2023 marked the return to a more “normal” way of life for the Music Department after three covid-disrupted years.

A busy concert calendar, competition success and innovations in the curriculum mark the year that was 2023. Here are just some of the highlights:

Choral Music

It was great to see all our choirs performing at The Big Sing; special congratulations to Bel Canto and Magna Voce who progressed in the competition and won national awards, Bel Canto at Finale in Auckland and Magna at Cadenza in Timaru. Our traditional “Burnside Voices” concert in the wonderful acoustic of St Mary’s Cathedral was a fitting way to end the year, also to give our Year 13 leavers a fitting send-off.

Orchestral and Band

The Orchestral Showcase proved a fitting platform to feature our Symphony Orchestra in a full-length concert in the Aurora Centre. They went on to deliver an outstanding performance at the Aurora Festival, winning one of very few Gold Awards. The Symphonic Band, Junior Concert Band and Junior Strings also performed at the festival.

Chamber Music

The students, mostly SMP, involved in our chamber music programme enjoyed another busy and successful year. It is always hugely rewarding to see the growth of each group from the first faltering notes of February to the polished performances we see, without fail, from everyone in June. We do not under-estimate the hours of dedicated practice that every individual puts in to achieve this; as usual, some groups picked up some nice awards at the contest which is the icing on the cake. We also shared a concert as part of the “Rising Stars” series at the Arts Centre, where two of our senior chamber groups were invited to perform.

Jazz

Our jazz musicians continue to go from strength to strength, winning numerous awards at Jazz Quest and the Essential NZ Jazz Band competition. The highlight however was undoubtedly the North Island tour; The Big Band and Senior Combo enjoyed four days away together, giving concerts and leading workshops for schools in Palmerston North and Wellington, before successfully defending their competition success of 2022 at the Jazz Bandit National Final.

Contemporary Music

Our Contemporary Music programme continues to build, this year with a particular focus in the junior school, complementing the more established senior programme. It is great to see so many budding rock and contemporary musicians coming together for weekly rehearsals and giving such great performances - the future is bright in this area.

Specialist Music Programme

Our SMP students once again shone in the end-of-year Gala Concerts. This year we held these at multiple venues - a total of nine recitals! It is in these recitals where the individual excellence of our students is really under the spotlight - they are a real reminder of the level and quantity of talent we have in our school; congratulations to all SMP students for managing this level of performance on top of a busy schedule of wider musical involvement, booth in and outside of school.

Our mid-year recitals this year took a slightly different shape and were presented as mixed instrument “showcase” concerts. These were hugely successful and held at the Great Hall and St Mary’s Cathedral to appreciative public audiences.

Finally, 2023 saw the launch of a new SMP website that better reflects the quality of this unique programme. Take a look! https://specialistmusicprogramme.co.nz/

REUN!ON

This special event brought together a Big Band of past and present band members from 2012-2023, combined with a string orchestra of representatives from several Christchurch schools. They performed a headline concert for the CHCH Big Band Festival, including the first performance of a brand new major work. What a great event; it was very special to be able to reconnect with so many past students.

Roadshow

It was great to be able to take our talented musicians back on the road, presenting eight concerts across three days in our feeder primary and intermediate schools - always a fun few days, and hugely appreciated by the schools we visited.

Aurora Festival

The Aurora Festival grew massively this year after the inaugural 2022 event that was so affected by covid. We secured sponsorship from Music Works NZ and support from the NZ Army Band and ran a two-day festival in the Aurora Centre for orchestras and bands. As well as performing and receiving feedback, each ensemble gets to work with the adjudicator team for an hour following their stage performance; a hugely enjoyable and educational experience. This year we welcomed 25 different groups from Christchruch, Canterbury and Nelson. Next year will be even bigger and better with the addition of a third day and the inclusion of jazz bands. The Aurora Festival is now part of the national MEFA group and is the biggest, and only, event of this kind in the South Island.

Curriculum

Our department is always looking to innovate and provide the best possible opportunities for all our students. In 2023 our curriculum enjoyed a significant development with a number of our Year 11 cohort studying the Cambridge iGCSE syllabus for the first time. We are the only state school in New Zealand offering Cambridge Music, and the only school on the South Island. Next year we introduce Cambridge AS level and in 2025, A level. NCEA courses will, of course, continue to run alongside, so that every student has the opportunity to study music in the way most suited to their interests.

Individual Success

There are always so many individual success stories, too many to list here and I would hate to think that I missed someone out! So to all those who were selected for national ensembles, achieved individual success in competitions, represented us at overseas events, won scholarships, were cup-winners on Music Awards night… the list goes on… a huge well done to you all. The contributions made by our Year 13 leavers will be hugely missed and we wish them all well in whatever path they have chosen to follow beyond school. Such is the strength of the music community at Burnside that I feel sure we will see and hear from them again in the future.

