REUN!ON

Burnside High School’s Big Band has dominated every jazz festival and competition they have participated in across the last 13 years, including ARA Jazz Quest, the Manawatu Jazz Festival, the NZSM Jazz Festival and most recently the Jazz Bandit competition. Across that time they have won every top prize at each event they have entered – a total of 19 separate “Best Big Band” awards to date. Another aspect of their performance schedule has been to combine regularly with strings for special focus projects; in 2016, featuring vocalist Ella Dunbar-Wilcox; in 2018 featuring the music of The Rat Pack; and in 2022 featuring Monet Schutte in a set of Nelson Riddle originals as performed by Ella Fitzgerald.

As part of a special project for 2023, Director Chris Petch has assembled a killer band of alumni (2012-2022) and current students for a one-off concert performance as part of this year’s Christchurch Big Band Festival. As well as a selection of instrumental and vocal items, the central focus of this reunion concert is the premiere performance of a new, multi-movement suite for full Big Band and Strings, composed by Chris Petch as part of a Ministry of Education Study Award Sabbatical in 2022, with this specific ensemble in mind. Joining the band for this performance is a 17-piece strings section, assembled from the best young talent of Rangi Ruru Girls’ School, St Andrews’ College, Cashmere High School and Burnside High School.

Don’t miss this unique performance event at 3pm on Sunday 22nd October in the Christ’s College auditorium.