Local schools combine to rock Memorial Hall

August 28th, 2014
[Story & photo by Kendyl Drummond, reproduced courtesy of 'The Guardian']

Last Tuesday night, August 19th, saw the first of three 'Rock Da House' performances at the Motueka Memorial Hall consisting of over 200 students from Ngatimoti, Parklands and Mahana Schools.

The hall was crowded with friends, family and teachers buzzing to hear the combined school choir sing, accompanied by students of the Back Beat Choir from Nelson and the talented students of Garin College that make up the Rock da House Band.

The following two evenings saw the same concert performed by students from Tasman, Tasman Bay Christian, Mapua, St Peter Chanel, Riwaka, Upper Moutere, Lower Moutere, Motueka South and Dovedale primary schools to sold-out audiences.

Altogether, the three performances saw around 600 students from year's five to eight participating in the event, led by music specialist John Phillips and co-director Paulette Nott.

The pair have been visiting the participating schools for the past two months teaching students and teachers the songs and actions as well as putting together the concert programme and organising the show.

Their hard work and enthusiasm has certainly paid off.

Combined with the live music from the Rock Da House Bands, harmonisers from the Back Beat Choir and exceptional sound and lighting by stage director Mark Wentworth and his crew, the show proved to be a colourful evening leaving a lasting impression on both the audience and the students involved.

The choir sang a variety of songs including tracks from Imagine Dragons, Coldplay, Owl City, The Script and some old classics from the likes of The Beatles.

Solo performances were also given to students from each school as part of the programme's mission to promote young talent, and last night's show saw solo parts from Taegan Stringer, Shannen Smith and Karina Foxley from Parklands, TuiSoochoon from Ngatimoti School and Kyla Rayward, Orion Mace and SaskiaGray from Mahana School.

"The kids have been so well behaved, it's been awesome," John said after the full day of rehearsals on Monday. "It's great just seeing the kids getting lost in the moment. They practice and practice the songs but it doesn't really make sense until when they are performing it."

"For a lot of them, this has been their first time under lights and in a professional performing environment," adds Paulette.

Leading up to the event there has been a lot of community involvement and support that has contributed to the success of the show.

Tony White from Motueka Movers and Brad Thomas from Motueka Firewood Direct have both donated the use of their large trucks which have acted as dressing rooms for the students, while Fred Cassin Scaffold has donated and set up the scaffolding to support the staging equipment.

Due to the large amount of staging and the body weight of over 100 children, the stage needed to be strengthened and approved to OSH standards to support the weight of six tonnes.

Motueka ITM also made steps and access points from the trucks free of charge.

Mark has dedicated more than 60 hours working on setting up the stages, lighting and sound equipment in the last two weeks, and he acknowledges the support of the local businesses.

The concert has proved to certainly be an outstanding community event, and John and Paulette have been blown away by the young talent of the local schools.

Aimed at inspiring participation of students in musical activities and creating positive performance experiences, the show alternates each year between Motueka and Nelson schools, and was first brought to Motueka in 2012.

The scope of the shows has grown every year, from 10 schools in 2012 to 12 schools in 2014, and the involvement, passion and enthusiasm is expected to continue to grow each year.

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