Gioia House Music

Music holds a central and celebrated place in the life of Santa Sabina College and is one of the College’s premier academic and co-curricular offerings. Home to one of the largest school based string offerings in the country, Santa Sabina provides an exceptional, vertically integrated music education that nurtures both personal growth and artistic excellence.

A Foundation in Music: Gioia House

From the early years, music is a foundational part of the Santa Sabina experience. All Gioia House students participate in mandatory classroom music and instrumental learning, ensuring every student learns an instrument and develops core musicianship skills. Beyond the mandated learning program, Gioia House students are encouraged to extend their musical interests through participation in a wide range of string, brass, woodwind and percussion ensembles, as well as choirs.

Performance, Pathways and Partnerships

Students across the College are provided with rich opportunities for development in performance, listening and composition within a whole school culture that values music as a shared language. Carefully cultivated collaborations with leading professional musicians, composers, ensembles and partner schools strengthen learning, connection and identity across the College community.

Performance and Excellence

Students perform across a wide range of string, brass, woodwind, percussion and vocal ensembles, contributing to liturgies, masses, major College events, Celebration of Music concerts, fortnightly recitals and international concert tours. Hallmarks of music at Santa Sabina include performances in major Sydney venues such as City Recital Hall, Sydney Town Hall and St Mary’s Cathedral.

The finale of our Gala Concert 2025 at Sydney Town Hall was a stirring celebration of music, unity and hope. Performed by our massed choir and orchestra of over 600 students from Years 1–12, the newly commissioned work Let Hope Arise was composed by our Director of Music Amy Richardson in collaboration with Barkindji Songwoman Nancy Bates, and orchestrated by Andrew Howes. Intertwining some of the final encouragements of Pope Francis with lyrics written by students and staff, this powerful work offers a message of strength, unity and possibility. In a world where darkness too often prevails, Let Hope Arise calls us to be bringers of light. We were honoured to be joined by guest male voices, organist Daniel Justin and Wakka Wakka man Chris Williams on didgeridoo, creating a truly unforgettable and moving conclusion to a spectacular evening.