Three Whangārei students become part of New Zealand premiere youth concert band

Tauraroa Area School students are now a part of New Zealand Youth Symphonic Winds. Left to right, Jonah Werhan, Ashley Mansell, and Darius Martin-Baker. Photo / Michael Cunningham.

Three students from a Whangārei school will play in the New Zealand Youth Symphonic Winds' Winter Concert.

Trumpet player Ashley Mansell (Year 11), alto saxophone player Jonah Werhan (Year 13) and flute player Darius Martin-Baker (Year 13) from Tauraroa Area School will be heading to Wellington in July to take part in the concert next month.

Tauraroa Area School head of music Derek Hopper said he was thrilled to announce to staff and the wider school community the achievement.

The students submitted their individual videos for the audition and it was a moment of pride for all of them to get selected in it, he said.

Werhan was also a part of the 2019 concert, but it is the first time for Mansell and Martin-Baker.

Mansell and Martin-Baker play in the school concert band and senior jazz band, and Werhan was a part of the Whangārei Youth Music Concert Band. Mansell and Werhan were former members of Whangarei's Basin City Big Band and have performed with the band on many occasions.

Martin-Baker said he had tonsillitis when he gave his audition and was not expecting to get in. The flute was also the first musical instrument he picked up and tried and he hadn't stopped playing since.

This wasn't Mansell's first national recognition. As a Year 7 student in 2017, she was awarded the best soloist in the open category (up to age 18) at the New Zealand Concert Band Festival.

Mansell and Martin-Baker will play at the first position in their individual sections.

This will be Werhan's second year, after a Covid-19 hiatus last year, playing at the NZYSW. He was selected to play the principal role but declined as he thought he was not prepared. "I will be swapping around positions in my section."

NZYSW meets multiple times a year.

Its focus was on music-making and developing skills.

Students aged 15-18 from across the country rehearse for four to five days, six-seven hours a day, before the big concert. They also put on a public performance and have also done flash mobs in the past.