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Alex Liu & the 2023 Cultural Committee — October 24th, 2023

Captain of Arts, and newly crowned Dux of 2023, Alex Liu, reports on the cultural year.

Being named Captain of Arts at HBHS was something that my five-year-old self (who had just started piano lessons) would have never expected. Nevertheless, it has been a hugely rewarding experience, through which I have had the opportunity to lead an exceptional group of Cultural Prefects and contribute to the success of Arts and Culture at HBHS.

Although those in charge of our sporting codes at HBHS would probably like to disagree, it is the Arts and Culture that HBHS has experienced the most success in this year. The school’s list of cultural achievements for 2023 is far too long to write here, but some accomplishments are particularly worthy of mention, including: Winning the Super 8 Cultural Festival Shield (for a second year in a row), the HBHS Jazz Combo and HBHS Big Band both winning Platinum Awards at the National Musicworks Ensemble Festival, and Te Maurea Whiritoi’s first ever win at the Tainui Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Festival.
As a committee, we worked this year to organise a number of cultural events and promote engagement and excellence in the Arts. Our job kicked off at the start of the year with our most demanding task of all - the Year 13 ball. After brainstorming a list of potential themes (some of which were rather far-fetched, like ‘Overnight at a Flooded Airport’), and subsequently getting the thoughts and opinions of other Prefects, we decided on a classic ‘Night in Paris’ at the WINTEC Atrium. It was a successful and memorable evening with 400 students attending, a satisfying result of our hard work in organising and promoting the event. A special thanks to James Jewell and Kyle Barker for their help in designing and printing the tickets, respectively.
We also collaborated with the HGHS Arts Prefects to organise the annual combined HBHS and HGHS Talent Quest. This year’s final took place in the HBHS Hall and presented a fierce battle between six talented groups from each school. The HBHS Jazz Combo, mentored by the legendary Mr Norman, gave an electrifying rendition of Coleman Leigh’s “Witchcraft” and emerged through the smoke victorious. Special mention must be made of the entertaining reimagining of the smash-hit Eurovision entry “Who the Hell is Edgar” by Austria’s Teya & Salena, delivered by none other than two of our own Cultural Prefects, Wyatt Winke and Josef Gillgren.
As 2023 has been the first normal year in a while, we were fortunate to be able to finally hold the combined HBHS and HGHS Production (for the first time since 2019). This year’s production, "The Witches of Inverness", was an enormous success under the leadership of our multi-talented Drama teacher, Mr Ashton; a special thanks to him for his commitment and the sheer effort he put into making each show a success. Particularly memorable was Head Prefect Hamish McKelvie’s phenomenal and entertaining performance as King Duncan, that brought to life the character’s wit and boldness.
The House Haka and House Singing competitions were standout events of the year, filled with artistic talent as well as some roasting of the Houses from the MCs, myself and Spencer Oetzel (sorry not sorry). In the House Haka competition, Steel came out on top - an unexpected comeback from their 6th place finish in 2022. For the House Singing competition, Director of Culture Mr Tim Dent was away at the Itinerant Music Festival so it was up to our Cultural Prefects to ensure the event ran smoothly. Through our teamwork, we managed to achieve this, organising a competition in which Wilson (objectively the best house) showcased their superior singing skills and came away triumphant.
Our year has been tremendously successful, but this has not been the result of our committee’s efforts alone. I’d like to express my immense gratitude to Mr Dent, who has provided me with extensive support in my role as Captain of Arts and whose expertise enabled the Cultural Committee to achieve its goals. A special thanks also goes to Mr Quentin West and his tech crew for their fundamental role in almost every cultural event.
I would like to finally acknowledge the group of enthusiastic and deeply committed Cultural Prefects that I have been fortunate enough to work with this year: Wyatt Winke, Josef Gillgren, Spencer Oetzel, Jeff Jia, Lachlan Harridge, Rangiwai Lunjevich, and Caelys-Paul Putoko. It has been a privilege to make a positive impact on the Arts and Culture at HBHS with the support of these Prefects and all the staff in the Languages, Arts, and Music faculty.