Performing Arts

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PERFORMING ARTS

Finally, a year when most of our competitions have been lucky enough to run again, and what a year it has turned out to be. 2022 has produced outstanding successes across so many diverse platforms; remarkable journeys have been taken, against the odds, to participate, explore and achieve at an incredibly high level.

Extraordinarily high standards cannot be achieved without hard work and dedication from everyone involved and I feel privileged to work with a highly skilled team of professional teachers and tutors who work tirelessly to bring out the very best.

Thank you to all the devoted families who support our co-curricular activities. Without you encouraging the girls to practice and maintain busy rehearsal schedules, we simply could not run our programmes.

But most importantly, we have an awesome bunch of highly motivated and talented girls who have navigated and adapted to these challenging times; your enthusiasm, energy and commitment is infectious.

Shelagh Thomson, Director of Performing Arts

Years 7 and 8 winners, from left to right: Angel Tao 2nd (Year 7), Anna Yuan 1st (Year 7) and Tania Tupou 3rd (Year 8). Years 9 and 10 winners, from left to right: Ella Bosselmann 2nd (Year 10), Lotosina Tavui 1st (Year 10) and Madeleine Christiansen 3rd (Year 10)

Exceptional results at the 2022 KBB Festival

ConcorDio Intermediate Strings

KBB award winners

For the first time ever, Dio entered six groups into this high-profile competition. The KBB Festival is the jewel in the crown for schools across the region and with instrumentalists from over 150 schools, thousands of students descend on Holy Trinity Cathedral for a weeklong ‘fest of the best’.

Dio had an incredible eight awards presented, including the Command Performance at the Gala Concert in Holy Trinity Cathedral. One of the loveliest surprises was our JHS group, ConcorDio Intermediate Strings, chosen by the adjudicators as the most engaging performance across the entire festival. Quite an achievement for such a young group of predominantly Year 7 students.

RESULTS

Gold – Dio Chamber Orchestra (director Shelagh Thomson) Outstanding Soloist Award – Elise Ji and Dio Chamber Orchestra (director Shelagh Thomson) Gold – Dio/Dilworth Big Band (director David Stent) Silver – Dio/Dilworth Concert Band (director David Stent) Silver – Dio Symphony Orchestra (director Lachlan Craig) Bronze – ConcorDio Intermediate Strings (director Shelagh Thomson) Command Performance Award – ConcorDio Intermediate Strings (director Shelagh Thomson) Highly Commended – Dio Intermediate Wind Band (director Lachlan Craig)

JHS Aria competition

In mid-September, we ran this annual competition after many interruptions and COVID postponements. Singers have been hit the hardest with no singing in Term 1, all rehearsals required masks and Zoom lessons were the norm. Then finally, our super talented Years 7 – 10 cohort got to perform on stage with an audience for the first time since 2019. We were also treated to a beautiful solo performance by Year 13 star and Arts Prefect, Hattie Johnston, who won Senior Aria last year. She has been an inspiration and mentor to many of our younger singers.

We were very lucky to welcome Catrin Johnsson, Swedish opera singer and one of New Zealand’s leading vocal exponents, to adjudicate. Once again she was blown away by the talent on show and with 15 finalists chosen from over 30 entrants, these girls did not disappoint.

We apologise that in the June issue of Dio Today, the photo that appeared on page 46 of the overall winner of the JHS Concerto competition was not Channelle Huang. Her photo appears here.

JHS concerto winner Channelle Huang

TOP AWARDS IN THE BIG SING COMPETITION

After two years of cancellations, everyone was thrilled to share their passion for choral music with the rest of the country once again in New Zealand’s largest secondary schools’ competition. At the regional Big Sing, St Cecilia Singers, Dio Cantoris and our joint Dio/ Dilworth choir, Divinitus, sang their hearts out in the Auckland Town Hall.

All choirs delivered stunning programmes and Divinitus was the outright favourite of the competition, taking out six awards.

Winner – Performance of a New Zealand or Pasifika composition Winner – Performance of a Choral Art Music composition Runner-up – Te tohu Manu Waiata Award Runner-up – Adjudicator’s Award Runner-up – Recital Programme by a Mixed Choir Winner – Margery Charlton Memorial Trophy – Gala Concert Performance Award

These three choirs were then selected to move to the next level in this competition, with both St Cecilia Singers and Divinitus selected for the national Finale and Dio Cantoris selected for the national Cadenza in Rotorua.

Distinction – St Cecilia Singers (directed by Rachel Sutherland) Distinction – Divinitus (directed by Lachlan Craig and Claire Caldwell) Highly commended – Dio Cantoris (directed by Rachel Sutherland)

The Big Sing Finale was held in Christchurch for the first time in 15 years and the city was buzzing with a thousand excited secondary school students.

