Cultural Catch-up

It is a privilege for me to report on the National-level cultural achievements of HBHS students that have occurred over the summer period.

Dylan Connolly, the 2022 HBHS Junior Cultural Performer of the year, is an outstanding guitarist who represented the school as a competitor in early December, in the Youth division of the New Zealand Classical Guitar Competition. Dylan was awarded second place by the international judges, an outstanding achievement, especially considering his age compared to the other competitors in this event. Well done, Dylan.

HBHS students Sean Lurman and Mason Johnstone, and old boy Campbell Maydon, competed in the New Zealand Blues Festival in Rotorua late last year. Their band area 51 placed first in the trio category and was also awarded the overall musicianship award. In addition, Sean will be travelling to California in July of this year, as he has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 2023 World Championships of Performing Arts, as a musician. This is a very special opportunity for him to measure his talent on a world stage and is a significant accomplishment for a secondary school student. We congratulate you on this success, Sean.

Cadell Merritt, Kane Gordon, and Ash van Wering, three members of the HBHS Pipe Band, entered the World Online Piping and Drumming Championships. Their performance in the Pipe Band Music Ensemble event was awarded second place, and Kane and Cadell both placed first in their respective solo piobroached and jig events.

Matthew Colvin, a Year 11 student, during the summer holiday period, gained entry into three prestigious National music ensembles. These are the New Zealand Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand Youth Symphonic Band, and the New Zealand Academy Choir, a subsidiary group of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir, for singers under 25. Being accepted via audition into any of these groups is a great achievement, so to make all three groups simultaneously, while only beginning Year 11 is outstanding. Matthew was also recently awarded a Distinction in his Grade 8 Clarinet examination. Well done, Matthew.

Daniel Loy, now in Year 12, recently passed his LTCL Music Diploma with Distinction on Violin, a qualification equivalent to an NZQA Level 7 final year recital of an undergraduate Music Performance degree. This is an outstanding achievement for a student who was 15 years old at the time of the examination.

I would like to take the opportunity to express my best wishes to all students involved in cultural or artistic endeavours in 2023. If any students have any questions about the cultural co-curricular opportunities available at HBHS, please come and see me, I am here to help. You will find me in the Music Department in C Block.