Last week, senior music students from OHS joined students from throughout Auckland to attend the Auckland Philharmonia, ‘Discovery Concert’ at the Auckland Town Hall.

The 1 ½ hour narrated performance by the full orchestra is designed to bring the music curriculum to life. Students heard well-known pieces from the great composers R. Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Bizet, and a new work from a young composer Grace Willik. Students explored how various composition techniques and devices are used to create a piece of music, and then had the opportunity to assist in composing a piece with the orchestra.

The experience was enjoyable and valuable for our students, who welcomed the chance to deepen their understanding.

Nevaeh Henry 13 Ct writes,

‘My experience at the Philharmonic Orchestra was really good. What I enjoyed the most was when we were given the opportunity to produce a piece of music for the orchestra to play. The ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ composition activity was really fun! It was so amazing to see how a large number of instruments could make beautiful music when combined together, I also loved how they premiered a piece created by a young composer!’