Brunswick North Primary School enjoys annual night of Italian songs

Twelve years on, the choir has grown to 130 students aged between 8 and 12, who choose to come together once a week during recess to learn seven songs from a repertoire that includes major Italian hits and songs from the Zecchino d’Oro.

This commitment led the choir to perform on October 30 in front of almost 450 family members and friends, who enthusiastically filled the Vizzini Club in Coburg. The hall was decorated with the children’s artwork and many green, white and red details.

The school’s parents’ committee, led by Natasha and Kirstyn, took care of setting up the space with the help of some former students who are now in secondary school.

Thanks to Natasha’s creativity, the children performed wearing T-shirts illustrated with a their own artistic design.

Before the performance, language assistant Eleonora Massaro opened the event with an Acknowledgement of Country delivered in Italian.

This year’s songs—That’s Amore, Un elefante si dondolava, Sarà perché ti amo, I Want to Be in Italy, Nonna Rock, Tintarella di Luna and Il Ballo del Qua Qua—were supplemented with Nonna by Vaudeville Smash, a local band from Coburg who had two band members singing live with the children.

The small group of students who took part in the Melbourne Zecchino d’Oro, performing at the Italian Festa last October, then sang Il lungo, il corto e il pacioccone.

Throughout the year, as is tradition, the choir, under the direction of Bruna Centofanti, rehearsed with Roger and Gino, the musicians who accompany them on stage every year.

Roger and Gino are also teachers at Gladstone Park Secondary College, highlighting the important link created by a shared passion for Italian between primary and secondary schools.

In addition, during the evening one of the mums, Sarah, accompanied the students on keyboard and trumpet.

School principal Adam Dunemann also took to the stage to play guitar with the children during their performance of Sarà perché ti amo, and reminded everyone how valuable this event is for the school community, calling it “a tradition that brings joy, participation and pride every year”.