Nine Christchurch bands arrive

The road to the secondary-school jazz festival in Marlborough this week has been rocky for some of the Christchurch schools competing in it.

Nine of the 15 bands in the four-day Southern Jam Youth Jazz Festival have travelled from Christchurch, despite some of their preparations being disrupted by earthquakes and aftershocks.

Christchurch Boys' High School music teacher Michael Fairhurst said he had considered not entering the six-piece senior band.

The festival began yesterday and includes an inter-school competition, free public performances around Marlborough and a gala concert on Saturday.

Mr Fairhurst said the band had not been together long, was not up to competition standard and had missed weeks of practice because the school had been damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes.

"It was only the boys who twisted my arm."

He had decided in March not to enter, but the students were really keen, he said.

"They said, `We've got to do it. We'll put the extra hours in', but it's not just them putting in extra hours – it's the teachers too."

The band practised during the school holidays and had performed in a competition in Christchurch.

The band lost all its members from last year, when some finished school and others decided not to carry on.

Many of this year's band had not played in a group, and one could hardly read music, Mr Fairhurst said.

"To bring them up to standard has been a real challenge. We're pretty well prepared, and for the time we've had, we've done extremely well."

Christ's College music teacher Claire Oliver said the school closed for about a month after the February 22 earthquake and many of the students transferred to other schools around New Zealand during that time.

The school has entered a big band and a combo this year. The distance between band members during the closure meant they missed eight rehearsals, but began to hold extra sessions during term 2 to compensate. The students were also under pressure to catch up on school work, Ms Oliver said.

The festival was usually held in the third week of term 3, but term dates had been changed to fit around the Rugby World Cup, so it was in the first week this year. That meant the school lost two weeks of extra practice.

Despite the setbacks, there was no mention of pulling out.

"I wouldn't have a bar of that."

See page 17 for a list of Southern Jam performances.

- The Marlborough Express

SIMON WONG

Last updated 13:00 04/08/2011