The Australian School of Performing Arts was established in 2009, founded on a desire to ensure that all children, teachers and communities have the opportunity to experience the enduring, significant and powerful benefits of engaging in the performing arts.
Humble beginnings
The Australian Girls Choir (AGC) was established in 1984 by Judith Curphey OAM, with 150 girls rehearsing in four classes in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood and Judith as the sole tutor. Today the AGC is proud to have 6500 girls learning to sing, dance and perform in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
AGC sets the stage
The founding philosophy behind the AGC is that every child can learn to sing given encouragement and training, and the dynamic and inclusive curriculum is designed to cater to varying abilities and confidence levels. The senior performance groups have shared the stage with outstanding artists including Pharrell Williams, Olivia Newton-John and on tour with Hugh Jackman, released several CDs, and performed for audiences including Pope Benedict XVI, the King of Tonga, Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II.
ASPA is born..
After experiencing the profound and positive impacts of the performing arts through the AGC, Judith was compelled to extend these opportunities to students and teachers and communities who may not otherwise have access to them. Since it’s establishment in 2009, ASPA Education (formerly Australian Arts Alive) has engaged thousands of participants in many and varied programs – providing performing arts workshops and holiday programs, creating choreography for school concerts, directing school musicals and facilitating professional development sessions for teachers and early childhood educators.
We couldn`t be more excited to dive into our school programs for Term 1! 💙
With fun-filled performing arts programs happening in brand new schools and long time friends of ASPA Ed, we are thrilled to be hitting the ground running in Term 1 with some amazing educational and school-based partnerships! 🌟
Swipe through to see what our team will be getting up to this term ✨
Feb 5
Wondering what you’ll actually do at our upcoming `Inspire Your School Choir’ Teacher PD? 🎵
Across the day, you’ll:
⭐ Experience practical warm ups, rehearsal techniques and repertoire ideas you can use straight away
⭐ Build a toolkit of strategies to refresh or relaunch your school choir, no matter its current level
⭐ Connect and share ideas with like-minded performing arts educators from across the state
Ready to give your school choir new life? Visit our website to secure your spot before it`s too late! 💙
Feb 3
What an incredible week! 🎭🎵
Across five states, our ASPA Ed team had an absolute ball creating musical magic with hundreds of enthusiastic young performers in our Summer Showtime Music Theatre Program for 2026. In just four days, our incredible cast brought the stage to life with joyful performances of The Jungle Book KIDS and Finding Nemo KIDS for their proud family and friends. Along the way, many friends and memories were made, and important stage skills were learnt that will hopefully inspire participants to keep shining wherever they perform next! ✨
Thank you to every superstar who joined us – you made it unforgettable, and we’re already excited to do it all again in 2027! 🎤⭐
📷 - view more photos in our `Summer Showtime Music Theatre Holiday Program 2026` Facebook album.
Feb 2
