Theatre, music and circus arts on holiday agenda

Violinist and community engagement artist for Chamber Music NZ Cathy Irons (centre) teaches MJ Toi and Charlottle Alexander some basics on the violin.Picture by Rebecca Grunwell

A new holiday programme featuring theatre, music and circus arts was a hit with the 40 children who took part this week.

Chamber Music New Zealand and the Gisborne International Music Competition put on a three-day programme packed with discovery, creativity and fun, exploring music making, theatre and circus arts.

The free programme was taken by expert tutors including Chamber Music NZ community engagement artist Cathy Irons who said she was very impressed by the level of engagement shown by the participants.

Children got to try out playing violins as well as ukuleles and bucket drums. They created their own original songs and presented a concert to their parents on the final day, yesterday.

The children came up with a soundscape and used theatre and circus skills to show a tree going through the different seasons.

“This was more about the process than the showcase,” Ms Irons said.

“We wanted to encourage creativity as they experimented with the different forms of theatre, music and circus.

“It has been a great few days with an extremely happy, amazing vibe.

“The students are keen to try new things and contribute, and very enthusiastic when they arrive each day.

“They have shown great teamwork even though they didn’t know one another at the start.”

Chamber Music NZ manager of community engagement Beau Bustenera said he thought it had gone very well, “and we would like to do it again next year”.