Music

The Concert Orchestra is an intermediate ensemble mainly for Year 9–11 students. The players begin to develop their ensemble skills with music chosen to provide all instruments with moments to shine.

The Chamber Orchestra is for advanced musicians, usually in Years 12–13.  The students perform difficult repertoire. Many of these musicians are chosen as members of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra.

For major events in the school year, such as Founders’ Day and the Annual Prizegiving, we combine the Concert and Chamber Orchestras.  This group typically has 60-plus members with a good balance of strings, brass, wind and percussion.  The Symphony Orchestra gives the musicians the experience of playing in a large orchestra, along with all the excitement that entails.

Every year St Andrew’s enters six to eight groups in the national Chamber Music Competition. St Andrew's College students regularly qualify for the national finals, with our trio Vich Perfect winning the competition in 2021. These groups are for the most advanced classical musicians in the school at both junior and senior levels.

Our strong choral programme provides opportunities for diverse singers and groups, with most belonging to one of the three auditioned choirs. Stacchorus (Junior Choir) and Staccoro (Senior Choir) perform at numerous school and community events, as well as competing in Big Sing. The Chamber Choir provides a further singing challenge for those wanting to work in demanding repertoire. Some students choose close harmony work as part of the Barbershop programme, which is offered based on student interest.

Our Jazz programme (Years 7–13) develops skills and understanding in the jazz genre. Our Big Band is recognised as one of the best bands in New Zealand and competes at the National Youth Jazz Festival and at local jazz festivals. The Jazz Orchestra is our ‘development’ band and competes in the Southern Jam and Ara JazzQuest and the Christchurch Big Band Festival. For elite jazz musicians, we have a traditional Jazz Combo, which performs difficult swing repertoire at a high level, competing in the Ara JazzQuest. Featuring four of the school’s top contemporary vocalists, the Soul Band takes pop and jazz repertoire and arranges the music with their own take of the Soul genre.

We have an active programme of developing our rock musicians, with Rock School taking place on Friday afternoons where six to eight bands work together, writing original music and developing their musicianship and performance skills for Rockquest and numerous lunchtime gigs.  Our bands perform around town, and they regularly make their own EPs using the school's world class recording facilities.

An integral part of the school’s Project Based Learning initiatives is making space for our songwriters to excel.  Through regular teaching with specialist tutors and masterclasses our songwriters are very active. In recent years, we have had many students qualify for the national album for the Play It Strange competition, with Grace Lawrence (OC 2022) winning first place in the prestigious 2022 The Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition, with her stunning coming-of-age song Differently Now.

Duncan, a graduate with double degrees from the University of Canterbury and the Christchurch Jazz School, boasts a robust musical foundation in classical, rock, and jazz. His extensive experience as a bass player spans both Christchurch and overseas. Duncan’s contributions extend beyond performance; he has pioneered cutting-edge curriculum programmes tailored to individual student needs. His work includes aural training, music theory, and music technology resources, which are widely used by over 90% of New Zealand high schools. As an NZQA moderator and an Apple Distinguished Educator, Duncan leads the way in Music Education and Technology. His expertise is recognised globally through regular keynote presentations at conferences, particularly in the realms of music technology and composition. In 2019, Duncan received the prestigious Music Teacher of the Year award at the Kaiarahi Puoro O Te Tau Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

Bryan has been directing choirs at St Andrew’s College for over 30 years and is also a director of our national award-winning boys’ barbershop. An accomplished singer and pianist, he received his degree in music from University of Canterbury.

Jared is a choral conductor and part-time medical doctor, who, alongside his medical training, has pursued a career in music. Jared studied piano with Old Collegian, Professor Terence Dennis (OC 1973) at the University of Otago, has accompanied and directed the Wellington Youth Choir, and most recently completed Graduate and Postgraduate Diplomas in Choral Conducting with Dr Karen Grylls at the University of Auckland, while directing the choirs at Saint Kentigern College. Since relocating to Christchurch, Jared is the director of three choirs: Staccoro, the Christchurch Youth Choir, and The Cecilian Singers. Jared is also a singer and chorister; he is an alumnus of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, the New Zealand Youth Choir, and the University of Otago Capping Sextet, and is an active member of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir.

Mark is a freelance conductor and teacher, based in Christchurch. He studied trumpet in Sweden with Bo Nilsson and conducting in Aspen with Murry Sidlin.

The Music Department runs an extensive programme of instrumental and vocal tuition with more than 22 itinerant tutors coming into the College each week.