Both the Logan Park High School Jazz Band and Senior Combo (“The Family Dog”) have seen tremendous success in 2016, being recognised with various awards throughout the year.

The first of these accolades for the Combo was during the NZCT Chamber Music Contest, in which we were called back to perform in the regional finals. On that occasion we were given the KBB Award for Woodwind and Percussion. We then went on to win Best Combo at the Christchurch Ara JazzQuest 2016; our vocalist Erica Stedman was also awarded best vocalist of the competition and I was thrilled to receive best pianist and best overall musician.

The Jazz Band also competed in the Ara JazzQuest for only the second time ever (as far as I’m aware). Last year we were awarded a silver but through the hard work and dedication of all of the team, we were able to attain a gold award. This was despite the fact that many members of the band were new, given how many Year 13’s had been in the band in 2015.

Both groups had a lot of gigs outside of competitions, including performances at retirement homes, schools, and various functions. The most recent of which was for the Society of Women Musicians at the Hutton lecture theatre.

It has been an enormous amount of fun being a member of both of these groups throughout the year and I hope there are many more great iterations of the Jazz Band and Combos at Logan Park in the future.