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2013

Musical Soiree I

Kaitaia College hosted its first Soiree of the year on Monday, 13th May.

It was a huge success, show-casing the wonderful musical talents of our Year 11s, 12s and 13s. Many of the night's performances were being assessed for NCEA credits.

Cherie Neave, Renee Walters-Price and Fraser MacLeod filled the hall with the beautiful sounds of the piano, and our vocalists, Shae Subritzky-Clark, Laekin Anania, Jamiee Cassidy, Patience Cotton, Dawn Jenkins and Tristian Campbell-Barker (accompanied by Crispin Yerkovich), gave the audience goose-bumps with their strong, mesmerizing voices.

Drummers Kevin Murphy, Denzel Mayand Yazmin De Caigney had us all tappingour feet to the beat, while Reagan Rameka, Malachi Wihongi, Dylan Laing-Reid, Max Doyle and Daniel Barr-Mitcalfe rattled the floors with their superb performances on guitar/bass.

A big thank you to all the teachers who took the time to organise the event; Mr Jonathon Pirini, Mrs Chuck, Mr Withiel, Mr MacDonald,Mrs Tucker, Mr Harrison, Mrs Paitai andKii Small (our MC for the night), the sound, lighting and back stage crew, the security, the ushers and the Arts Council, for making sure the night was enjoyable for all who attended.

Musical Soiree II

The last Soiree for 2013 was held on Tuesday, 20th August. It was performed with a great demonstration of the abundance of talent that the Music Department has to offer. The acts included drumming, bass and guitar, piano and, of course, some great singing. Congratulations to the Year 13 students who gained their NCEA Level 3.

2012

The first Term’s Soiree was held in conjunction with Abundant Life Music students. Our students were impressed by a very supportive audience, and are eager to perform there again. The highlight of the evening was Grayson Clarke,who performed a shinning rendition ofStevie-Ray Vaughns’ “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Many thanks to the staff and students of Abundant Life for making us feel so welcome.

Musical Soiree II - Monday, 18th June 2012

The Kaitaia College Hall held a diverse crowd of supportings on Monday night; all coming together for the second Soiree of the year. This Soiree was not only a musical performance, but a chance for students to be assessed for NCEA.

As well as students from Kaitaia College, performers included students from Panguru Area School and Kaitaia Abundant Life School, who all showed a wide variety of talent.

Students being assessed performed for Excellence, aiming sky high and some no doubt, achieving their goal. MC’s for the night were Francis Bradley and Kii Small, who did a wonderful job of announcing each artistic performance.

Panguru Area School students Merekara Kay and Sherydon Ngaropo performed two amazing original pieces: “Hush” and “Whispers” with beautiful close harmonies. Ashley Dye from Kaitaia Abundant Life School was also a crowd favourite, rocking the songs “Decode” and “Off the Cuff” on the drums leaving many, if not all, awestruck.

Level 1 student Michelle Musakwa had the crowd cheering her on as she overcame her nerves to play Romanza on the guitar and our very own Fraser MacLeod also captivated the crowd as he played “Mozart 40” on the piano.

Also achieving an Excellence Grade on the night was Natalie Kosovich, who sang a subtle jazzy version of “Isn’t She Lovely”.

All in all, the coming together of Schools was successful in showcasing how talented our generation is and how determined students are to achieve that maximum grade!

Written by Ashlee-Ann Sneller Photography by Lura NehrenSmith

Musical Soiree III was held on Thursday 23 August in the College Hall.

2011

Musical Soiree II - Thursday, 19th May

An intimate crowd waited in quiet anticipation for our second Soiree of the year. The night started with a Francis Bradley original. Bronson Ryan was a highlight providing a complicated presentation of “Amazing Grace” and “Sometimes I Laugh”. Exchange student Nicolas Ramseier, along with Jamie Seymour and Tarian Mills, presented first-rate piano pieces. Elissa Thomas performed a moving original composition, with Ngawaiata Reihana and Laekin Anania singing outstanding versions of two Taylor Swift songs. Crispin Yerkovich and Dennis Waipouri, swooned the audience with guitar/voice performances. Crispin surprised the audience with previously unheard singing talent. Jamie Seymour, Tim Heere, Bronson Ryan and Saffron Butters-Kiwikiwi finished the night with a resounding rendition of “The Final Countdown”.

Entry was $5 per person or $10 for families. Money raised from this evening will go towards purchasing musical equipment.

Musical Soiree 1 - 1st April 2011

More than forty Kaitaia College students took to the stage in twenty-five performances, keeping the crowd entertained for over two hours. There were vocal solos and groups, ballads, guitar solos, rock bands, and piano solos. The mostly senior students are from NCEA music classes and were assessed on their performances.

The evening was a fundraising event for students going on a History tour to South Africa later in the year.

Students took roles of back stage crew, sound crew, lighting, ushers, security, and door sales. Congratulations to Tim Heere and Bronson Ryan on doing such an excellent job in their roles as stage managers. There are some very talented vocalists at Kaitaia College and performances by Year 11 students, Jessica Wilson-Hynes, Atarangi Heta, Taitiana Robson, Leilani TeAriki, Laekin Anania and Natalie Kosovich showed that there are definitely some stars on the rise.

The stand out performance of the evening was the dynamic finale by the Senior Drum students (Tim Heere, Francis Bradley, Vitolio Palu,Israel Langi and conducted by their tutor, Mr Peter Welby). They performed an energetic rendition of Gareth Farr’s “Little Sea Gongs” for four percussionists. The drumming style is very much inspired by Rarotongan log drumming and is fast, furious and very loud. This was the first performance of the year and the quality of performances will only improve as the year progresses.

Be sure to catch more Kaitaia College performances on the following dates: Soiree 2: Thursday, 19th May, 6.30pm Talent Quest Finals: Friday, 24th June, 6.30pm Cultural Extravaganza: Tuesday 9th August Soiree 3: Friday, 19th August, 6.30pm Performing Arts Night: Thursday, 15th September.

2010

The first performance for this Term was ”The Soiree” held on Friday, 6th August.

There were twenty four outstanding performances involving more than forty students. The evening was an overwhelming success with a very high standard of performances from students from Year 10 to Year 13.

This performance gave the students experience performing to an audience, and it was an assessment opportunity for several students, many of whom gained Excellence Grades.

The Kaitaia College Music Department wishes to thank all the friends and family who supported the evening. We had a great turn out of more than 250 people.

Thanks to Mrs Tucker, Mrs Chuck, Mr MacDonald, Miss Davidison, and Mr Bryan and his Chess team (who provided refreshments as a fundraiser for their travel to the Nationals).

A special thank you to all the students behind the scenes: