The Gala Concert on Wednesday 27th June showcased Nayland’s considerable talent pool. A small but special part of this pool are the international students who got involved and shared their talents on the night.

One of these is Taiwanese pianist Jay Yeh who is a familiar face to many after spending the last two and a half years studying here at Nayland. Jay performed ‘River Flows in You’ by Yiruma as a piano solo. Though he’s only been playing for the last four years, piano is already a big part of his life. “My music’s alive, not dead,” he said, referring to his emotive style.

Another international student who is well-known for her wide range of talents is Nanae Kosaka. Nanae is from Tokyo, Japan and will be heading home to university at the end of this year. Nanae performed as part of the girls’ choir at the Gala Concert.

A violin player for the last six years, Nanae recently had the honour of playing with the Nelson Symphony Orchestra conducted by our own Mr Nigel Weeks. She was amazed at how much the orchestra’s sound came together with just a limited window for practice. “The first practice felt like a disaster but at the end it was pretty good actually,” she said.

Newer to Nayland but no less enthusiastic is German student Jakob Schlechting. Jakob didn’t bring his trumpet with him but has already hired one here and performed with the concert band at the Gala Concert.

At home Jakob, who also plays the piano, attends a school that is geared around music. He says that joining a band here is easier in the sense that year levels and abilities are not separated out so much. “It’s easy to join because there are the same paths for everyone,” he said.

Swiss student Maude Lueber did not end up performing with the Dance Company in the concert, though she had planned to.  Having performed in VAST shortly after her arrival at Nayland earlier this term, she would recommend to international students that they get involved in the many creative activities on offer here.

Nayland College recognises and values the contributions international students like Jay, Nanae, Jakob and Maude make to our school. Well done guys!