For the first time since 2015, Sancta Maria College entered the NZCT Chamber Music Contest. The contest was held last Thursday at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, and was attended by three ensembles from our College. Mr Stuart Gibbs, who organised the entry of, and directed the ensembles, said, “Back in 2015, Sancta Maria College only entered a single trio, so to have 15 students this year is a measure of how far we have come in that time.” The College’s music department is constantly growing and developing.
Our first ensemble, Harmonique, performed Lascia ch’io pianga by G. F. Handel. Comprised of Anna Nguyen (soprano), Aliyah Suva (1st violin), Cassandra Dela Cruz (2nd violin), Abby Tay-Morrison (viola), Camilla Isip (cello) and Danica Loulie-Wijtenburg (piano), this ensemble was the opening act of the competition.
Accordia, with Kelly Qi (soprano), Caroline Barbafiera (violin), Orla Edwards (viola), Minju Kim (cello) and Chong Bin Wee (piano) perfomed Lingua Franca and Next Time Around, taken from An Ocean Between Us by D. Buchanan. Our final ensemble, Les Mousquetaires, performed Petite Suite by W. A. Crosse and was made up of four clarinet players – Luca Edwards, Aidan Chan, Clifford Tam and Harrison Munday.
To perform in such an acclaimed setting was an incredible opportunity for Auckland’s young musicians. One of Sancta Maria College’s sopranos, Anna Nguyen, said, “The best part was seeing first hand all of the young passion and talent that Auckland holds.”
Our students who were involved in the competition were able to interact with some of the best music students in Auckland, and get an idea of how high a quality of performance we can achieve.
Danica Loulie-Wijtenburg
