Arts News Term 2, Week 6 2026

Lights, camera, action…cue SMC Winners!

9 bands, 1 duo, 1 solo all performed impressively at last week’s Rockquest Regional heat, and two of our bands made it through to the Regional Final. All girls took to the stage, shook off their nerves and let the excitement shine through. These are the moments that matter and the moments they will forever remember. After a quick soundcheck, all girls performed their original songs, supporting each other as they took to the stage. There was fierce competition from other school acts, totalling 92. After two days of performances, congratulations to The Spoons (Phoebe Jones, Mae Wilkinson, Ivy Mehrtens, Tiv Crozier and Chloe Drinkwater) and Third Take (Jess Erasmus, Savena Fagalima, Mya Kingi, Emily Snoep and Claudia Lassen) who made it through to the Regional Final. Only 16 bands make it through, and this is the third year in a row for The Spoons. Congratulations to all performers who took part on the day. Keep rocking, girls!

The Rockquest Final takes place at the Ngaoi Marsh Theatre, Ilam Rd. Tickets are available via Eventfinda or door sales. The top 16 bands now perform two songs each, and the top two bands then move on to enter a video submission for National 'Top 35' semi-finalist selection. Good luck, girls!

DRAMA

SGCNZ VUW National Shakespeare Festival happened over King's birthday weekend, with 22 of our SMC students heading over to Wellington to participate. The weekend started off with two workshops on Friday, with options of: stage combat, costuming, singing, word play, ensemble work, and many more. 

Our 15-minute scene was from Act three, Scene two of The Winter’s Tale. This excerpt focuses on the trial of Hermione led by the tyrant Leontes. As the scene develops, it is discovered that Hermione's child, the prince, has passed away.  Hermione's lady-in-waiting, Paulina, then confronts Leontes, letting her own emotions run wild. During the scene, statues moved to the words and the chimes, drums and cymbals, adding an element of magical movement into the scene. The group received the award for Outstanding Use of Movement/Dance. 

Tessa De Wit, who also attended as part of a combined group between Christ’s College and St Margaret’s College, won Outstanding Presentation of a Comedy for their performance from The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Over Saturday and Sunday, we watched the other performances and were amazed by the talent in the room. The festival was a fabulous opportunity to expand our acting knowledge and capabilities, and will be a memory I’m sure all of us will cherish for years to come.

Ida Van Kan - Head of Drama (Senior Arts Council)

MUSIC

The first Itinerant Concert of the year took place last week, too. There were experienced performers trying out new pieces in front of an audience and first-timers who pulled through their initial nerves and fears. We had a display of talented pianists and singers, some accompanied by their teachers. We look forward to the next one towards the end of the term.

Both the Combined Orchestra and the SMC Chamber Choir performed at the Combined Concert at Christ’s College last week, hot off the heels of the Orchestral Extravaganza. The orchestra combined with the Christ’s College orchestra to perform the well-known and loved Peer Gynt Suite, Grieg. The Chamber Choir performed 3 songs in preparation for the Big Sing, and SMC displayed musical prowess via two chamber groups in preparation for the forthcoming Chamber Music NZ contest. The evening was full of musical talent, which featured many of the cast from Les Misérables.

Big Sing

The Chamber Choir will be performing at this year’s Big Sing and evening Gala concert. The Big Sing is a Nationwide Choral showcase, which happens annually and takes place in 10 centres around the motu. This Friday features Canterbury and West Coast high school choirs. Steered by the National Choral Federation, it is NZ’s largest choral event involving more than 9,000 students from around 280 choirs.

The Chamber Choir is an auditioned choir for students from Year 9 to Year 13 who sing a variety of music. Throughout the year, the choir has numerous opportunities to perform at a vast number of performances, both within school and in the wider community. Every week, the choir meets for a 2-hour rehearsal in addition to sectionals during break times. 

Students will rehearse at the Town Hall, listen and support other choirs during the afternoon and prepare for the evening’s event.

You are able to watch the daytime sessions - tickets are $10 at the door. SMC is performing at 3:15pm (Session 3:8). Tickets for the Gala are on sale through Ticketmaster.

Qiaoyu Guan, Head of Junior School, Senior Arts Council

The Chamber Choir will be performing three pieces: `Rehua Ki Te Whenua’ by local composer, Patrick Shepherd, `Miserere’ by Eva Ugalde, a piece where the students will sing about a myriad of stars, and finally, ‘The Bird’ by Ayrian Norman.

This year, the choir is participating in The Big Sing as a non-competitive group, as they will be going on a tour later this year. We are excited to take part in the Sisters of the Church Music Festival, which occurs every two years. This has been an historic event that links Anglican schools together across New Zealand and Australia. Each school is asked to host the event every two years and this year St Margaret’s College is pleased to announce that this will take place in the form of a Choral Tour around the lower South Island.

Mya Kingi, Head of Vocal, Senior Arts Council

DANCE

We are excited to share that the Senior Dance Company has been invited to perform during the halftime entertainment at the Tactix game on Saturday 6 June. This is a home game at the Wolfbrook Arena against the Warriors.

VISUAL ARTS

The Yr 8 students have been studying the work of contemporary NZ artist Reweti Arapere and his cardboard creations. 

The girls planned a cardboard Pou sculpture, a traditional likeness of a person or mythological figure. The girls started by drawing from research about their ancestry, including flags of countries that represent their identity. They added some personal items and then crafted them out of cardboard and paint/Posca. Ka pa to mahi, fabulous job Yr 8s!

These are now on display downstairs in the WS block by the outside door.

OPPORTUNITIES

NASDA is gearing up for their next show, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, with the support of this year's second-year degree students. 

Tickets can be found here: https://events.humanitix.com/nasda-disneys-beauty-and-the-beast

ACHIEVEMENTS & CELEBRATIONS

Last Saturday evening, the Great Talk Poetry Recitation National Final was held. The competition was fierce, and our girls gave beautiful performances. Competitors had to recite a poem they had chosen and prepared, and a second poem they were assigned a week ago. 

Charlotte Tan and Chriselle Tok-Lee were in the year 4-6 category, and came in third place and Highly Commended, respectively. Their assigned poem was Skateboard by Belle Avery, Charlotte’s own selection was Football in the Rain by David Orne, and Chriselle’s was The Bogeyman by Jack Orelutsky. 

Adjudicators Josephine Carpenter and Jennifer Wicks praised the quality of performance as being high across the age groups, but made special note of the impressive standard displayed in the year 9 - 10 category, which Caitlin Ching was in. She was Very Highly Commended for her recitation of Mirror by Sylvia Plath and her assigned poem, Song of the Worms by Margaret Atwood.

During the adjudicator’s break, there was a Q&A session where Chriselle and Charlotte made valuable contributions, speaking articulately and confidently. Well done to all who competed. It’s great to see SMC students using their strong voices in a National competition. 

Briar Sharp had a very successful weekend as she got highly commended awards twice and got into the intermediate finals (13-18 yrs) for 2 sections: country rock and new country. There were between 25 and 50 entrants in each of her sections, and she then went on to win a gold guitar for new country. It was a very exciting weekend!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:

Big Sing - 5 June

Rockquest Regional Final - 6 June

Tactix - 6 June

Chamber Music NZ Regionals - 9/10 June

Contemporary Showcase - 24 June

Itinerant Concert #2 - 2 July