary School, Gooseberry Hill Primary School, East Kimberley College and Geraldton Primary School.
Special guest Jonathan Paget, one of Australia’s leading classical guitarists and Associate Dean, Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), attended the event. Dr Paget heads WAAPA’s renowned classical guitar program and is widely respected in the fields of guitar studies, historical performance, and musicology.
Audience members enjoyed an immersive interval, featuring chamber ensembles, photo exhibitions and video presentations submitted by schools across the state.
Throughout the night there were a range of performances.
Principal of IMSS, Kevin Fraser, praised the students.
“The range of performances this evening is stunning and the students are just absolutely brilliant,” he said.
“Along with their teachers, they bring things that we don't see quite often in school concerts.
“They get to do production right from the beginning, training and then setting up today, running through rehearsal techniques, running through timing set ups, technical set ups, technical reviews and they have team reviews and then they are able to put the whole thing together into practice this evening with their performances.”