And finally it goes without saying that a huge thank you is due to all the teachers who have worked so hard with, and for, our students this year. From the ITM teachers, chamber music tutors, SMP tutors, private teachers and, of course the team of BHS staff, everyone has played their part in making this such a special place in which to work and learn. Thanks too to the parent body for their unfailing support and willingness to get their kids where they need to be at the right time, with the right gear.

Finally, finally - please all enjoy a well-earned holiday and we look forward to seeing most of you back here in 2024.

Chris Petch

HOD Music

National Selections:

Caspar Adams, Tor Chiles, Lucas de Groot-Tsuji were selected for National Youth Orchestra

Lucas Cable, were selected for the National Youth Brass Band

Lily Adams, Luca Cable, Tor Chiles, Peter Croker, Lucas de Groot-Tsuji, Pip Goomes, Alun James, Juhyeong Kim, Peter Langford, Ian Nortje, Charlotte Panckhurst, Harriet Panckhurst, Matthew Seinafo, Cameron Smillie, and Ethan Zhao were all selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Symphony Orchestra

Jacob Craw, Alex Cutforth, Bella Hopkins, Elle Ilkiw, Joran Le Quellec, Shannon Shi, Zia Veer, Max Wallace, and Eli Warren were selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Choir

Joelle Chiong, Mia Grounds, Irene Kim, Coco Morizono, Emily Norris, Erin Yamada, and Angel Zheng were selected for the NZ Academy Choir

Huey Duncan, Monika Duncan, and Daniel Ross were selected for the National Secondary Schools' Development Band

2023 Contest Results

CHAMBER MUSIC

Highly Commended:
Dring Dong  (Anastasia Bell, Tor Chiles, Irene Kim)

Woolston Brass Award for Best Brass Ensemble:
Burnslide (William Kao, Caleb Langford, Akira Lindeman, Daniel Ross)

Jody Keehan Award for Most Promising Saxophone Group:
Hornithology (Reiss Fatani, Alex Gibson, Isolde Johnson, Aadarsh Roy)

Selected for Regional Finals:
Quintet Melodieux (James Anderson, Jake Bates, Indiana Bell, Portia Bell, Matthew Seinafo)
Dring Dong
Estacion (Alan Kao, Juhyeong Kim, Roy Zhang)

THE BIG SING

Bel Canto: Selected for National Finale, Winner of Best Performance of a NZ Work, Oustanding Recital by and Upper Voice Choir, Best Performance of a Contemporary Art Music Composition at Regionals, and a Gold Award at Nationals.

Magna Voce: Selected for South Island Cadenza, Winner of a Tui Award at Cadenza

Aurora Voices: Winner of Best Performance of an Early Music Composition, Oustanding Recital by a Junior Choir at Regionals.

JAZZQUEST

Gold Award:
Jazz Combo 10 (William Kao, Jacob Mullen, Monet Schutte, Daniel Sinclair, Cameron Smillie)
Jazz Combo 11 (Orry Coburn, Reiss Fatani, Jess Given, Pip Goomes, Isolde Johnson, Ron Livne, Raph Shepard, Finley Tressler)

Silver Award:
Jazz Combo 12 (Isaac Brennan, Peter Croker, Alex Gibson, Benson Lee, Will Luhrs, Adam Nicholl, Tina Ren, Aadarsh Roy)
Jazz Combo 13 (Mason Austin-Fletcher, Corban Blackwell, William Chen, Robbie de Groot-Tsuji, Wonu Park)

Individual Awards:

Pip Goomes - Best Trumpet
Alex Gibson - Best Saxophone
William Kao - Best Pianist, Best Trombonist, and Best Overall Musician

Ensemble Awards:

Big Band - Best Big Band and Gold Award

Funk Band - Best Funk Band and Gold Award

Junior Jazz Ensemble - Silver Award

YOUNG JAZZ BAND-IT

Big Band - Finale Selection (Essential NZ Jazz Band), First Place (Essential NZ Jazz Band)
Reiss Fatani - Finale Selection (NZ Jazz Improvisation)
William Kao - Finale Selection (NZ Jazz Improvisation and NZ Jazz Composition), Third Place Jazz Improvisation, and Best NZ Jazz Composition 
Monet Schutte - Finale Selection (NZ Jazz Improvisation)
Finley Tressler - Finale Selection (NZ Jazz Drum Improvisation)

AURORA FESTIVAL

Orchestra: Gold Award, and Peter Langford awarded Musicianship Soloist Award

Junior Strings: Silver Award

Symphonic Band: Silver Award

Junior Concert Band: Silver Award