Staff Curriculum Handbook 2026
Ensemble Structure and Levels
The Loreto College Music Performance Program is primarily an ensemble-based program. While we value and encourage individual excellence (i.e. AMEB exams and solo performance opportunities), the primary focus of our tutors is to develop each student’s instrumental technique and ensemble skills. Our goal is to ensure all students are confident, capable, and ready to contribute meaningfully to their ensemble experience The various ensembles offered are listed below, with an approximate level and standard for the players.
If you are an ensemble director, a catalogue exists on the common drive to assist with selecting repertoire.
Each stream (Band, Strings, Choir) has core and extension ensembles. All musicians should be in at least one core group on their primary instrument to be eligible for an extension group.
Core Ensembles
ConcertBands
JuniorBand 0 – 0 5
MiniBand 0 5 – 1 0
WindEnsemble 0.5 – 1.5
· Beginners, first 6-8 notes
· Immersion students
An extension group run during Year 5 Immersion for players with some prior experience
· 1 – 1.5 octave range
· Basic chromatics
Approx AMEB Gr 1-2 ConcertBand
· 2 – 2 5 Octave range, fully chromatic
· Approx AMEB Gr 2-4
WindOrchestra 2.5 - 4+
· Approx AMEB Gr 4 and over
Choirs
Name
PrimaryChoir Unison, Canons, SA
JuniorChoir Unison, Canons, SA, SSA
SeniorChoir SSA, SSAA
Years 5-6 Non-auditioned
· Years 7-9
· Non-auditioned
· Years 10-12
· Non-auditioned
OrchestralStringEnsembles
· Beginners, first 8 notes – D Maj
JuniorStrings
Continuo
0 - 0.5
0.5 - 1
Sinfonia 1 – 2
ChamberStrings 2 – 4
GuitarEnsemble2
GuitarEnsemble1
GuitarEnsembles
AMEB Prelim - Grade 3
AMEB Grade 4 - 6
· Immersion Students
· 1 - 1.5 octave range F and C naturals introduced
· 2 – 2.5 Octave range, B and E Flats and extended fingering introduced
· Approx AMEB Gr 1-3
· Approx AMEB Gr 3 and over
· Fully chromatic
Beginner to Intermediate players
Advanced players by audition
Extension Ensembles
The following extension groups are available to guitar, keyboard, vocal, woodwind, brass, percussion and string students who meet the required standard. Instrumentation is flexible in ESL and Jazz Ensemble. Big Band and Sorelle have limited places. Students wishing to be in one of the extension groups should be in a corresponding core Concert Band, Guitar Ensemble or Choir.
ExtensionEnsembles Style Instrumentation
ExitStageLeft(ESL) Contemporary
JazzEnsemble Jazz/Contemporary
BigBand Jazz/Contemporary
Sorelle Contemporary
PercussionEnsemble1 Various
PercussionEnsemble2 Various
Level
Rhythm section (keyboard, bass/lead/rhythm guitar, horns, vocals) Intermediate
Rhythm section (keyboard, bass/lead/rhythm guitar, horns) Intermediate
Rhythm section (keyboard, bass/lead/rhythm guitar, horns, vocals) Advanced
Rhythm section (keyboard, bass/lead/rhythm guitar, horns, vocals) Advanced
Full range of Percussion instruments Advanced
Full range of Percussion instruments Intermediate
LoretoSoloists Various Strings Advanced
FluteEnsemble Various Flutes (including alto and bass)
ClarinetEnsemble Various Clarinets/Bass clarinets
Intermediate to advanced (AMEB Gr 4+)
Intermediate to advanced (AMEB Gr 3+)
ChamberChoir Vocal Ensemble Voice Years 7 to 10
SeniorChorale Vocal Ensemble Voice Years 9 to 12
Assessment Overview
There are two main assessments each year:
Task1–Soloandsight-reading–DueWeek3,Term2
Objective:
The timing of this task aligns with the lead up to the Loreto Music Festival (LMF) LMF is an adjudicated competition with heats and finals held in May.
While LMF is not compulsory, the assessment task is compulsory for all students in Year 5 to 12.
The assessment task gives students a focus for the early part of the year to get back into a regular practice schedule and helps to develop their confidence to produce a solo that might be performed for LMF.
The solo will be assessed according to the Task 1 standards and should be recorded and submitted via the Teams app.
An example of the TaskSheet and AssessmentStandards are on the following pages
The Task Sheet details the length and type of assessment, the due date and has space for comments.
