So you’ve heard from our fine leads but this production would not have happened if it wasn’t for the Sancta Maria College Production Band. We have Adrian Vargas, Hayley Kevern, Jenna Aspeling, Lauren Chalk, Lorenzo Cruz, Minju Kim, Orla Edwards, Patrick Dempsey, Peter Brzozowski, Phoebe Kong, Reuben Ferguson, Samantha Bottom and Mr. Thomas Cho delivering all our favourite songs from Grease.
Let’s get to know some of the band members before they hit the stage…
Firstly, we have a few words from the musical director himself, Mr. Thomas Cho: “Working with this amazing group of students (plus an ex student) has been such an inspiring experience. They’ve been making noticeable improvements every week and seeing these students develop musicianship, as well as friendship through this band, makes me a very proud director. It’s been so much fun preparing for this show and I hope we will be able to produce great music.”
Minju Kim, Year 10: “I play the tenor saxophone for the production band, and I’ve been playing it for two and a half years now. I haven’t got any qualifications yet, but I am at Grade 7 level. The audition process wasn’t that scary or rigorous. Mr Cho just called me in for 5-10 minutes and made me sight read a few things. It was a really tough three terms of practice and listening to the Grease soundtrack over and over again, but it was amazing to see everything put together and see how much our hard work paid off. Sometimes we’d find bits that we needed to practice more, but we got over them and managed to make the songs perfect. I like the Grease music because it’s all such fun to play with other people. Having the cast sing along is great fun too. I’m excited for the production because I’m going to see how people react to our months and months of hard work and dedication.”
Phoebe Kong, Year 12: “I’ve been playing the piano for almost ten years now and am currently in the process of getting an ATCL diploma. I like the Grease music because it’s upbeat and fun to listen to and play. Learning the scores was something that happened gradually, since we got new songs to learn one after another, but it was really cool seeing everyone improve as a band as we got better at the music. I’m excited for the production because it’s a new experience for me and will be the first time playing in a band in front of an audience.”
Patrick Dempsey, Year 12: “I’ve played the drums going on five years now, have been playing for the SMC big band since Year 9 and have had lessons since Year 7. Mr Cho just came up and asked me to play in the production band and I just said ‘yeah sure’. It was pretty cool learning how to play all the songs that are so familiar and it’s always cool playing the drums while someone’s singing along to it, adding a lot of melody to the tunes. I’m excited for the production because it will be a showcase of everyone’s (musicians and actors alike) hard work and effort so everything will hopefully pay off and we can have fun performing for everyone watching.”
Peter Brzozowski, Year 12: “I’ve been playing the trumpet for seven years now and am planning to sit the Grade 6 trumpet exam. I’ve seen the film a few times over the years and have got to know the music well. Even though it’s fairly simple, when playing it with the rest of the band, it sounds really good. I’m excited for the production because it’s the first one I will have played in. It’s a good way to get experience for playing in musicals and it’s really cool when you play with the cast and see their moves go with the music. It’s all good fun.”
Lorenzo Cruz, Year 11: “I’ve been playing the trumpet for 3-4 years and I play in various Jazz Combos and for the Big Band of this school. I love the Grease music because it offers the very complex style and rhythm of the 50s. It gave me great vibes on how music was like back then and it’s great having to play it with such great members of the band. For practice, we had to work really hard on getting all the details perfect and making it exciting for both the cast and audience. I’m excited for this production because it was always a dream of mine to perform for hundreds of people in a theatre. I love listening to musicals and this is a great opportunity to be working with such talented students and staff, in making this production a reality.”
Don’t miss Grease, featuring all the giddily enjoyable tunes we know and love, performed live by Sancta Maria College’s Production Band.
Tickets are on sale at the school cashier’s office or online at:
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2018/sancta-maria-college-grease/auckland/manukau-city
When:
Thu 7 Jun 2018, 7:00pm–9:30pm
Fri 8 Jun 2018, 7:00pm–9:30pm
Sat 9 Jun 2018, 7:00pm–9:30pm
Katrina Chan
