It was nothing but success for St Paul’s Collegiate School’s Orchestra, Big Band and guitar group that won two gold medals and a bronze respectively at the Waikato ITM Music Festival on Friday 26 August.
Up against 63 other performance groups including 20 orchestras, 22 jazz bands and 21 guitar/percussion bands, the talents of St Paul’s students shone through starting with the Big Band.
The Big Band received praise for their group dynamics, beautiful vocalisation from Katie Trigg, strong performance by the brass and saxophone players and, finally, John Richardson’s riveting guitar solo.
Up next was St Paul’s Orchestra. The group received high praise from the adjudicator who commented that their rendition of Adele’s Skyfall – with its energy, rhythmic accuracy and brilliant ensemble – was “good enough to be performed in the 2012 James Bond movie.”
Finally, the guitar group took home bronze after entering this competition for the very first time. They were praised for their outstanding performance and evident potential.
