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GV Grammar School students perform well at eisteddfods

By Ashley Darling

Jun 24, 2026

Xander Telford, 16, Hudson James, 18, Kabeer Tejraj Tawde, 17, Amira James, 16, and Sophie Plant, 18, all achieved podium places at the Ballarat and Bendigo eisteddfods. Photo by Ashley Darling

Five students from Goulburn Valley Grammar School achieved podium places across two eisteddfods in June, with four of them attending for the first time.

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Amira James, 16, and Xander Telford, 16, both competed in the Bendigo Eisteddfod on Sunday, June 7, alongside many young singers from regional Victoria.

Amira achieved first place in the country music solo competition for her age category, where she sang Travelin’ Soldier by The Chicks.

“I was pretty happy and proud of myself,” Amira said.

Xander achieved third place in the pre-1960s classic stage and screen solo.

Xander found his way to singing through his involvement with school theatre and said that he enjoyed how singing “goes hand in hand with acting”.

The pair were accompanied on the piano by GV Grammar School music director Phil Tan.

Sophie Plant, 18, Hudson James, 18, and Kabeer Tejraj Tawde, 17, attended the Royal South Street Eisteddford in Ballarat on Saturday, June 13.

The Ballarat Eisteddfod is the largest and longest running eisteddfod in Australia.

Sophie achieved third place in the contemporary stage and screen combination and was awarded the Sutton House Music Perpetual Shield Award.

She competed in the Bendigo Eisteddfod last year and was happy to return to the stage.

“It was really good to talk to the other competitors and learn from them,” Sophie said.

Hudson placed second in the contemporary ballad category and enjoyed the experience, especially getting to know his fellow competitors.

“I was happy, I made a good account of myself,” Hudson said.

Kabeer won first place in two competitions, the jazz, blues, soul section and the contemporary stage and screen combination.

He said the experience was worth the effort and “it was a beautiful atmosphere”.

Kabeer also received the Nicholas McMahon Prize for Stage and Screen.

Kabeer and Hudson both received invitations to compete in the Ballarat Opera Festival, sponsored by the Victorian Opera.

Competing in the eisteddfods is part of the students’ journeys towards their exams in October and it provides an opportunity to gain valuable performance experience.

Voice tutor and teacher Sherryn Parnell accompanied the students to both eisteddfods and said “the school is very proud of them”.

“It’s very good that community organisations can put on eisteddfods, especially for regional students,” Ms Parnell said.