The Assessment Standards shows the three areas (Literacy, Technique and Performance) we mark against.
The scale of marking is not A to E but from Advanced down to Working Towards. Most students, if working at their level, should generally be “Proficient” at most of their skills.
Assessment Overview con’t
Task 2 is EITHER an Audition (generally for students in Years 6 -11) OR a solo task (for Year 5 Immersion students or other beginners)
Task 2 – Audition Excerpts and technical work – Due last Monday of Term 3 for students in Year6-11
Objective:
The timing of this task aligns with the audition process. Auditions are held at the end of Term 3 and help to determine ensemble placements for Term 4 and the following year. Students in Years 6 -11 will generally complete this task.
An overview of the ensembles and their approximate levels is included in this booklet to help determine what ensemble a student might aim for. Please ask if you or the student is unsure.
Students will be provided with excerpts specific to the ensembles they wish to join. They must prepare these excerpts and technical work The technical work can be scale/s or a short exercise that the tutor determines to be most beneficial to each individual student at that moment in time. These should reflect their curriculum level (1-10) and/or help to serve a need they have in their playing (for example a bowing technique, tonguing, counting, a particular time-signature, lip flexibility etc).
The excerpts and technical work will be assessed according to the Task 2 assessment standards, and should be recorded and submitted via the Teams app.
Task2–Year5ImmersionStudentsorBeginnerStudents–DueWeek3ofTerm4
Objective:
This is a summative assessment task to meet curriculum requirements
All students in the immersion program or other beginners will prepare a short piece that demonstrates their current performance level.
They will work with their teacher to select an appropriate piece Generally, they will choose a song from their method book (Tradition of Excellence or Encore on Strings)
They will be assessed with the Task 2 assessment standards.
Instrumental Music Curriculum
The Loreto College Instrumental Music Curriculum (IMC) is based on the Education Queensland curriculum.
Loreto has Work Programs that detail the material to cover in each of the 10 levels. These Work Programs are available in the Music Performance Program common files, and a hard copy is held in the music office
Each level also has an approximate corresponding AMEB grade shown below:
A summary of technical requirements at each level is shown below.
These are based on a full group teaching scenario using band and string method books. Individual students might benefit from a more tailored and instrument-specific approach to learning scales and technical work, so please use your professional judgement.
Year 5 Immersion
Loreto College Coorparoo runs an Immersion program for its Year 5 cohort where all students learn a Band or String instrument.
Instruments offered in the Band stream are flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, horn, euphonium, trombone, tuba and percussion.
The full range of orchestral strings is available.
Students will be allocated an instrument based on aptitude and timbre preference testing. Every week they will have a small group lesson and begin Junior Band or Junior Strings in Term 2. These are taught by core staff.
Students who come to Loreto in Year 5 with prior experience will generally continue with that instrument and will be encouraged to enrol for private lessons as well as participating in immersion. These experienced students may be taught by core staff or by visiting tutors. Dependent on their experience, availability of places and ensemble needs, experienced students may also be invited to perform with more experienced ensembles.
Students in the immersion program will complete two assessment tasks each year. These are summative assessments and fulfill the needs of their curriculum requirements for The Arts.
AMEB Exams
We encourage our students to sit for AMEB Exams, either in the For Leisure, Repertoire or Comprehensive streams. Loreto College has their own account and can enrol students on your behalf Parents will be invoiced for the cost of the exam
Carefully consider if a student is motivated to sit for an exam. They should have a good attendance and practice record. Contact parents before enrolling a student to ensure they understand the costs, the commitment level and the need to hire and rehearse with an accompanist
Please discuss a student’s suitability to sit for an AMEB exam with the Program Leader of Music Performance before enrolling them.
SHEP Programs
We regularly nominate students for the various State Honours Ensemble Programs (SHEPs).
Throughout the year you may be asked to nominate students who meet the standard for these programs.
Event Summary
Our main concerts and approximate times are listed below. Please see the full Program Calendar for exact dates each year.
