I’m sure all of my peers would agree with me when I label the Stage Band Tour to Southland-Otago in Late August as the most exciting and awaited event of the year. The preparation done by Mr Brown was phenomenal and the tour passed without a hiccup. This year was the fourth year the band has been fortunate enough to showcase some of the musical talent from Grammar in the deep south.

For some students, this was their second trip, with one student touring for the third time! But for the majority, as well as myself, this was the first experience touring with the band, and what an experience it was! Arriving into a city, as white as snow, literally, was an experience in itself. The cold polar blast a week before blanketed Queenstown with thick snow, with students thinking if we were ever going to arrive in the first place. But thankfully, the weather gave way to a snow-less, rainless, even cloudless week! We travelled to, and played at many destinations; Wanaka, Te Anau, Alexandra, just to name a few. We played to primary, intermediate, as well as secondary schools, bringing not just the combined talent of students that form the Stage Band, but also showcasing the wide range of talents of the boys, from a beatbox-singing duo to a saxophone-guitar duet. A concert in a community hall in Te Anau helped raise funds for the ‘Kids Restore the Kepler’ Project. Some students were also fortunate enough to walk part of the Kepler track with tour guides.

Just one of the highlights (and there were many!) for the boys was to be billeted with locals; it gave us Aucklander’s a real sense of what it’s like to live in the deep south. Others included bunjy jumping, skiing and snowboarding at Snowpark Cardrona, or at The Remarkables, or perhaps the Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise. A definite well-awaited destination, primarily from boys who have been there before; Jimmy’s Pies. A pot luck dinner provided by the very kind billets in Te Anau ensured we all had more than enough to eat! Oh, and the countless snow fights cannot be easily forgotten either!

A most amazing experience was playing outdoors at the Snowpark Cardrona and The Remarkables. The cold, made bitter by a small breeze, easily put the instruments out of tune, as well as froze the valves on a student’s trumpet. But we managed to play through it; it was a very enjoyable experience, and it seemed like the people riding the slopes enjoyed it too.

Overall, it was an amazing tour, and I’m positive many students are looking forward to going again in two years time, having found fame in local newspapers before and after the tour. From all of the students, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Mr. Brown for organising the event, as well as Ms. Lin, Mr. Fennelly and Ms. Candy for looking after us, driving us around, and in general, making our experience all the more enjoyable. Also a big thank you to our leader, Oliver Hawke, for the input he has had with making this such an amazing tour.

Opender Singh 6A