Songwriting awards for Colourblind Estée on top of the world

Songwriting awards for Colourblind

Talented lyricist, Cindy Xiong (Year 13), says she was ‘absolutely psyched’ to be recognised for two major songwriting awards for her poignant song, Colourblind. In October, she won the overall APRA Lyrics Award at the Smokefree Rockquest National Finals, which followed her second placing for the 2022 David Richwhite Lyric Award at the prestigious Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition.

Colourblind deals with the theme of diasporic identity, something Cindy had wanted to write about for some time. “I had heaps of ideas and lyrics already written down that I never

It has been an incredible year for one of St Andrew’s most talented singers, Estée Wilke (Year 13), who was a member of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir (NZSSC), which won first place in the Senior Children’s Choir category and the overall title in the prestigious Children’s Choir of the World competition. Estée says she and the other choir members were ‘ecstatic’ at the result. “We couldn’t quite believe it. We were all so pleased, especially as we found out while we were on our South Island choir course which meant we could celebrate together.”

The competition took place in Wales with NZSSC selected to submit a pre-recorded digital entry, which was played live to the judges and audience during the competition session. “We intended to publish or send to anyone. I thought the theme was a bit too heavy for a pop song, then someone mentioned that Disney songs usually deal with big themes in a fun way. So I modelled my song as part of a story.” When producing the song, she had a ‘grand notion’ of combining western and eastern sounds together, she says. “I had a whole vision of it from the get-go, with this cool guzheng solo in the middle which came out even better than I had hoped.”

Famed Kiwi musician, Don McGlashan (The Mutton Birds), judged the David Richwhite Lyric Award, and says lyrically

Cindy Xiong (Year 13) Colourblind has ‘good strong ideas, expressed with force and precision’.

Cindy became serious about songwriting halfway through Year 11. She is a member of Staccoro, VOX16, the Big Band, and Soul Band at St Andrew’s, and has also performed in numerous productions. She credits Head of Music, Duncan Ferguson, for being a major inspiration. “Mr Ferguson has inspired me to give things a go and creates this incredibly supportive environment where you feel like it doesn’t matter what mistakes you make along the way. He shifts your focus towards the music itself, the fun, and occasional pain of creating music.” Although she doesn’t plan to follow a career in music, Cindy says writing songs and performing will always be part of her future.

Estée on top

of the world

Estée Wilke (Year 13)

performed a mixture of around seven of the 30 choir pieces we had learnt throughout our two-year course. These included our beautiful Samoan pieces, A Pei Se Vaitafe and Faliu Le La, which are always our entrance to any performance.” Estée toured with the NZSSC every term break holidays from January 2021 to September 2022, including a South Island tour during the Term 2 holidays. “We were so lucky to experience full venues, and touring with such amazing people who can sing absolutely incredibly is always a bonus.”

As a member of the VOX16 and Staccoro choirs, a singer in the jazz Big Band, and StAC Soul Band, and a lead performer in St Andrew’s productions, the College community enjoys plenty of opportunities to hear Estée’s beautiful voice. She says her style of singing is still evolving, however jazz is her current favourite genre to sing. Estée is also involved in music production and songwriting at St Andrew’s and says she is grateful to all the teachers who have supported her since Year 7, including Head of Music, Duncan Ferguson, and singing teacher, Margot Button. “I was lucky to have Performing Arts Co-ordinator, Ginnie Thorner, help me to create my ‘Evening of Song’ concert to help fundraise for one of my NZSSC tours. I’m grateful for her endless support.”

Once she leaves St Andrew’s, Estée hopes to complete a Bachelor of Music at the University of Otago, and eventually live her dream as a singer.