St Cecilia Singers was honoured to be awarded gold and with their director Rachel Sutherland leaving after 18 years at Dio, going out with gold was a fitting tribute to the dedication shown to the choirs over the years. Divinitus, our combined choir with Dilworth School, was awarded silver and had the very special honour of winning the Auahi Kore Ma ¯ori Performance Award for E Rangi E.

Taituwha King composed and gifted this beautiful waiata to the choir and it will be forever treasured. A big shout-out to choral directors Lachlan Craig and Claire Caldwell.

And a huge thankyou to all the choristers who worked so hard this year. With rehearsals only starting in Term 2, it’s been a tough journey but it definitely paid off with every student shining on stage.

St Cecilia Singers

Mega Crew

AIMS crew

HIP HOP

After a hugely successful Tauranga Project Youth Hip Hop Competition earlier in the year, our talented Dio Hip Hop crews competed in the Eutopia CheerBranz competition during the July holidays.

Once again they triumphed — both the Mega Crew and Junior Crew (Years 7 and 8) won their categories and came out champions. The Dio AIMS crew were also awarded fourth place at the AIMS Games this year, and the Mega Crew came in sixth place in Hip Hop International, gaining them a bid to the world's Project Youth Hip Hop Competition – a fabulous year all round for these young dancers.

Both teams had comments made around their ability to exhibit dynamic routines with genuine showmanship and audience appeal. Congratulations to the girls and their coach, Ashley Metcalfe, also to their leader, choreographer and student mentor, Natasha Levene (Yr13).

RACHEL SUTHERLAND

Rachel has been a constant in our music department since 2005, when she started as an itinerant singing teacher. Over the years she has coached and tutored many of our talented singers, and this has resulted in a seamless transition from vocal consultant to choir director, her first choir in 2012 being Dio’s Senior Choir. In 2013 she took over directorship of handbells and has nurtured a love amongst students for these beautiful and unique instruments. In 2014 she taught Year 5 and 6 classroom music and from 2015, has been a curriculum teacher for Years 7-13 music. She also took over the directorship of our Years 7 and 8 choir, Virtuoso Voce and they continued to achieve gold awards at Kids Sing. In 2016 she became co-director of St Cecilia Singers and was appointed Director of Choral Music in 2018, overseeing the entire choral programme.

Rachel’s tutelage and leadership has helped ensure Dio’s elite choir, St Cecilia Singers, maintains its reputation as one of the top upper voice school choirs in New Zealand. We know how much time and effort has gone into training the choristers and choosing interesting and challenging repertoire. This year, Rachel achieved her first gold at the Big Sing Finale, so this feels like the icing on the cake and is a wonderful way for her to retire from her position here at Diocesan. We thank Rachel for her dedication to the role and we know the next step in her journey will involve her passion for choral music.

Rockbands and songwriting

At this year’s Smokefree Rockquest, Dio made an impact with three rock bands awarded at the Auckland Central region finals and selected to go through to the Auckland finals.

Lift! (Olivia Turnbull, Eleanor Tenbensel, Victoria Wright, Olivia Smithies, Georgia Burns) was awarded second place.

tv_racket (Hattie Johnston, Mia Reid, Ella Reid) was selected in the top 12 bands through to the Auckland finals.

2nd World Problems (Catarina Young, Mila Hopwood-Craig, Sabine Messer-Goodall, Talia Wood, Vanessa Huang) won the People’s Choice Award, gaining direct entry to the Auckland finals.

Lift! proceeded to the RockQuest Nationals (the top 20 bands in the country) and was the only independent girls’ school to be represented at this level. Part of this selection was the opportunity to go to a professional recording studio, Roundhouse Studios, and work with industry professionals.

2nd World Problems was selected as semi-finalists at Stand Up Stand Out, Auckland’s secondary schools’ premier music and dance competition.

OUR SHAKESPEARE SUPERSTARS!

We are delighted to announce that Kennedy Howse, Amanda Yu and Taipuhi King (Dilworth College) have all been selected to join one of the most exclusive acting families in New Zealand. The National Shakespeare Schools’ Production Company has been a springboard for some of our greatest talents and it is the pinnacle of the Shakespeare experience

Lizzie Peters, Taipuhi King and Kennedy Howse receiving their awards. for the thousands of students who enter the festival each year. Having beaten off competition from the best students in the country, they now join former students including Phebe Mason and Melissa Uren as national representatives. They will be mentored by the best industry professionals from around the world. SGCNZ’s National Shakespeare Schools Production (NSSP) is a week-long intensive course, studying aspects of Shakespeare’s works and three of his plays under leading directors. High calibre tutors take workshops with the whole group for half of each day. For the other half, the students, in their three groups, rehearse with their director and group for the week, culminating in public performances of scenes from the play each cast has studied.

