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News
With thanks to acting Head of Music, Oliver Gilmour
The College Music programme hit all the right notes with a pleasing collection of awards at the 2018 KBB Music Festival. The festival was held at Holy Trinity Cathedral and St Mary’s Church in Parnell last week. The annual festival showcases the very best in secondary school music from schools across Auckland, featuring the four categories of Symphony Orchestras, Concert Bands, Jazz Bands and Chamber Orchestras.
This year, the Concert Band was selected to participate in the Gala Concert, meaning that they were chosen as one of the Top 4 Concert Bands in Auckland. The band presented their performance once again at the Gala Concert with Mr Lachlan Craig conducting ‘Arabesque’ by Samuel Hazo in Mr Ross Gerritsen’s absence. The band was very fortunate to have Mr David Chaulk conduct his very own piece, ‘Meditation on St Clement’. Mr Chaulk worked alongside the band to develop their skills in performing his work. The Concert Band was presented with a Gold Award at the conclusion of the concert. In addition to this, they received the Best Performance of a New Zealand Work as a result of their presentation of Mr Chaulk’s work.
A second gold award was presented to the Saint Kentigern Chamber Orchestra. This ensemble, directed by Mr Lachlan Craig, performed Stravinsky’s ‘Pulcinella Overture’, ‘October’ by the celebrated composer Eric Whitacre and ‘The Banks of Green Willow’ by George Butterworth. A New Zealand piece was included in their programme; Andrew Baldwin’s ‘I Lift Up My Eyes to the Mountains’. It was fantastic to see this group recognised for their exceptional string playing.
The Symphony Orchestra's performances of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Romeo and Juliet Overture’, ‘Morning from Peer Gynt Suite’ by Grieg and Mozart’s ‘Flute Concerto in G’ earned them a Bronze Award. This group has been ably led by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Principal Trombone, Mr Doug Cross. Special mention must be made of flautist, Catherine Chang, for her performance of the flute concerto.
The Saint Kentigern Big Band, directed by Mr Paul Norman, was awarded a Bronze Award at the conclusion of the festival. Tunes included Ted Snyder’s ‘Who’s Sorry Now’, ‘Secret Love’ by Sammy Fain, ‘Desafinado’ by Jobim, Irving Berlin’s ‘Cheek to Cheek’, and ‘Take The A Train’ by Billy Strayhorn. The Big Band’s highly enjoyable performance certainly set toes tapping and the students should be commended for their performance.
The String Ensemble is a new ensemble in 2018 to cater for our younger string players and is directed by Mr Lachlan Craig. This development group was a pleasure to listen to and the judges enjoyed their performance of some well-known string ensemble repertoire. Pieces included ‘Three Bach Chorales’ by JS Bach, ‘Finlandia’ by Sibelius, ‘Finale from Serenade for Strings’ by Tchaikovsky and Gary Fagan’s ‘Appalachian Celebration’. The judges also awarded this ensemble a Bronze Award.
This year, Mr Oliver Gilmour’s Sinfonia was replaced by the Saint Kentigern Wind Band. A Commended Award was given to the Saint Kentigern Wind Band. As another development group, this ensemble is now able to perform concert band repertoire and the students enjoyed presenting four pieces including ‘Colonel Bogey’s March’ by Alford, Mancini’s ‘Baby Elephant Walk’, ‘Instant Concert’ by Harold Walters, and the famous ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams.
The Saint Kentigern Stage Band, directed by Mr Paul Norman, also performed with distinction at the Festival. This group was entered in the non-competitive category and presented several Duke Ellington tunes as well as Jimmy Forrest’s ‘Night Train’ and ‘Mambo No. 5’ by Lou Bega. This development group will no doubt be able to participate competitively in the Festival in future years.
The Music Department is particularly proud of these results. These ensembles highlight the growing depth of instrumental music at the College ensuring a strong flow of musicians for the future. We look forward to ongoing success at the KBB Festival next year and beyond.
Please note - Photos were taken at the College Large Ensemble Showcase