Five Sydney Opera House concerts run from 3 August to 7 August 2026
More than 3,700 NSW public school students will perform at the Sydney Opera House during Public Education Week, from Monday 3 August to Friday 7 August 2026, for the Festival of Choral Music.
Five concerts will take place in the Concert Hall, with more than 650 young performers appearing each evening. About 3,300 primary choristers from 116 public schools and two regional choirs will join hundreds of instrumentalists, vocalists and soloists.
The festival began in 1947 and remains a long-running NSW public education music tradition. The Department of Education’s Arts Unit coordinates the event as part of Public Education Week 2026.
The programme includes primary and secondary students in massed choirs, orchestras, concert bands, chamber ensembles, vocal ensembles, jazz groups, contemporary music groups and solo performances.
North Coast Festival Orchestra
The newly formed North Coast Festival Orchestra will become the first featured ensemble from outside metropolitan Sydney. Its 44 musicians come from 13 NSW public schools.
The orchestra will appear in the Argyle concert on Monday 3 August and the Australis concert on Tuesday 4 August. It will also accompany the combined Festival Choir as part of the concert series.
Other featured student groups include the North Sydney Boys High School Symphony Orchestra, Matthew Pearce Public School Senior Band, Sydney North Public Schools Symphonic Band, Hunter Wind Ensemble, Winmalee High School Rock Orchestra, Chatswood High School Senior Vocal Ensemble and Sydney Secondary College Chamber Strings.
Luke Wallace, the Department of Education Arts Unit Student Music Programmes Officer, said the festival helps students build musicianship, confidence, discipline, teamwork and a sense of belonging.
“The Festival of Choral Music began in 1947 and has provided generations of NSW public school students with opportunities to perform challenging music as part of a major combined choir,” Wallace said.
Students spend much of the year learning selected and arranged repertoire in their own schools before joining combined rehearsals and performances. For many families and teachers, the festival also carries an intergenerational link through past participation in NSW public schools.
Public Education Week 2026 celebrates the achievements of NSW public schools and recognises students, teachers, school staff, families and communities. The concert series runs as Argyle on Monday 3 August, Australis on Tuesday 4 August, Barangaroo on Wednesday 5 August, Bennelong on Thursday 6 August and Endeavour on Friday 7 August 2026.
