State Honours Ensemble Program (SHEP)

In partnership with schools across Queensland, SHEP connects the finest young musicians with a team of eminent international and national conductors in pursuit of musical excellence.

For nomination information, email shep-conservatorium@griffith.edu.au or call us on 07 3735 6375.

What is SHEP?

State Honours Ensemble Program is an educational program for music students that helps extend and encourage their pursuit of musical excellence. Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University’s State Honours Ensemble Program has grown from relatively modest beginnings in 2001. SHEP is now a firmly established aspect of music learning in Queensland, bringing together young people from all over the State, in regional centres and Brisbane to share their passion for making music.

Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University provides five programs in Brisbane and twelve regional programs.

Regional Programs in partnership with local schools are held at; Bundaberg, Cairns, Longreach, Mackay, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Townsville, and Toowoomba.

Brisbane programs are held at the Queensland Conservatorium, at our South Bank Campus in South Brisbane and include; Australian Honours Ensemble Program (AHEP), SHEP Queensland (State-wide),  SHEP South East QLD, SHEP Brisbane and SHEP Primary.

Since first commencing in 2001 SHEP has seen over 45,000 students attend the SHEP programs throughout Queensland, from more than 2000 schools; with many of these students progressing from the Middle school programs through to AHEP.  A select number of participants have also joined the international arm of SHEP, Pacific Honours Ensemble Program (PHEP), which tours to Seattle each year.  Since 2001 more than 300 nationally and internationally acclaimed conductors have led the SHEP ensembles to presentations of musical excellence. 2018 saw the inaugural Australian Honours Ensemble Program (AHEP) with a wind orchestra, string orchestra and vocal ensemble and now includes the Symphony Orchestra and Big Band which were previously part of SHEP Queensland. AHEP is an extension of the State Honours Ensemble Program.

2024 Calendar

Click here for more details on the criteria.

REGIONAL PROGRAMS

Program

Criteria

Dates

Nominations close

North Queensland (NQ)

Held at: St Marys Catholic College, Cairns

Years 6 - 12

Instrumental: AMEB: 4 to 7

Choral: Mid to high level choral exp

March 1 -3

October 20 (2023)

Darling Downs (DD)

Held at: Centenary Heights SHS, Toowoomba

Years 6 - 12

Instrumental: AMEB: 4 to 7

Choral: Mid to high level choral exp

March 8 - 10

October 20 (2023)

Longreach (LRE)

Held at: Longreach SS/SHS, Longreach

Years 4 - 9

Instrumental: AMEB: 1 to 4

Choral: Choral experience expected

March 15 - 17

October 20 (2023)

Rockhampton (MSR)

Held at: North Rockhampton SHS, Rockhampton

Years 5 - 10

Instrumental: AMEB: 2 to 4

Choral: Choral experience expected

March 22 - 24

October 20 (2023)

Sunshine Coast (SC)

Held at: Chancellor State College, Sippy Downs

Years 6 - 12

Instrumental: AMEB: 4 to 7

Choral: Mid to high level choral exp

May 3 - 5

February 16

Capricornia (CAP)

Held at: North Rockhampton SHS, Rockhampton

Years 6 - 12

Instrumental: AMEB: 4 to 7

Choral: Mid to high level choral exp

May 17 - 19

February 23

Townsville (MST)

Held at: Ryan Catholic College, Townsville

Years 5 - 10

Instrumental: AMEB: 2 to 4

Choral: Choral experience expected

June 7 - 9

March 15

Bundaberg (MSB)

Held at: Bundaberg Christian College, Bundaberg

Years 5 - 10

Instrumental: AMEB: 1 to 4

Choral: Choral experience expected

June 14 - 16

March 15

Cairns (MSC)

Held at: St Marys Catholic College, Cairns

Years 5 - 10

Instrumental: AMEB: 2 to 4

Choral: Choral experience expected

August 2 - 4

May 3

Mackay (MSM)

Held at: Mackay Nth SHS, Mackay

Years 5 - 10

Instrumental: AMEB: 2 to 4

August 23 - 25

May 10

Maryborough (MBH)

Held at: Maryborough SHS, Maryborough

Years 4 - 8

Instrumental: AMEB: 0.5 - 2

Choral: Choral experience expected

October 11 - 13

June 21

Toowoomba (NEW PROGRAM)

Held at: Rangeville State School

Years 4 - 6

Instrumental: AMEB: 1 – 3

Choral experience expected

November 1-3July 29

BRISBANE PROGRAMS

Held at QLD Conservatorium Griffith University South Bank

Program

Criteria

Dates

Nominations close

Primary (PRM)

Open to: schools within Brisbane Metro, Darling Downs, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and South-East QLD only

Years 4 - 6

Instrumental: AMEB: 1 – 3

Choral - Choral experience expected

Nov 23 - 24

July 22

South-East QLD (SEQ)

Open to: schools within Brisbane Metro, Darling Downs and SEQ (incl Gold Coast) only

Instrumental: AMEB: 2 to 4 in years 5 – 10

Choral: Years 5 - 8, Choral experience expected

May 31 - 2 Jun

March 1

Brisbane (BNE)

Open to: schools within Brisbane Metro and SEQ (incl Gold Coast) only

Instrumental: AMEB: 4 - 6 in years 6 – 12

Choral: Years 6 - 9 Mid level choral exp

July 5 - 7

March 1

Queensland (QLD)

Open to: All schools in QLD

Instrumental: AMEB: 4 and above in years 7 - 12

Choral: Years 9 - 12 with mid-high choral exp

Sept 26 - 29

March 1

AHEP (AHEP)

Open to: Australia Wide

Instrumental: AMEB: 6 and above

Choral: Years 9 – 12, AMEB 4 High choral experience

Selection is by audition

Sept 25 - 28

February 23

SHEP Queensland

Successful students will have the opportunity to work in either a Wind Orchestra, String Orchestra, Guitar Ensemble or Vocal Ensemble.

