2016 MacKillop graduates Ashleigh Eades and Fraeya Evans are over the moon and shooting for the stars after receiving offers to study Contemporary Music with the West Australian Academy for Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University.
Ashleigh also received an ECU scholarship for displaying academic excellence, endeavor and leadership during her time at MacKillop.
Ashleigh, who began piano lessons in Primary school and taught herself to play guitar, said she always had a passion for music and performing. She also participated in pantomimes for the local Repertory Club from an early age, as well as the College’s countless music opportunities and “as many gigs as I could get outside school”.
“Perform as much as you can” is Ashleigh’s advice to students interested in taking their music beyond high school, and Fraeya couldn’t agree more. “Take every opportunity you get to perform in front of others,” she reiterates. “Rectango, assemblies and concerts – the experience is invaluable”.
Fraeya came to music much later, discovering singing at MacKillop and beginning piano lessons in Year 9, although she, too, performed early on in Repertory Club pantomimes.
Both students completed Certificates II and III in Music Performance in Year 11 and 12 alongside ATAR subjects, and credit their writing skills as a factor in securing places at WAAPA, as the audition included performing original compositions. Fraeya, who loves writing poetry and stories, was offered a place at UWA in the Bachelor of Arts course, while Ashleigh was accepted into Creative Writing at Curtin University before getting the news of her audition success.
It was a trip to Perth for the University Open Days and that led both girls to decide on auditioning for WAAPA. “I never thought I was good enough,” remembers Ashleigh. But they met lecturers, had all their questions answered and saw for themselves what life on campus would be like. “After that I just wanted it more.”