SMP students present prizes after adjudicating as a special "Junior Jury" to the finalists at inspirational event.

On 19th June, Westburn's SMP class attended the 2021 National Concerto Competition. It was an evening of much excitement, held at the James Hay Theatre. Over $15,000 in awards were bestowed, including a $200 Junior Jury Award that Amanda Yang, Michael Khor, and Joseph Ke chose to present to her highness Catherine Kwak who they crowned "New Zealand's Cello Queen!" after listening to her phenomenal performance of Dvorak's Cello Concerto with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. The SMP Junior Jury wrote extensive notes throughout the very long concert of three full concertos, and had to make a very difficult decision before going on stage and speaking before the sell out crowd. All of the three finalists are world-class classical music stars, and all astounded the audience with their skill and devotion to music. Our young SMP musicians attended were all suitably inspired and some have made it a personal goal to be part of this prestigious event in the near future. 

Thank you to Carmel Brown and the Christchurch Civic Music Council for supporting our SMP students with this wonderful opportunity.