At St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School, music has long been more than an extracurricular. For many students, the school’s rich and diverse program has provided the spark for lifelong careers in the performing arts. Three Old Girls – Meleia Richardson (’21), opera singer Nina Korbe (’15), and violinist Annabelle Traves (’14) – show just how far that spark can reach.
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For Meleia Richardson, music shaped every corner of her school life. From choirs and rock bands to lead roles in school musicals, she embraced every opportunity to perform. In her senior year she played Miss Honey in Matilda, a role that felt symbolic of the encouragement she had once received from older girls and was now passing on to younger students.
“I spent most of my spare time in the Sister Helen Orchestra Room and absolutely loved it,” she recalled. “I feel very lucky to have been part of a school that offered such a rich, diverse, and high-quality music program.”
After graduating, Meleia studied Contemporary Voice at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, where she developed as a solo artist and songwriter, experimenting with recording and production as well as performance. In 2025, she returned to Classics in the Cathedral, a St Margaret’s tradition she always loved, before stepping into professional performance.
Now represented by an agent, she is working towards contracts as a vocalist on cruise ships and has also begun exploring the growing field of music therapy after her experiences in disability support.
While Meleia’s career is taking flight, two other St Margaret’s alumnae are already established names in the performing arts.
Nina Korbe (née Wildman ’15) has become one of Brisbane’s rising opera stars. Recently listed among Style Magazine’s 30 Under 30, she is fresh from playing the lead role of Maria in Opera Australia’s West Side Story. Next year she will take to the stage at QPAC’s Glasshouse Theatre as Molly Johnson in The Drover’s Wife, marking another milestone in her fast-growing career.
Annabelle Traves (’14) has taken her violin to some of the world’s most celebrated concert stages. She has toured globally with André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra, performed alongside Bruce Springsteen, and earlier this year released her debut single. Also featured in Style’s 30 Under 30, Annabelle continues to balance large-scale international tours with her own creative projects.
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Together, these three Old Girls represent the breadth of opportunity that begins at St Margaret’s: from opera and orchestral touring to contemporary performance and music therapy. Each has followed a different path, yet all share the same foundation – a school community that nurtured their talents, challenged them to grow, and inspired them to dream boldly.
Their stories now inspire the next generation of St Margaret’s students who, like them, are discovering their passions and imagining their futures in music and beyond.
Published 22-September-2025
