The Otago Secondary Schools Music Festival is an annual concert celebration of communal Music making and achievement for secondary school students of Otago. The 2018 show was the Festivals 49th Annual Concert.

The Festival Concert attracts some 700 students from up to 20 schools from the Otago area. School groups come from as far as Oamaru, Balclutha, the Catlins, Alexandra and Cromwell.

The show features a Massed Choir, Orchestra, Concert Band, String Orchestra and Jazz Band.

Highlights this year featured our boys performing:

• A medley from the West Side Story from the Massed Choir and Orchestra
• The legendary ‘Carmina Burana’ by Carl Orff, Bernstein’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and a medley of unforgettable theme songs from the ‘James Bond 007’ Movies.
• Massed Choir rendition of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’.
• Jazz Standards ‘Satin Doll’ and ‘My Little Suede Shoes’ by the combined Jazz Band.
• An extremely impressive ‘Star Wars’ Medley by the combined Brass/Wind Band.

The event represents the culmination of months of work by Dunedin’s Secondary School’s Music Teachers and the Instrumental Teachers who support their learning. Over the 49 years of the festival’s running, thousands of Dunedin’s young musicians have used the opportunity to gain early experience in performing to a high standard, in a sharing environment, in our fabulous Town Hall.