The Beat is an extravagant production showcasing the wealth of talent in public schools, and the dedication, commitment and creativity of the teachers who nurture the talent.

This year about 1000 students from 29 schools will take to the stage.

A 300-voice choir, 25 piece orchestra, dance groups, rock bands, soloists and more will serenade Territorians over three magnificent nights at the Darwin Entertainment Centre.

NT Music School principal Bill Grose has participated in the BEAT since 1994, joining as a guitar teacher.

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Back then the Beat was on a single night event but as the years passed, one evening wasn’t sufficient enough to showcase the talents of the performers.

“We would have about 700 kids in the choir,” Mr Grose says.

“Back in the 90s we used to do it at the Amphitheatre and we used to actually have a massive 700-voice choir on the same night but it ended up becoming to just too big.

“Times have changed and it’s really not even a great environment to be looking after a thousand kids in the dark.”

This year’s theme is Forte, a play on words but also a summary of how the students will perform.

“The forte side of the music means to play loud plus strong,” he says.

The Beat is a life-changing event for many students; kids realise their future lies in performance, for some it’s a chance to come out of their shell and others a way to express themselves.

“I’ve had principals say to me that for some students it is really the best thing that will happen to them in their school years,” Mr Grose says.

“We got an email last year saying even the kids who’ve been in the Beat before were so overwhelmed that they cried.

“Another principal saying to me that when their school came on board fairly recently with the Beat and saying they went out bursting into Darwin Entertainment Centre it was their proudest moment.”

Participating in the Beat is especially special for remote students. “The communities get really behind it,” Mr Grose says. “We got an email from Ramingining saying the community was so proud of their kids, English is not even their first language and a learned 12 songs in English to sing in a two part harmony.

“It’s a really overwhelming experience for the kids. It’s big, they step out onto the stage and they have a sold out audience at Darwin Entertainment Centre.”

The Beat is more than a fun event but an opportunity for students to have a professional music experience.

Some of the Territory’s most talented musicians have performed at the BEAT, including Jessica Mauboy, who Mr Grose joined on stage.

“There are those kids who are destined for the music industry,” he says. “We’ve seen another recent one who’s starting to make a name for herself in the Australian music industry, Stevie (Jean Kyriacou) she was in the she’s the host and soul and vocal soloist.

“We’ve got another few great singers who’ve got star quality coming through at the moment, Phoebe Wear who was a soloist last year won the NT Song of the Year.

“Our soloist from Alice Springs who goes by the name of Ceenah, she’s absolutely something to see.”

Students in the Beat not only get a chance to perform and showcase their talent in front of family and friends, but to interstate and international guests.

“We had a school from Tongling in Anhui Province in China that visited twice for the base camp for the Beat,” Mr Grose says.

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“The first time they brought a traditional Chinese dance troupe, for the second time they brought a traditional Chinese orchestra of middle school students.

“One time we took over a rock band from Darwin with company and dancers from Arnhem Land, so we’ve had a great exchange.”

In the last four decades the Beat has become more than a music event.

Larrakeyah, Nightcliff, Wulagi, Parap and Nakara Primary Schools are some of the schools which have participated since the beginning, and each year more institutions outside Darwin join the event.

Humpty Doo’s Taminmin College will perform a feature dance this year, making it the first time Taminmin has participated as a school.

Palmerston College’s senior campus will also make its debut with a feature dance, and students from Katherine and Alice Springs will also join the event.

“We’ve kind of reached that point now where Palmerston and the rural area really just play the part of the fabric of the BEAT now,” Mr Grose says.

“I would love to see more remote schools being able to participate especially in the choir. Obviously there’s a big logistic issues there … it’s expensive to travel around the Territory especially if you’re talking about a whole cohort of kids but it would be lovely to see that.”

Students have also taken on more authoritative roles, especially within the orchestra.

“We’re seeing more and more student leadership and choreography and writing original music,” he says.

“If you look back to the programs of the Beat back in the old days, the 80s and the first one in 79, most of the band was made up of teachers.

“Teachers, adults, professional musicians with some students some of the best students in the band. As the programs grown, Darwin’s grown and Palmerston’s emerged and we’ve now got these a great set of fantastic musician students that we teach week in and week out.

“(It’s a) big responsibility on those kids but they’ve been in training if you will since grade four or five.

“It’s a professional musicians experience to perform in the pit … there are a lot of people that rely on them as well.

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“It’s a great kind of life training as well in terms of you know understanding that some things take a long time to develop the and kind of the balance between passionate discipline.”

It takes a year for NT Music School, teachers and students across the Territory to arrange the following year’s production but the Beat’s future is secured as one of the NT’s most spectacular student extravaganzas.

The Beat Festival is on September 11, 12 and 13 at Darwin Entertainment Centre from 7pm.