Three local high school students will swap the classroom for the stage of the Brisbane Convention Centre next weekend to showcase their musical talents.

Eatons Hill’s Andrew Ashton and Camp Mountain siblings Nathan and Sarah Wilesmith are some of around 1500  Queensland students, aged five to 18, who will feature in the Creative Generation – State Schools Onstage concerts.

As part of their preparation for the concerts, Andrew and fellow musicians from a 16-member big band took part in a two-day workshop with jazz trumpet legend James Morrison.

“He’s so experienced and we experimented with different techniques like how to breathe when playing, and how to really get into a performance,” said Andrew, a saxophone player and Bray Park  State High School student.

“It was a pretty big step for me, playing with James Morrison.

“He was really helpful and for my music (development) it was a really big thing to get into.”

Violin player Nathan, who attends Ferny Grove State High School, said he was enjoying the repertoire of songs his 65-piece symphony orchestra will perform with help from back-up singers and dancers.

“When you play a stringed instrument you don’t get to play a lot of modern songs that you listen to daily, so it draws you away from the classical stuff,” he said.

Nathan’s older sister Sarah, who plays cello and is a band leader at The Gap High School, will be performing in the Creative Generation showcase for the fourth time.

Creative Generation – State Schools Onstage will also feature a 600-voice choir, 600 dancers and 30 featured soloists.

The concerts will be held on 20 and 21 July at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

For tickets phone 132 849 or visit http://www.ticketek.com.au/