Music

Music Curriculum Extensions

Music at Linwood College has long been recognised and admired for its quality, vitality, variety and character.

When a choice needs to be made, as students move up to secondary level, many choose Linwood College for the quality of its music-making and the breadth of choice in its music education. And every year young people from other schools, who are already at higher levels of their secondary education, come to Linwood College in order to participate in and experience its energetic and successful music-making.

Orchestra – The Linwood College Orchestra is undoubtedly the flagship of the school’s music groups. The orchestra comprises approximately seventy students and plays a wide variety of repertoire and has a reputation as possibly the finest school orchestra in the city. This group always participates in Linwood’s prestigious Music-Drama productions and recent stagings of West Side Story and Kiss Me Kate were outstanding examples, with completely sold-out seasons, standing ovations and people returning to see the show a second or even third time.

Term 3 is always the Orchestra’s highlight with its appearance at the Secondary Schools Orchestra Festival in the Christchurch Town Hall.

The Jazz Band also has a well-deserved reputation for the quality and sparkle of its performances. Ever since the Linwood College Jazz Band participated in the Southern Jam at the Marlborough Jazz Festival some years ago it has won “Best Band” and many other awards for the individual talents of its members. In Term 1 the Band often goes to the Tauranga Jazz Festival where it has won many awards. Of the twelve prizes at a recent Southern Jam, the Linwood College Band won no fewer than ten! – including Best Band, Best Combo and Best Overall Band. The Jazz Band will be defending its title again in August this year in Marlborough.

Choir – Singing at Linwood College has a long history of success and excellence, from international opera singers such as Rodney McCann (a founding student of the college) to recent stars like Sam Abbott who sang as a leading soloist in Classical Sparks and Canterbury Opera last year. Other soloists sang as part of the 2011 European Tour and our choirs continue to flourish and perform to considerable acclaim.

Rock Bands – Almost every year Linwood bands are among the top placings in regional finals and have on three occasions been among the top three placings at the National Finals. Recently a Linwood Student won the overall “Best Vocalist” award and we are looking again this year to some more success with some truly outstanding bands in the Regional Finals.

Chamber Music, Musical Theatre and other groups –There’s so much more music-making at Linwood College... and like every other feature of the school, there really is a place for everyone, whatever their strengths and talents.

The Linwood College Orchestra performed at Westminster Abbey in London on 25 April 2011.