Tour of musical duty

And the band played on: The New Zealand Army Band entertained the troops, or students in this case, at Lytton High yesterday. Pictures by Paul Rickard

Lytton High students grooved to the sounds of the New Zealand Army Band which put on an exhilarating performance at the school yesterday.

The concert was part of a tour of North Island secondary schools.

Director of music Major Graham Hickman said it was great to come back to Gisborne after last visiting a couple of years ago.

“Our Chief of Army asked us to get out into the heartlands and show what the army has to offer.”

The band was scheduled to visit the region in February but those plans were “canned” and rescheduled due to Cyclone Gabrielle.

“The band tour is a mandate for us to get out to areas in Aotearoa that don’t see much of the army or defence forces,” Major Hickman said. “We have a defence recruiter with us who speaks after the concert and lets the students and locals know about the options of careers in the military.”

The band was at Gisborne Girls’ High on Monday and headed to Wairoa College today.

While the tour is of secondary schools, there is a special concert open to the public at Gisborne Boys’ High tomorrow in acknowledgement of what the region has been through.

“It’s our way of showing support for the community.”