At the end of last term the Senior Performance Choir and the Westburn Symphony Orchestra participated in the North West Festival held at the Aurora Centre.

On Tuesday 29th June, Westburn's Senior Performance Choir, along with other six other local schools were very happy to be able to sing together as a large massed choir at the annual North West Festival after last year's concert had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. The choir enjoyed being conducted by Mrs Rachel Wilford, and accompanied by Hsing Yin Lin on the piano and a band made up of students and teachers from Burnside High School. Westburn’s Senior Performance Choir sang the harmony parts to all of the massed choir songs along with Burnside’s Aurora Voices Choir who were really fun to sing with. We were especially proud of Zachary Whelan who was chosen to sing as a soloist in Tim Minchin's piece, “When I Grow Up”.

We also all enjoyed listening to the choirs from other schools present their individual items. Evie Tuck introduced the Westburn Senior Performance Choir for our individual items, “May the road rise to meet you” by L’Estrange & Forbes, which is from the RSCM’s Voices For Life choral training repertoire, and “The Gift” by Richard Oswin. Both of these songs comprise challenges for singers, such as complex harmonies, long phrases, and controlled dynamic changes from pianissimo to fortissimo. The Gift was actually commissioned as the test piece for Y7/8 students at The Kids’ Sing Auckland, a competition being held this month. The refrain or chorus has a different ending each time to lead into the new verse which is different melodic material. There is a wide range of dynamics from quiet to loud sustained singing. There is a significant number of polyphonic entries throughout the song where one voice begins a section and in the next bar, the other voice sings similarly shaped material. There is one section which has some difficult chromatic writing with interesting harmonic colours underpinning the melodic lines. Our choir’s balance, articulation, sound, and ability to sing convincingly with expression whilst remaining in the head voice was so impressive. Mr Oswin, who wrote “The Gift” congratulated the choir on their performance and said he especially appreciated the children’s ability to produce such a beautiful, choral sound in performance. 

I was immensely proud of the Senior Performance Choir, who prepared very seriously for their performance at the North West Festival ensuring a stellar result on the night. Our soloists, Zachary Whelan (voice) and Amanda Yang (flute) performed beautifully. Thank you to Mr Richard Oswin for accompanying us on the night and also for giving us permission to sing “The Gift”. Along with rising to the considerable technical challenges with the piece, I felt the choir succeeded in their goal to take the audience on a journey away from the cold Christchurch winter, when they expressively sang of the Maori tradition of three kete (baskets) of knowledge holding peace and love, ritual chants, and practical knowledge, within the setting of the New Zealand summer sun.

The North West Festival is also an important event on the WSO’s calendar. Our school’s full symphony orchestra comprises 52 students from years 3-8. We are so proud to have all sections of the orchestra so well represented in our school orchestra, and to have such excellent children as principals and associate principals ensuring our sections are supported and confident. It was great to have Aaron Zhang (ex-SMP Westburn and now SMP Burnside) rejoin us for this special occasion playing Double Bass and French Horn. The WSO are able to perform a variety of repertoire due to the determination and hard work of our players who all take their own role very seriously.  Concertmaster Joseph Ke, capably tuned the orchestra and readied WSO to play two contrasting pieces from our repertoire after being introduced by compiere Ilaria Sully. The “The Prince of Denmark’s March” by Jeremiah Clarke, arr Oswin, featuring Justin Wang and Kate Crocker on trumpet, and Charlie Saunders and Evie Tuck on side drum, is commonly known as “Trumpet Voluntary” and was performed at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. WSO performed the piece with gusto, skillfully executing the sudden changes in dynamics and style throughout the piece. This proficient performance was finished brilliantly with a flourishing ending from the orchestra including a fantastic drum roll by Charie! In keeping with an 80’s theme, the WSO then performed the theme from “The NeverEnding Story” by Moroder & Forsey, which encouraged the children to illustrate the fantastical imagery of the 1984 movie. Jonny Croker kept the WSO at a tight tempo throughout, and every section was featured, with all shining at different moments within this uplifting piece of music.

A huge thank you to Mr Bradley Meads, Mr Andy Yates, Miss Hannah Oates, and Mrs Jayne Newlands for giving their time to assist us at the event; to Mr Chris Petch and the North West Festival committee for organising a great festival; and especially to our families who supported our preparation and our community who came to watch us perform on the night!