The Music department had an eventful month in June.

[Big Sing]

Our beautiful school choir, Heart & Soul – Hagley Chorale, participated at the regional ‘Big Sing’ Competition and performed some stunning pieces, which were conducted by the formidable Margot Button. The golden team of singing teachers, Chantelle Rakich and Sarah-Jane Rennie, have been sharing their expertise and experiences as professional singers to shape the choir this year. The choir has received many compliments from other school directors on how impressed they were. Special mention goes to soloist Crystal Saunders's soprano entry, Lully, Lulla, Lullay by Philip Stopford, which gives you a sensational pure tone experience that is extraordinary. Tino pai to the choir and choir trainers: Margot Button, Chantelle Rakich and Sarah-Jane Rennie for their efforts. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSL8oJSL2oZ0R3ASutxO6UuqKMvDQYN5

[RockQuest Regional Final Success]

A massive congratulations to Indigo State, the Hagley and Burnside combined band; from Hagley - Year 12 students Kayne Child and Israel Soper, Year 13 student Lucas Royds, and Keira Jonker from Burnside High School, who performed at the RockQuest Regional Final on Friday 14th June and won second place. This means they will be busy making their music video for selection at the national final. The regional final had such a variety of acts, and they all displayed a high calibre of musicianship. Indigo State kicked off their first song, which featured a well-rehearsed harmony from Israel that matched with Keira’s strong voice. The second song was a more high energy song, which showcased the band’s youthful energy and musicianship. We are looking forward to hearing their new tunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iz5mefWlSE&feature=youtu.be

[Jazz Band Fundraising Concert]

The sell-out Jazz Band Fundraising Concert was a hit this year. In the history of Hagley College, we have never had a Big Band, as in a traditional Big Band era (1920s Great Gatsby era) format band of this size. A Big Band typically consists of a rhythm and horn section, such as trumpets, trombones, saxophones, flutes and clarinets. Our 19-piece Big Band is bigger than ever, and due to taking many students to Blenheim Southern Jam Youth Jazz Competition this year, we had to do a few more fundraising events than usual, along with many sausage sizzles! We were thrilled that all 120 tickets were sold out on the day and all groups and performers presented their best performances on the night. The night was opened by our highly charming Elvis Nicolls as MC, who entertained us all night. We received great feedback from an appreciative audience who enjoyed our diverse groups’ entertainment from Choir, Chamber Group, Funk Band, Kevin’s Percussion Group to Big Band. Some of the highlights were Ella Driffill’s tasty vocal sets and Dani Musgrave’s powerhouse voice; Savelio and his cousin Samuela’s magnificent harmony duet left many of us with goose bumps. Thank you to Cameron and Darryl for allowing us to use their space in the Open Stage. Thank you to Jack Sutton for his amazing lighting work on the night, too. Please follow the link below to watch the full concert. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSL8oJSL2oa9bvG0bJ5w_pDlmvnCVMRa

[The Nut Point Centre Concert]

We have been asked to perform at the prestigious venue, Nut Point Centre, in West Melton. We will be featuring our Big Band, Choir, and a number of selected soloists and acts. The concert will be held on Saturday 6th July from 2pm to 4pm. Tickets are $15 p/p (including afternoon tea).

https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2019/hagley-collage/christchurch

[Tourette’s Association NZ Charity Benefit Concert]

The School of Music Programme Leader, Nanako Sato, and ex-School of Music student and current teacher aide at Hagley, Rongomai Callaghan, teamed up to support the songwriting process for students who will be performing at the Tourette’s Association NZ Charity Benefit Concert. We are so proud of Rongomai's achievement as a songwriter. A couple of our Year 13 School of Music students, Ben Ritchie and Leah Scott, will be performing at the concert, alongside Tiki Taane and Holly Smith, on Saturday 6th July at the Isaac Theatre Royal. https://www.tourettes.org.nz/brainwaves-2019/

[Bic Runga Songwriting Workshop]

Year 12 School of Music student, Elvis Nicolls, has been selected to work on his songs with the one and only Bic Runga. This involved an audition process available to members from the public, and only a handful of people were chosen to work with this NZ icon, a queen of songwriting, Bic Runga. Bic has been residing in Christchurch for the project, although she is based in Auckland. We are looking forward to hearing Elvis’s upcoming EP this year. Watch this space.

[Upcoming Music Events]

We love letting our whānau know about upcoming music events. Hopefully, we will see you at one of these events:

• Nut Point Centre (West Melton) concert on Saturday 6th July from 2 pm to 4 pm. Tickets are $15 p/p (includes afternoon tea). https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2019/hagley-collage/christchurch

• Tourette’s Association NZ Charity Benefit Concert on Saturday 6th July from 7pm at Isaac Theatre Royal https://www.tourettes.org.nz/brainwaves-2019/

• JazzQuest - Saturday 3rd to Sunday 4th August https://www.ara.ac.nz/study-options/our-study-interest-areas/music-arts/jazzquest/ensemble-competition

• Southern Jam Youth Jazz Competition - Tuesday 7th August to Sunday 11th August https://www.facebook.com/SouthernJamYouthJazz/

• Groups Night - Tuesday 17th September at Ara Music Arts

• Hagley On Show - Wednesday 25th September at Hope Presbyterian Church, Hornby

• Big Band Festival - Friday 25th October to Monday 28th October https://www.chchbigbandfest.com/

[Snowboard/Ski Trip for Year 12 &13]

On a side note, we have organised a ski/snowboarding trip for Year 12 and 13 students this year. This is a great opportunity to learn to ski/snowboard in order to get rid of the winter blues! This event includes lessons at Mt Hutt ski area during Term 3 on Friday 16th August. Sign up ASAP as we can only take 50 students (only 30 spaces left)!

The fee for the ski/snowboard trip is $78 per student, which includes ski pass, a lesson, snowboard/skis and boots, and bus fee. While the ski pass includes hire of the gear like snowboard/skis and boots, students need to organise their own snow jacket and pants separately. Students can hire them from Mt Hutt, but it will increase the total cost. For hygiene reasons, goggles, gloves and a beanie (helmet) are not available for hire from Mt Hutt. Please organise these items beforehand. 

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/Ci8wr2TQCQsE5Tzz5