Mrs Carey's Concert

'Mrs Carey's Concert' is an Australian documentary about a Sydney girls' school preparations for the concert it holds every two years at the Sydney Opera House. The documentary focuses especially on Emily, a sixteen years old violinist with a startling talent and to a lesser extent Iris, an uncooperative teenager forced to participate in the obligatory supporting choir who finds the preparations tedious and defies all pressure for her to be a team player.

The teachers push the girls hard and I felt for Emily and the musician students as they are pressed by their adult mentors to articulate feelings which at that stage must be well beyond their years and life experience. Ironically it is only the recalcitrant Iris who seems to have those communication skills but her teachers are only interested in pulling her into line.

This private school must have some music department given the number of teachers and mentors available to the pupils and their efforts pay off when the eventual concert is a triumph.

A fascinating documentary.