Christchurch branch President Judith Leckie reviews their latest concert, held on 9 August.
Each year the Christchurch Branch of ROSL hosts a musical afternoon concert when choirs, groups and soloists from local schools perform for members and guests. Recently, four international students and one New Zealander, chosen from Hillmorton High School’s Music Department, treated us to an enthralling afternoon, displaying their talents with a variety of musical instruments. These included the piano, the violin, the cello, the trombone and a wooden flute (unique to Taiwan). The calibre of each student was absolutely amazing. We were also fortunate to listen to some delightful operatic arias from the school’s Deputy Principal, who is a semi professional opera singer in her own right.
It was a truly wonderful concert, the venue of which was the recently restored magnificent St Barnabas Church, which was badly damaged during the Christchurch earthquakes of 2011. Our regular venue was under refurbishment, so it was a great opportunity for a performance to be held in a spacious and elegant setting with brilliant acoustics.
A donation is given by us every year to the chosen school to assist with their musical programme. By giving students a performance opportunity such as this one we are encouraging and fostering young talent – one of the main aims of ROSL.
