2017 has been a very successful year for the Logan Park High School Philharmonic Orchestra.

This year we have welcomed 16 new members, who have contributed their skills and talents to Orchestra this year. We have continued under the leadership of Mr Dodd.

Many members of the Orchestra attended the Music Camp in March, which was a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other and practice our songs.

In Week 11 of Term 1 we performed in assembly. We played Dvorak’s New World Symphony. This was a wonderful opportunity to hone our performance skills and show our peers the hard work we had put in over the term.

During Term 2, we lost Mr Dodd for a month while he was in Europe on tour. However, we were blessed with the talent and kindness of Mrs Thompson, who took our rehearsals in the absence of Mr Dodd.

An annual performance of the Orchestra is the Secondary Schools Music Festival, where we played as part of the Combined Orchestra with students from across Otago. Once again, this concert was a massive success that was thoroughly enjoyed by the students who performed and whanau who attended. Some of the pieces were performed are the Lion King Medley, arranged by Sam van Betuw, God Defend New Zealand, and Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss and Dambusters March by Eric Coates.

A key performance of the year, and a highlight for many members of the Orchestra was a concert for whanau at the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra Hall in late Term 3. We performed Also Sprach Zarathustra, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, Brahms’ First Symphony, The Magnificent Seven by Elmer Bernstein and an arrangement of Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. This concert was an opportunity for students to showcase the hard work put in over the course of the year.

The Orchestra is due a massive congratulations and thank-you for the time and energy they have put in this year. Thank you to Mr Dodd and Mrs Thompson for their time and guidance.