2024 Honours Program Nominations

Australian Honours Ensemble Program (AHEP)

The AHEP Programs runs concurrently with SHEP QLD. Selection into this program is only via audition.  Nomination forms are emailed to teachers at the end of the year for submission to us early the next year.  Once nominations are in, students are then emailed the requirements for audition and will be asked to submit their video audition to us via dropbox. Students that are unsuccessful for a place in the AHEP Program will then be considered for a place in SHEP QLD.

Successful students will have the opportunity to work in either a Wind Orchestra, String Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Big Band or Vocal Ensemble.

2024 Audition material

Instrumental students are also required to submit two contrasting unaccompanied pieces/section of your choice, not exceeding 3 mins per piece.

Important Information

Attendance

Participants are expected to make themselves available for all rehearsals and the concert performance. Participating in the Honours Programs is a major commitment, and students are required to attend all rehearsals over the program. If you have an event (e.g. family, school, sporting, community, religious) that you know will preclude you from any part of the rehearsals or concert you must decline the offer to participate, so we can extend the invitation to another student. At no time during the event are participants permitted to leave the Honours venue during the daily activities.


Transport/ Accommodation Students/families attending this program are required to organise their own transport and accommodation (if applicable) throughout.

For Teachers only If you would like to be added to the SHEP Mailing lists please email us at shep-conservatorium@griffith.edu.au and be sure to advise which SHEP programs you wish to be added to.

2024 Honours Program Nominations

Frequently Asked Questions

How are students nominated?

Approximately three months prior to each program, music/choral teachers are emailed and asked to nominate the students that meet the specified criteria for each program. Teachers complete a nomination form and return to us by the required deadline. Students represent their school; therefore, nomination forms will only be accepted from a school representative and not parents, however teachers can nominate students that study music (individual tuition) outside of the school providing they have their AMEB grade.

Which instruments are part of the Honours Programs?

Strings: violin, viola, cello, double bass
Winds: flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba, percussion
Vocal ensemble: soprano, alto, baritone, tenor (SATB choir only available in some programs)
Guitar ensemble: Classical acoustic – ONLY FOR SHEP QLD, SHEP SEQ AND SHEP BRISBANE

How are students selected?

The process commences with Open Conservatorium asking teachers to nominate students for specific programs that their students may be eligible. We honour the teacher's nomination, as we acknowledge that the teacher has the best idea of the student's standard. We ask teachers to nominate students with their approximate AMEB grade and school year level.

From the nominations, we place students into relevant instrument groups, and sort them from the highest AMEB, as nominated by teacher, and then year level within each AMEB group. Based upon the required number of instruments within each section of the ensemble (as we are required to maintain a specific ensemble balance), we select students from the highest AMEB down based on number of required instruments.

At times there are students of the same AMEB within the cut-off range, at this point we allocate to older students as they may not have another opportunity to participate or be nominated again. We then select students as reserves, as they may be selected for the program depending upon whether other students decline and ensemble vacancies arise.

Please be assured there is no preferential treatment given to any student, and unfortunately, some instrument areas (violin, trumpet, flute, saxophone) are incredibly competitive as we receive numerous nominations, often in the multiple 100s, particularly for the Brisbane programs for very limited places.

Vocal students - Vocal students are selected in a similar way to instrumentalists (AMEB followed by Year Level), however, we also take into consideration teachers' recommendations of students, how many years of choral experience a student may have and the potential Year Level range of the ensemble. This also helps conductors with selecting appropriate repertoire for the age range of the ensemble.

What happens once I am nominated?

Once all the nominations have been submitted by teachers, you will receive an email from SHEP admin to notify you that you have been nominated and to provide you with information regarding the program. You will then receive another email within 2 – 3 weeks with the outcome of the nomination, students will receive one of the following:
Successful Offer - An offer to participate in the program
Reserve list - Students on the reserve list may be made an offer subject to positions becoming available.

Unsuccessful - Not all students nominated by their teachers are able to be offered positions for the program. This does not reflect the ability of the student but the volume of high standard nominations we have received and limited places available, or that the nomination criteria was not met.

When are the finale concerts held?

Concerts are held on the Sunday of the program and family and friends are welcome to attend. Students represent their schools and are to wear their full school uniform for the concert performance.

Where are rehearsals held for the SHEP programs held in Brisbane?

Rehearsals are held over several venues including:

Queensland Conservatorium
Somerville House
Brisbane State High School
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

View rehearsal venue maps

SHEP T-SHIRT SIZE GUIDE

Each participant is provided with a souvenir t-shirt which is selected at the time of payment and registration.

View our sizing guide

Contact us

Learn more about the Open Conservatorium