The final stage of this amazing experience is the opportunity to get a spot in the Young Shakespeare Company of New Zealand. Each year 24 students are picked to be ambassadors of Shakespeare and New Zealand on the most famous stage in the world, the Globe, London. These students take their acting skills and perform to the public. Any actor in the world will tell you that this is the dream. This year Phebe Mason and Melissa Uren will wave the flag for New Zealand and Dio. We wish them well and hope to see the newest NSSP members achieve the same success in 2023. Break a leg everyone.

CHINESE MOON FESTIVAL

The Moon Festival organised by the Parents and Friends Association, which took place at the Arts Centre Foyer on 9 September, was a wonderful opportunity for parents and staff to come together to celebrate a culturally diverse Dio community. Also known as the Mooncake Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival, the festival is observed in many Asian countries and traditionally prays for the harvest, fine weather and peace for the country. Because the harvest is tied to the moon cycle, the festival takes place when the moon is at its fullest.

The foyer was adorned with colourful lanterns, platters of food and beautiful moon cakes. There was reuniting of the wider Chinese community, sharing gifts and enjoying the entertainment on offer.

Year 7 student Angel Tao performed a stunning festive ribbon dance and our Year 8 Guzheng star, Eva Zhang accompanied her. This traditional instrument has been around for over 2000 years and is hugely popular in China due to its versatility and beautiful haunting sound.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this event such a wonderful success.

AUCTIONEERING

In August, the Diocesan auctioneering team competed in the national youth competitions held in Auckland.

Auctioneers must have a high level of quick thinking and the ability to work out mathematical calculations, so that the competing purchasers know where they are at, and owners know that the best deal is being pursued.

Seven Diocesan students took part in REINZ National New Zealand Championships and we are delighted that Year 13 student Faith Tupuhi is the New Zealand Auctioneering Champion for 2022. Congratulations Faith for taking on this challenge and demonstrating the multiple skills required to win this award.

Faith Tupui auctioneering winner.

SHOWCASE AND ARTS AWARDS EVENING

The last full-scale Showcase and Arts Awards Dinner took place in 2019, and after the disruptions of the last two years, we combined these two iconic Dio events and ran one evening where we showcased music, dance, drama and visual arts along with awarding the trophies.

As usual, Dio students delivered a feast of performance styles, representing some of New Zealand’s finest young singers, instrumentalists, dancers and thespians. This evening did not disappoint with its awardwinning choirs, rock bands, orchestras, dance troupes, chamber groups, slam poets, actors, Kapa Haka performers, handbell ringers and visual artists, who displayed artworks on the screens around the foyer. By combining these events, it was the perfect way to ‘showcase’ the talent of our students. To see the very girls who receive our awards perform on stage to the community, put their awards into perspective and felt like a true celebration of their talents.

This year a special mention must go to our outstanding performers from the Year 13 cohort who have created the core of so many dance, drama, music and Kapa Haka groups during their time at Dio: Ella Riley, Hattie Johnston, Keltie-Kewan Young, Emma Parton, Natasha Levene, Mia Reid, Elise Ji, Sunny Zhang, Anastasia Sun, Phoebe O’Neil and Amie Cummack. With their departure at the end of this year, a legacy goes with them.

David Gordon Cup for Excellence and Commitment - Emma Parton

Averill Award for Services to the Performing Arts - Natasha Levene and Keltie-Kewan Young. Imogen Wells Award - Mia Reid and Hattie Johnston

Rosey Eady Cup - Ella Riley

Kapa Haka group

Dio Symphony Orchestra

SPORT

JHS overall sportswomen of the year Isla Barker and Indie Williams

Allison Roe Cup for Service to Sport - Sophie Gardiner Del Hooper Cup for outstanding individual achievement - Sienna French and Chantelle May

SPORTS AWARDS

The annual Junior High and Senior Sports Awards were presented in two ceremonies on Thursday 27 October. The awards were made across several categories: Individual Merit awards, Team Merit awards, Individual Distinction awards, Team Distinction awards, Individual Blues awards and Team Blues awards.

In the Senior School there were also six Honours awards made – these went to Chantelle May (fencing), Sienna French (gymnastics), Lizzie Shapland (sailing), Millie Quin (water polo), Lauren Batchelor (water polo) and Sophie Gardiner (water polo).

A number of special awards were also presented – six in the Junior High and 11 in the Senior School.

See page 21 for QR codes that take you to the full lists of award winners.

Student coach of the year - Madeleine Jorgensen and Olivia Hardie Coach of the year - Evan Joseph

Sport Team of the Year - Premier Fencing