I had the pleasure of meeting James Bennet earlier in the year when Kevin Roberts invited me over to listen to one of the final practices of a band that was going to perform in a competition at ARA the following week.

I rocked up, found the right place and then proceeded to be blown away by the talent of the musicians. James was the bass player in that band. It was also made up of Jamie Larking also in Year 13 and they are accompanied on keyboard by Glyn MacDonald, an Itinerant Music Teacher. Although having a teacher as part of the band made them ineligible for the overall awards, it did allow both James and Jamie to showcase their talent in front of the judges and it is fair to say it did not go unnoticed!

Listen to the clip attached to this article to be impressed yourselves!

James came to Te Puna Wai o Waipapa - Hagley College this year from his local school, solely for the School of Music opportunities. I was interested in how James found out about the School of Music and James explained that someone that his mum works with knew about it and told his mum. That made us consider how easily it could have been that James completely missed the opportunity to join the School of Music! I stored that little bit of information away ready to pull out during our marketing and advertising time of year!

His programme is mostly music-focused and he explained to me the advantages of the School of Music. He spoke of the freedom to explore his strengths and areas of growth within Music and that the assessments were individualised. Also, he has had the opportunity to produce an EP (a short album if, like me, you weren’t sure!) He also valued the access to studio time and the studio spaces as being a strength of the programme.

James' music back story started seven or eight years ago when he went to pick up a guitar to play but there weren’t enough so he got handed a bass instead. He didn’t even know what a bass was at that stage! I guess it stuck, as he has kept at it. He then met Jamie in his Music classes this year and they struck up a friendship based around wanting to play the same sort of music. They started writing and improvising and what you have heard is a product of those sessions. James really appreciates the role Glyn has played too! He is quick to point out that he has been great in helping them develop their music and it was really hard to find someone with the ability to play the same style of music. Glyn has also been the link to James and Jamie doing a few gigs, something which James found really enjoyable.

James is very ambitious and keen to pursue a career in music. He wants to teach and be a professional musician. Next year he is hoping to start a degree at Victoria University in Jazz Performance. He is also looking at applying for overseas universities and scholarships. James’ big aspiration though is to push the Jazz scene in New Zealand and, in particular, to introduce more people to Jazz music.

His advice for new senior students is to be open to stuff, put yourself out there a bit and find out about the specialist courses that Hagley runs. They are a good way to meet people as you share a lot of the same classes.

I was interested in just how you get this good and it won’t be a surprise to anyone to know that this level of skill comes about through lots of practice. James explained that he practices up to four hours a day. At other times though he plays less. He kind of takes it in cycles so he keeps interested and fresh. James is also a keen mountain biker and recognises balance as being important to him.

After spending half an hour with James I am taken by not just his talent but his maturity and quiet confidence. I have no doubt that he will achieve what he sets his mind to. He will continue to be inspired by Janek Gwizdala and Hadrien Feraud due to their approach to their music and inspiring practice methods. Wouldn’t it be nice to see James back at Te Puna Wai o Waipapa teaching the next generation of musicians at some point? All the best, James, for your bright future.