For the second year running, Long Bay College’s premiere choir, Voxette won one of three Auckland Big Sing Gala Concert Awards for their performance at the Auckland Town Hall last month. Their stage presence and performance delighted, impressed and captivated the audience. The choir were presented with the Margery Charlton Memorial trophy.
The audience acknowledged the group with an enthusiastic standing ovation after the a capella group’s powerful performance, which ended with an energetic rendition of ‘Somebody I used to know’. Dominique Stallard, a Year 12 student and member of Voxette since Year 9 says, “The thrill of winning the performance award trophy last year was amazing. To win it again this year was out of this world.” Long Bay College Head of Music, Mr Hadley Ronayne is delighted by the growing interest from students to audition for the College’s premiere a capella choir and is impressed by the group’s improvement in quality of sound and performance over the past seven years. Mr Brian Lee is the choir’s director and has developed the choir to the next level. Voxette is one of only two completely unaccompanied school choirs in the Auckland region. Mr Lee is looking forward to further performance opportunities with the group, both at school and at community events this year.
Going for the Globe
Long Bay College students impressed the judging panel with their five-minute scene from ‘A Winter’s Tale’ in Wellington at the national Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival last month. The talented group of students from Years 10-12 won three awards. Isabella de Silva, who directed and acted in the scene, also earned entry into the highly coveted National Shakespeare Schools Production in Wellington later this year.
She will join 24 students from around New Zealand to vie for a position in the SGCNZ Young Shakespeare Company who will select students to travel to the Globe Theatre next year. This is a wonderful achievement for Isabella and for Long Bay College Drama. Her success follows on from the College’s former student, Harry Nalder, who was selected to travel to the Globe Theatre to attend acting workshops and perform atop the famous stage in 2018. Long Bay College’s Performing Arts Head of Faculty, Mr Brendan Perkins is very proud of the students achievements at a national level and of Isabella’s success. He adds, “Isabella has wonderful acting skills but also the ability to inspire others to achieve their own levels of personal excellence.”
Care, create, excel
Long Bay College has created a new tagline to highlight the unique benefits of our school. The words were carefully chosen based on 2018 focus group and survey information from our school community to ensure they accurately reflect the identity of the College. 'Care' and 'Creativity' are two of the College's core values. Our culture of care ensures every student is respected and supported to be their very best. A secure learning environment inspires our students to question, explore and to think creatively and become innovators. By empowering our students with these skills, they excel and are future-ready for our ever-changing world.
