West Gippsland Music & Drama Eisteddfod

The West Gippsland Music & Drama Eisteddfod commenced in 1994 as an initiative of local music teachers who wanted to establish a performing arts event to give music students the chance to perform publicly and receive objective and constructive feedback from independent music adjudicators. The Eisteddfod is now a significant cultural event and operates for all races, ages, abilities and cultures, with a strong emphasis on youth participation. It is also the only event of its kind in West Gippsland and its growth over almost three decades is testament to it fulfilling the needs of the local community.

The primary objective of the Eisteddfod is to contribute to the development of the skills and abilities of local performing artists and to provide them with a vehicle through which they can achieve their full potential in their chosen area of performance. It is held annually in July/August and runs for up to 16 days at different venues including the Arts Centre, Marist Sion College, St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School, Warragul Uniting Church and Warragul Community Church.

Each year we offer a range of performance opportunities across disciplines including Pianoforte, Classical and Contemporary Popular Vocal, Speech and Drama, Instrumental Solos and Ensembles,  and  Instrumental Groups and Choral. On average we receive around 1,000 section entries for some 175 separate events, with over 2,000 performers (individuals and groups) in total. Since 2012 the Eisteddfod has also promoted social inclusion within our community by running the Gippsland Parasteddfod which offers performance opportunities to people with a disability.

The Eisteddfod, now titled “The West Gippsland Performing Arts Competition”, is totally run by volunteers who amass over 1,500 volunteer hours each year. The running costs – including venue hire, adjudicator and accompanist fees, and trophies and prize money – and volunteer workload of this large scale event are significant and any sponsorship and volunteer support is greatly appreciated.

We are a Child Safe organisation. Our Child Safety Policy can be viewed here.
Our Code of Conduct for Volunteers can be viewed here.