Rangi Ruru Music Handbook

Music TWENTY2 0

Rangi.

Be you.

Belong.

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Music 2020 At Rangi Ruru we believe that music gives your daughter a voice. Through music our girls learn about humanity and of the possibility of joy and wonder. Their imaginations are developed, which is vital for individual and social well-being as our girls strive to enhance their own lives and the lives of others.

We also believe that music assists in the development of empathy – a tool to build communities and that bind us together in the face of crises that are an increasing part of our complex world. Music at Rangi is a creative outlet that forms a common global language, through which our girls are supported to express individuality and collaborate to become curious and connected global citizens.

The Music team are passionate about ensuring that through music, we help our girls understand the difference between mere achievement and success in life. Music is what makes us human and can connect us all.

We look forward to welcoming you and your daughter to our musical community.

Janet Kingsbury Director of Music

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Music at Rangi 4

At Rangi, we integrate music into the heart of

two of only five Outstanding Scholarships

our community, well beyond the confines of the traditional classroom. Girls are featured in every facet of school life, as soloists, and in small and large ensembles – at assemblies, chapel services, student-initiated events, connections with the Rangi alumni and wider family. Our girls take part in local and national school-based festivals and competitions, and are frequently invited to feature at a wide range of community events and functions.

Through this real-life approach, our musicians gain the skills and dispositions to contribute positively through music to communities they may become involved in beyond school.

awarded in New Zealand, as well as the Top Scholar in Music. External studies have shown that students who are involved in extensive musical programmes do very well academically. We see this research strongly backed up in our Rangi community daily.

We are consistently one of the top performing schools in Music in New Zealand.

As a school, we strongly support NCEA as a robust and highly regarded academic qualification, with our results consistently being amongst the highest in New Zealand.

These include Outstanding, Top Scholar, and Premier Scholarship awards, with each category including Rangi musicians. In Music, our girls have achieved a 95% music scholarship success rate in the last eight years, including several Outstanding and Top Music Scholar Awards. In 2019 we achieved an 100% success rate which then included

In the past 10 years 67.5% of the recipients gaining our senior Gold Braid Academic and Leadership awards have been girls involved in some aspect of our music programme.

Many of these girls have received offers of scholarships both in New Zealand and overseas for tertiary study; they have then continued to be innovators and leaders in their fields of tertiary study and beyond.

The continuous cycle of learning as a result of the legacy of girls who have moved on from Rangi is an important part of our ethos. The development of younger musicians is fostered by the inspiration from senior students, who then move on to make room for the younger ones to move through. Our Music alumnae often keep in contact and return to engage in workshops and mentoring with current girls.

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Amelie Spinks 2020 Head of Music Amelie is a primarily a bass player, both electric and upright, and she also plays guitar, sings, and writes original material. Growing up she was exposed to music in a variety of genres. This resulted in her starting the bass in Year 8, with the reasoning being that it is an important part of a wide range of genres.

Amelie currently plays bass in the Rangi Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, and Sinfonia – the School Orchestra. She is principal bass in the NZ Secondary Schools’ Symphony Orchestra, as well as a member of the Christchurch All Girl Big Band and the UC Christchurch Youth Orchestra. She has played bass in combined Rangi and Christ’s College productions of West Side Story (2018) and Evita (May 2020).

Intending to pursue tertiary study of jazz bass, Amelie credits her first public performance in Year 9 as the catalyst to develop her skills ‘...[it] made me realise that I enjoy performing and that I wanted to improve. Rangi helped me get excited about where my instrument could take me and pushed me to practice...’

Amelie has also been able to enjoy academic success while continuing with her athletics training to a high level - exemplifying our ethos of believing in the development of the whole girl through providing an inclusive environment for girls to be their best, and above all, be themselves.

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Amy Ga Hee Lee Rangi Old Girl Former music and academic scholar, Amy Ga Hee Lee is a highly talented pianist, violinist, composer, conductor and academic, who has kept in touch with the Music Department and continues to visit to support and mentor current students. One of the most gifted students that we have had the pleasure of supporting, in 2014 she was named National Young Performer of the Year and is a past national winner (and several time national finalist) of the prestigious NZCT Chamber Music Contest.

In the 2014 NCEA Examination round, Amy received an English Scholarship, along with an Outstanding Performance Scholarship and Top Scholar Award in Music, after being awarded the highest mark in New Zealand for Music. She also gained an Outstanding Music Scholarship award from Year 12 in 2013.

In Year 13, Amy was one of Rangi’s senior leaders – Head of Culture - and was awarded one of the premier Gold Braid awards: the ‘Dorothy Bates Trophy for the Student who shows the most Potential – Reach for the Stars’.

Amy says the opportunities she had at Rangi opened doors beyond education. She continues to pursue her passion for music, after making the difficult decision to pursue a career in medicine, where she is now in her sixth and final year of her medical undergraduate degree at the University of Auckland. After self-directed and dedicated fundraising, Amy has twice travelled to Fiji with other medical and nursing students from New Zealand, with a vision to help improve health outcomes in rural villages of Fiji. Her latest placement specialised in Obstetrics and Gynaecology as a result of her first visit.

Amy has always strongly believed in service to others and continues to exemplify our Rangi values in her daily life.

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Programmes Our premier music programme, titled The Stellar Programme, provides a personalised learning environment.

• Musicians are supported within a framework of inspiration, challenge and empowerment.

• Opportunities to extend musical horizons are provided through experiencing a wide range of musical pursuits.

• Mentoring is available from leading creative and forward-thinking musicians, alongside mental performance coaching and programmes.

• Girls are encouraged to be involved in the wider academic, sporting, cultural and service programmes at Rangi Ruru.

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Music is offered as a subject to all, with increased specialisation and personalisation as girls progress through NCEA Levels 1 to 3 and Scholarship. Girls are exposed to a diverse range of musical styles and genres through performance and creation of original music. They are always supported by the exploration of musical context, analysis, and music literacy. Skills in live recording and mixing are developed using a range of current music technologies. There is an emphasis on the development of the whole girl through our integrated approach to wellbeing. There are also opportunities to develop leadership skills in all aspects of the teaching and learning programme.

We offer highly regarded co-curricular programmes: • Choral • Orchestral • Jazz • Chamber Music • Stellar Strings • Band • Percussion • New Music • Musical Theatre Instrumental and vocal tuition is available to all, and performance artists, teachers and

composers are engaged as part of our Artist in Residence programme. All groups consist of girls across year levels who learn from and support each other. The girls give freely of their time to work beyond the school day to further develop and deepen musical skills and understandings.

Stellar Music Scholarships are available for girls in Years 7 and Year 9. As part of the scholarship package girls receive discounted tuition fees, a generous grant towards instrument/vocal lessons, and are given free access to individual mental performance coaching. Music scholars are well supported and given many opportunities for leadership, extension, and enrichment in a caring and inclusive environment.

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Further Information The Rangi music department staff go above and beyond to include the best possible quality and range of musical experiences for the girls.

Three full time music staff (in specialist areas of art/classical, world, jazz and commercial music - including music technology) are supported by part time staff: a music administrator, directors in Choral and Jazz genres, and 17 Itinerant instrumental and vocal teachers, many of whom are among Christchurch’s leading musicians.

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Key Contacts Further information about Music at Rangi is available from Director of Music, Mrs Janet Kingsbury: j.kingsbury@rangiruru.school.nz Information about Stellar Music Scholarships is available from the Enrolments Manager, Ms Anita Sawyers: a.sawyers@rangiruru.school.nz