Following on from our first article in the ‘Insider look into SMC life’ project, we introduce our new Music teacher who is also behind our rising musicians, Mr Craig Humphries – Core music teacher. Click here to read our last music teacher article featuring our head of department, Mr Gibbs.
Mr Humphries’ role at Sancta Maria College is working 3 days a week, starting up a guitar ensemble and setting up another recording studio to enable bigger groups to record. He has has worked tirelessly over a number of years, in many different schools to help educate students in the subject of music, in addition to teaching and promoting musical instruments (and the virtues of playing them) to all students.
Mr Humphries loves music and favours most genres, including jazz, rock, pop, classical, and blues! His main instrument is guitar followed by Bass, Piano, Drums and Ukulele. He also learnt flute and cello for a year. Mr Humphries has a rich playing background, including his involvement in a corporate band for the Breaker’s basketball team, playing in many different bluegrass bands in New York for 10 years, performing at our local NZ Womad festival, performing with some of New Zealand’s top bands and he even worked with New Zealand actor/director, Russell Crowe. What an incredible line up of experience – we are so lucky to have his expertise here at Sancta Maria College.
Where it all started…
Mr Humphries has worked as a Music Teacher for a number of years, including time as Head of Music in Balmoral School. He then took a well-deserved break before returning to teaching guitar for Lewis Eady. Through Lewis Eady, Mr Humphries became an Itinerant Music Teacher of Guitar at Sancta Maria College, which he loves, and further wishes to teach as a music teacher for many years to come. In his words… “The timing was just right as a spot for a music teacher at Sancta Maria College became free when I had the opportunity to take it.”
Joining our school…
He loves teaching the subject of music and the guitar and he loves to with work with students. Stating, “It’s amazing to see the development that music has on the brain and music is one of the most powerful challenges to the mind and spirit”.
Mr Humphries has been drawn to working at Sancta Maria College because of the spiritual element our school has. He states that the students and staff at Sancta Maria College are a lot happier compared to other schools and there is a lightness at this school which you do not get elsewhere.
Music is an encouraged subject within our school as it increases mentality and helps to grow the focus of the brain through kinaesthetic learning (where the fingers trigger brain waves to connect) and it increases our intelligence tenfold. As a result, he advocates for all students to take up an instrument of choice. Some goals Mr Humphries wishes to achieve over his time at Sancta Maria College is to get a recording studio up and running, build a Pasifika music styled band and to continue a high-quality guitar ensemble.
One of Mr Humphries core values is Aroha. He particularly empathises with the children during the past two years, with their learning or socially being disrupted for a long time during COVID restrictions. He believes, it is now even more important, that everyone spreads Aroha in areas of life not just in music. He also wishes to remind us that “in order to get better at anything, you MUST practice, and never give up! Pushing through and perseverance will allow you to improve and take hold of the opportunities the world will throw at you.”
We wish Mr Humphries the best of luck as our school’s new core music teacher and look forward to him sharing his rich experience with the students!
Photo by Mary Aguirre (Year 12)
