Arts News Term 3, Week 6 2026

SAPPHIRES SUCCESS

19 students and 4 bands from Years 5- 8 took part in Bandquest this week at the James Hay Theatre, Town Hall:

Gravity (Maddy Mackie, Kaia Armstrong, Rosa Smallman - sick, Brooklyn Lerios, Ellie Fridd, Marishke Smit)

Band News (Eleanor Levenger, Sophia Riley, Holly Jamison, Wai-yin Tham, Skyla Trenberth)

The Pink Ashes (Inka Somerville-Smith, Penny O'Sullivan, Polly Guild, Bella Hayward)

All girls performed extremely well, but it was the Sapphires who took out the award for best original song, composed by Gemma Lindley and tutored by Emily Farrell. Congratulations to the Sapphires and all girls who participated.

Sapphires (Millie East, Ava Dixon, Gemma Lindley, Celeste Milburn)

SISTERS OF THE CHURCH

20 SMC girls from the Chamber Choir will be involved in the Sisters of the Church Music Festival tour, which will be led by New Zealand’s pre-eminent choral conductor, David Squire, who has been appointed Music Director. He will conduct three combined works performed by the massed choir within each concert programme, while each school choir will also present its own carefully prepared repertoire across the tour.

To mark this special occasion, composers Patrick Shepherd and Rosa Elliott have each been commissioned to write a new work especially for the tour, enriching the programme with music created specifically for this unique collaboration.

The tour will culminate in a gala finale concert at St Margaret’s College in Christchurch, to be held in the Charles Luney Auditorium at 4.00pm on Saturday 5 September. The concert is free entry but tickets need to be booked via the Eventfinda link below:

Sisters of the Church Choral Concert

ENCORE

This year's Independent Middle School Choral Festival Encore will be celebrated at the Christ’s College Auditorium on Wednesday, September 9. The concert comprises massed-choir items and performances by individual choirs, featuring independent schools from Christchurch.

The evening show is at 7pm and will last approximately 1 hour. Whānau are warmly invited to attend the evening concert. There will be a Koha at the door, which will be donated.

MUSIC FESTIVAL 

Girls from Year 5/6/7 will all be involved in the Lions Christchurch Music Festival. Girls will attend a massed rehearsal on Wed 16 September in preparation for the Music Festival in November. A hundred singers from SMC will take part, performing on the opening night, Tuesday 3 November, at 7pm. 

We have nine girls as representatives in the Junior and Senior choirs and orchestra. Representative Group members are each provided with a special promo code which enables them to gain special early access to online ticket sales at Ticketmaster here. (Ticket sales for the rep groups will be open from 25 August). 

Tickets will be available for the general public from 1 September. Please check the venue plans for each performance showing approximately where the children will be seated for the Massed Choir, so that you can make an informed decision about where to book audience seats. We recommend that you book seats OPPOSITE where your child is performing. Click here for the map. The map only indicates sides, not seating order. Ticket prices are Gallery (adults/children) $35, Stalls (adults) $27 and Stalls (school students) $19

Tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster  

MUSIC ITINERANT CONCERT

Students recently treated us to vocal, piano and violin performances in the Charles Luney Auditorium. We heard songs from musicals Cats, Beauty and the Beast and a naughty Matilda. 

The termly concerts are a perfect opportunity to try out new pieces, gain performance practice and tackle any performance nerves! We had students as young as Year 1 and 2 involved, presenting a gliding goldfish on the piano, and William Tell on the violin. 

VISUAL ARTS

Celebrating Our Student Artists!

A massive congratulations to Jessica Geary, Cece Acland, Kayla Liu, and Tania Liu, whose outstanding artworks were selected to be exhibited at the recent Arts Canterbury Art Show. Having artwork featured in this regional showcase is a wonderful testament to their creativity, dedication, and artistic talent.

Special congratulations go to Kayla, who achieved fantastic success in the 10–14 age category for her beautiful drawing study titled “Second”. Kayla took home both the Excellence Award and was named Runner-Up for the People's Choice Award!

We are exceptionally proud of all four students for representing our school so brilliantly in the wider community.

DEBATING

Junior Break News & Senior QF News

Congratulations to Year 10 Kōtare (Divya, Hera & Zhea) who won both their Quarter Final heat against Villa Maria and their Semi Final against a terrific Papanui team.

Congratulations also to Year 13s Kākāpo (Kieva, Sneha, Orla) who 

won their semi-final against the excellent St Thomas' team. 

Our Y13's meet a senior Papanui High team in their final, and our Y10S go up a team from Riccarton High School.

There was a  valiant effort from Jess, Jolin and Alicia standing in for Tessa too. 

THEATRESPORTS 

Two SMC Theatresports teams will be competing in the Court Theatre Theatresports competition on Sunday 6 September. Florence Cottier McCormick, Bridie Cottier McCormick, Charlie-Rose Powell, Cece Acland, Maia Lacey, Ida van Kan, Scarlett Gardner, Emma Head,  and Sophie McGuire will participate.

The Court Theatre runs Theatresports™ in Schools, Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest-running youth Theatresports™ competition. With hundreds of students participating each year from all over Te Waipounamu South Island, this programme builds confidence, creativity, and teamwork while celebrating the joy of improvisation.

School teams of up to six perform scenes and games based on audience suggestions, scored by a judging panel of The Court Jesters. Teams who progress through the heats will compete in their local regional final, with the winners of each region coming together for a Te Waipounamu South Island grand finale hosted at The Court Theatre.

CELEBRATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Congratulations to everyone who participated in The GreatTalk 2026 National Speech Competition.

