The St Margaret's College and Christ's College Combined Concert took place at 7.30pm on Wednesday June 2 in the Christ's College Assembly Hall. The opening item was a dramatic and atmospheric rendition of "Arabian Nights" from Aladdin, arranged for the occasion by Sammy McDonnell and performed by the combined orchestral players from both schools.

Combined Concert
This group then gave an energetic and engaging performance of "Two Shakespeare Sketches" by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It was fantastic to see so many of our Orchestral players working together to produce a fabulously joyful, cohesive and vibrant ensemble sound.

The Beati Trio's performance of the First Movement of Beethoven's Opus 38 Trio for clarinet (Mia Cleugh), cello (Cindy Mei) and piano (Amelia Lin) was another joyous performance, taking the audience on an emotional journey, and showcasing excellent group communication and depth of feeling through dramatic changes in dynamic. The performance was rewarded by rapturous applause from the audience.

Sheilah Winn Shakespeare success!
Kia ora SMC whānau, We're back from an action-packed weekend at the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare National Competition in Wellington. We attended workshops run by experts in the NZ drama world, attended performances of 'Jersey Boys' and 'Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream' by Indian Ink, and saw a LOT of Shakespeare. The best students in the country had been selected from their regional rounds to perform on stage at the Michael Fowler Centre. The competition was stiff and although neither of our scenes placed this year, Team SMC gave first-class performances and made us all proud.

Ruby Gilligan captivated the audience with a commanding performance as Lady Macbeth in her 5 Minute extract from Macbeth, accompanied by Henry Briscoe and Josh Jolly from Christ's College.

Alexandra Lehmann and Georgia Lassen explored toxic masculinity and female solidarity in their thought-provoking 15 Minute Much Ado About Nothing. They were supported by polished acting from Lucy Johnston, Alice McLeod, Emma Cawood, Caitlin Dufty, Yani Rutherford, Yasmin Marsh, Chloe Taylor, Makayla Hulme, Petra Lewis and beautiful music played by Sofia Rofe, Maggie Hunt, Isabella Shatford and signing by Sky Dehne.

During the prize-giving night Lara Chiswell, who was selected for the Young Shakespeare Company in 2020, performed a beautiful rendition of 'She Used to be Mine' from the musical Waitress.

Congratulations to Ann Shen (Y11) who placed third in the SGCNZ / Adam Foundation Shakespeare Static Image Competition and Holly Sawyer (Y9) who came third in the Creative Writing competition. Brilliant results for Trelise McEwan (Y9) who came first in the Creative Writing competition and for Claudia Hundleby (Y11) and Emily Harris (Y11) who placed joint first in the Ida Gaskin Shakespeare Essay Competition with English at Otago.

Jenny May | Assistant Head of English, Middle School

The Shakespearean Banquet
Thank you to our crafty helpers. Huge thanks to the wonderful parents, staff and students who gave their time, energy and skills to The Shakespearean Banquet crafting workshop - many paper cuts, glue gun blisters and laughter were shared by all. The Shakespeare team are incredibly grateful for all of the help and the amazing pieces that were created

Hair and Makeup help - the Shakespearean Banquet
We are on the lookout for some parents or Old Girls’ to help with hair and makeup for the Shakespearean Banquet. This would be on Wednesday 23 June, Thursday 24 June, Friday 25 June from 3.30pm-6.00pm. If you would like to help please email Sarena Harrison sarena.harrison@stmargarets.school.nz all equipment will be provided

Highland Dancers
Congratulations to our Highland Dancers. Their recent examinations were a huge success and an indication of their hard work and dedication. Well done to Rosa MacLeod who received a Merit in her Grade 3 in the practical, Olivia Marfell who received a Merit in her Advanced practical and Honours in her Advanced theory and Abby Smith who received an Honours in her advanced practical and Honours with 100% in my theory examination.

Y9 Drama
Congratulations to the Year 9 Drama class who this week presented their 'Little Red Cap' scenes from 'Grimm Tales' by Caryl Churchill. The students worked hard to take the scenes from page to stage and enjoyed learning about drama processes and drama techniques during this unit of work. The students are to be commended for working well as a team and for demonstrating excellent self-management skills. The future looks bright for these budding young actors!

NZCT Chamber Music Contest
This year we have 3 groups competing in the Chamber Music Contest - the Beati Trio featuring Mia Cleugh, Cindy Mei and Amelia Lin and the Dolce Trio comprised of Hellen Wang, Tehya Laws, Sienna Wu. The girls will be competing on Wednesday 16 June at 6pm - please come along and support them!

The NZCT Chamber Music Contest is a magical moment in our programme when young musicians across the entire country come together to create, challenge and dream into their futures.

It is a culmination of countless hours of practice and perseverance, connecting and sharing in music-making with other musicians and, ultimately, sharing music with us – engaging us in new ideas, new worlds, new soundscapes.

With an impressive legacy, the NZCT Chamber Music Contest remains an important feature of New Zealand’s musical calendar for secondary school students. It has played a part in the journey of many of our country’s musicians, and long may it remain a source of inspiration and growth to budding musicians everywhere.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT! For more information, visithttps://chambermusic.co.nz/contest

Big Sing
This week the SMC Chamber Choir will compete in the national chor competition - The Big Sing, the regional round of the competition will culminate in the Big Sing Gala Concert. Almost 800 choristers and their accompanying instrumentalists will be presenting their music to an adjudicator in sessions that run throughout the day, and culminate in a festival of song at the Gala Concert at 6:30pm. The choirs will be showcased and receive recognition for their work. These choirs will be competing for one of the 24 places in the National Finale which will be held in the Christchurch Town Hall 26-28 August 2021

Tickets are available from https://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=BIGSNG21