Covid 19 coronavirus: Whangārei Girls' High school uses music to unite people

Nick Grew, Whangārei Girls' High School head of music, has set up a website to connect staff and students during isolation. Photo / John Stone

A Whangārei high school is proving music still has the power to unite people, even when they can't physically be together.

Whangārei Girls' High School head of music Nick Grew has set up a website called S.I.S - Self Isolation Staycation - where students and teachers can post their top three songs or pieces of music for surviving self-isolation.

"It was a response to bringing our school community together while we're separate.

"What I know about music is it is an incredibly powerful way of bringing people together. It's like a common denominator for all of us in a way, despite very different tastes of music, it's the thing that often brings people together - whether it's making music live or just listening to music together," he said.

The website also includes a map so people can post their location along with their song lists. They can also include comments and share stories about why they have selected certain songs.

"One teacher was talking about her father who was an opera singer and I didn't know this at all. It just brought some interesting stories and that feeds it because you wonder what kind of music did he sing? And look for the clip and post that on there and it keeps this dialogue going. It's a way of connecting people," he said.

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Grew said he's taken all the songs people have put on the site and created a YouTube playlist he can continue adding to.

"I just find it really interesting because there's such a diverse taste of music out there.

"It's really neat when you can tell stories about music that is significant to you in your life."

Grew said 24 people had listed songs so far but he was keen to get more students involved. He also has set up a space where students can post videos of themselves doing covers of songs.

"The next step, after the holidays, is to turn this into a little bit of a project for students as a way of engaging them," he said.

If you're a Whangārei Girls' High School student, or parent/caregiver of a student, and want to take part email nicholas.grew@wghs.school.nz for the website link.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website