This year, The Great Talk heard from more than 160 young speakers from across New Zealand. 

The standard of this year’s competition was exceptionally high. The strength and structure of their speeches, the originality of ideas, the perspectives they brought, stories they shared, and the confidence and skill of their delivery gave the judging panel a great deal to admire and consider.

Several SMC students took part in the Great Talk Speech Competition online and we are pleased to announce that we have some National Finalists. These students will fly up to Auckland for the Final, and if any of them win, they will be presented their award in Parliament. 

Our finalists are:

Year 3-4

Charlotte Tong (Charlotte Xing Tan Tong)

Year 5-6

Isla Ballantyne

Year 9-10

Jody Ye

Year 11-13

Jolin Ye

Congratulations to every contestant who stepped forward to share their voice.

CentreStage Rolleston's upcoming stage musical, Seussical Jr.

Following auditions in late June involving approximately 70 talented young performers from across Selwyn and Christchurch, Year 11 student Amelia Clarke has been successfully cast in the production.

The level of skill and enthusiasm at the auditions was incredibly high, which made for a very difficult casting process. Being selected for the cast is a fantastic accomplishment, and Amelia should be incredibly proud of her achievement. 

Everyone involved will be working very hard over the next 10 weeks to bring this show to life. 

Seussical Jr will be on stage in Rolleston from 9th-11th October. Information and tickets are available at Seussical Jnr

OPPORTUNITIES

DramaSoc, the University of Canterbury’s Drama Society and a performing arts charity, is based here in Christchurch.

Students are invited to their upcoming production of one of Agatha Christie’s most famous and best-selling mysteries, And Then There Were None.

The story follows ten strangers who are invited to an isolated island, only to discover that their mysterious host has accused each of them of a terrible crime. As the guests begin to die one by one, paranoia grows, and the survivors realise that the killer must be one of them. With no way off the island, the question becomes: who will be next?

Performances will be held on:

Thursday 10 September – 7.30pm

Friday 11 September – 7.30pm

Saturday 12 September – 2.00pm

Saturday 12 September – 7.30pm

The 2.00pm Saturday performance will also feature reduced lighting and volume, creating a more comfortable theatre experience for those who may prefer a less intense sensory environment.

Special group discounts are also offered:

5+ tickets: Use code FIVEPLUS for 15% off

10+ tickets: Use code TENPLUS for 20% off

All seating is general admission, and students can purchase tickets at the concession rate of $18 per ticket before any group discount is applied.

Tickets can be purchased here: And Then There Were None

Canterbury Youth Theatre (CYT) is back for 2027! CYT was founded by Hwyl Theatre in 2024 with the goal of connecting high school-aged rangatahi to working actors and theatre creatives. Following successful productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Julius Caesar last summer, they are delighted to announce that CYT's 2027 Summer production will be Macbeth. 

Students are invited to free audition workshops led by Harry Lawrence and Sarah Clare Judd (Eli: Let the Right One In - Court Theatre) at The Grange Theatre, and further information is attached below. 

Audition booking link: MACBETH

Audition dates: 5th and 6th October 2026

Audition location: The Whare (K-Block), The Grange Theatre, 27 Arthur Street, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand

Pre-Christmas read-through, meet-and-greet, skills day: November 28th 2026

Intensive rehearsal week: 18th-21st January 2027

Performance dates at The Grange Theatre: 22nd and 23rd January 2027

The vision for this Macbeth interpretation is exploring a simple question: What is real? We journey into the relationship between magic and power. Macbeth is constantly asked whether the world around him is under his control or if he is just a pawn in the witches' magic, or perhaps something even bigger? They’re looking to incorporate illusory magic from a design perspective. By incorporating two-way mirrors into the set design, they are able to bring the illusionary magic of the witches into the theatre. 

The team for this show will be led by Harry Lawrence and joined by William Wallace who had played the titular role for Hwyl Theatre, Sarah Clare Judd (Eli: Let the Right One in, Court Theatre), and John Bayne (New Zealand Opera and Pop Up Globe). 

There will be an open casting, meaning anyone can be considered for any role, and the role of Macbeth (potentially others) will be split into two. One actor will play the role in the first half, and the other in the second. This is to reflect the difference in Macbeth's character in the way he tries to gain power versus when he has to maintain power. 

Enchanting Productions will perform Sweet William at The Piano 16-18 October. Written by Neill Pickard, who established the Jazz School in Christchurch, there are a number of SMC students in the cast. Ex SMC Louise Glossop directs. Well done to our students. Please go and support them.

Mia Hearne - Lady Macbeth 

Rose Martin - Susanna Hall

Matilda Abbott - Judith Quiney 

Enchanting Productions

The National Concerto Competition is for young classical musicians aged 25 years and under.  This has been an annual event held in Christchurch for the past 58 years!

The 2026/2027 competition, which is Piano, opens for entries on Monday 20th July 2026.  

As you would have previously received the National Concerto Competition Press Release you will know that the competition will differ slightly this year.  Following the preliminary rounds, four finalists will be selected to perform again and you may extend your performance up to 30 minutes at your own discretion with an accompanying pianist.  The winner will be announced and be invited to perform with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra as part of the CSO Lamb & Hayward Masterworks series to be held in the Christchurch Town Hall on Saturday 20th March 2027.

Adjudicators:

Michael Houstoun, Patron, is one of the adjudicators 

Rules and Regulations/Online Entry Form:

Please see link below for further information including "Rules and Regulations" and "Online Entry Form".  It is important that each contestant is familiar with “Rules and Regulations” and also the “Important Points” which are highlighted on the Entry Form page.

National Concerto Competition