Concert Band

Attendance is compulsory
Dates: Sunday, 31 August; 7, 14 September; 19 October and 2 November
Start: 1.30pm at Avonhead School Hall, 55 Avonhead Rd
Finish: 3.30pm

Please note: All rehearsals start and finish at the stated time – please arrange your transport around this so that you are not late arriving OR being collected!

Attendance is compulsory
Dates: Monday – Wednesday 22 – 24 September
Venue: Avonhead School
Time: 9.00 – 12.30pm each day (report at 8.45am)

Each day, the Concert Band will rehearse the music that it is are preparing for the Festival. Players may also spend some time learning parts in sectional rehearsals. It’s also possible that some new music may be introduced.

An enormous amount of polishing and fine-tuning goes into every piece during these 3 days – so players need to be prepared for some hard work, and may need to do some rehearsal at home in the evenings in preparation for the next day.

What to wear: Tidy casual
What to bring: Your instrument and music, a snack to eat at the morning break, a pencil, a bottle of water.
What NOT to bring: Please do not bring gum and/or sweets.
Break: There is a Morning Tea break of 30 minutes. You are required to remain in the school for these – you are not allowed to leave the premises to buy your food, so make sure that you remember to bring your snack with you.

Please note: We require the assistance of teachers or of parents of children attending the Holiday Course to help supervise the children during their 30-minute break on each day of the course. Click here for more details

Attendance is compulsory for both rehearsals
Date: Monday 3 November
Venue: Christchurch Town Hall  
Time: 9am–10.25am

Attendance is compulsory for all four days and evenings
Dates: Tuesday – Friday, 4 – 7  November
Reporting times: Day: 10am (finish by 11am); Evening: by 6pm
Collection time (evening): 8pm

The conductor of the Concert Band is Matthew Harris.

Matthew is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and conductor based in Christchurch. His musical career began at the age of eight as a chorister of the ChristChurch Cathedral Choir and has since gone on to perform with groups such as the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, the NZSO National Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Brass Band, the New Zealand Youth Symphonic Winds and the Tallis Scholars. Read more here.

The Manager of the Concert Band is Aija Zandberga.

If you have a child in the Concert Band, any questions or concerns that cannot be answered by information on this site can be answered by Aija, ph 022 545 8574 (afternoons & evenings only). email: concertband@musicfestival.school.nz