What
Autumn Concerts
Who
All core ensembles and some extension (No
Jazz/Contemporary groups)
Assessment Task 1 Due All students
Loreto Music Festival (LMF)
Showcase Concert
Live and Wired
Grandparent’s Day
Queensland Catholic Schools and Colleges Music Festival (QCMF)
Cabaret
Soloists and small ensembles
All core and some extension ensembles (No
Jazz/Contemporary groups)
Jazz and Contemporary Groups
Junior Band and Junior Strings, Primary choir
All ensembles
Jazz and Contemporary groups
When
Week 6 and Week 8, Term 1
May (Week 3, Term 2)
May (Mid term 2)
June – Usually Week 9, Term 2
Early May
Early August
Mid-August
Late August
Audition Material Released Everyone Week after QCMF
Year 6-11 Assessment Task 2
Due Years 6-11
Year 5 Assessment Task 2
Due Year 5
Christmas Concert Core ensembles
State Honours Ensemble Program (SHEP)
Brass, Wind, Percussion, Voice, Guitar students
Final Week Term 3
Week 3, Term 4
Last week of Term 4
Throughout the year –nominations due in Term 1
Teams
Teams is a Microsoft App used for sharing assignments and managing classwork It has built in recording features which we use for recording assessments.
We highly recommend that students use the Teams app on a smartphone due to the recording quality being higher than most laptops.
Below is the guide that students receive when a task is set on Teams.
2026MusicAuditionGuide
Welcome to the 2026 Music Auditions! This guide will help you understand how the auditions will be conducted using Microsoft Teams.
1 Audition Structure
Platform: Auditions will be hosted on Microsoft Teams.
Specialisation Teams: Students will select the relevant link to join different Teams based on their instrument specialisation Please note that a staff member will need to approve your join request once you click the link
Band Auditions (includes rhythm section auditions for contemporary ensembles) General | Band Stream | Microsoft Teams
String Auditions General | Strings Stream | Microsoft Teams
Guitar Auditions General | Guitar Stream | Microsoft Teams
Voice Auditions General | Voice Stream | Microsoft Teams
2 Audition Setup
Assignments: The audition task will be automatically allocated as an assignment in Microsoft Teams to all students in each Team once your join request is approved
Practice Tasks: Test tasks will be provided as assignments for you to practice with your teachers.
3 Accessing Materials
Upload of Materials: All audition materials, including sheet music and instructions, will be uploaded to the specific Teams dedicated to your instrument on Monday 18 August and the All Years Common Drive Your individual teacher will also allocate a technical exercise appropriate to your level of development to you for preparation.
How to Access:
1. Log in to Microsoft Teams.
2 Navigate to your instrument-specific Team
3. Find the materials under the “Files” tab or within the assignments.
4. Preparing for Your Audition
Practice: Use the test tasks provided to practice with your teacher Experiment with the Teams app on both your phone and laptop. Phones are likely to have better sound recording capabilities. Recording: You can either pre-record your audition using your normal video platform, or through the Flip interface in Microsoft Teams. Trial using both methods to see what works most comfortably for you
Review Materials: Ensure you review all the uploaded materials to be well-prepared.
5. Audition Submission
Audition Submission: Each student may only upload 1 submission in each channel Submissions may contain multiple video files. Submissions can be edited and resubmitted unlimited times up until the submission date – Monday 15th September, 9.00am.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please reach out to your teacher, Mrs Croft or Mr McKechie. Good luck!
Basic Resources
Beginners – All beginners (Brass, Wind, Perc or Strings) will be provided with one of these methods:
Tradition of Excellence Book 1
Encore for Strings
Beginners – All beginners (Brass, Wind, Perc or Strings) will be provided with one of these methods:
Foundations for Superior Performance
This book contains scales, exercises and chorales in all keys and ranges
A selection of AMEB books for Preliminary through to Grade 4 are kept in the Music Office.
2026 Term Dates
TERM 1
Tuesday 27 January Years 5, 7, 10 & 12 only
Wednesday 28 January Years 6, 8, 9 & 11
Thursday 2 April End of Term 1
TERM 2
Tuesday 21 April Term 2 commences
Friday 19 June End of Term 2
Music Program Leader Mr Josh McKechie
Email mckechiej@loreto.qld.edu.au
Phone (07) 3394 9922
TERM 3
Tuesday 14 July Term 3 commences
Friday 18 September End of Term 3
TERM 4
Tuesday 6 October Term 4 commences
Friday 20 November Year 12 finish
Friday 27 November End of Term 4
#loretomusic
The Loreto Coorparoo community acknowledges the Yuggera and Turrbal people, the traditional custodians of Meanjin, the land and waters on which our school stands, and all First Nations peoples We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present and young emerging leaders and are enriched by the living spiritualities of First Nations We commit ourselves to justice and Reconciliation