Motueka High School has gone a little MADD lately, with the arts department in overdrive and performances abounding in the last month.
Hilary Sinclair, who is head of the school’s music department, says “all these wonderful opportunities are coming at once”.
“We’re all hanging in there,” she laughs, adding that the cascade of events has been great fun.
Choir Suono Bellissimo was awarded a place at South Island singing competition Cadenza in Timaru in mid-August, performing in the grandeur of Sacred Heart Basilica. The choir fundraised for the event with a performance at The Playhouse.
Dance event VAST heralded an all-day festival of dance in Nelson Theatre Royal, and straight on the back of this was MADD – a showcase of MHS music, art, dance and drama, which was open to the public.
The local dance showcase Momentum was also in the mix, with a packed hall heralding an exciting night for performers.
The Art Big Day Out allowed Year 13 students to visit the Suter Art Gallery to see the top Level 3 NCEA folios from 2024, and to visit galleries to study different artists’ techniques.
Two of the school’s bands also made the national top 20, with Cedar earning praise at Tangata Beats and Imperfect Circles impressing via a long-distance Rockquest submission (the local performance date was, rather fatefully, 11 July).
Some of those same performers headed across to the biannual Commotion – a series of workshops and performance opportunities that offer mentorship, networking, and collaboration, and aims to “illuminate pathways within music”.
Hilary says the connections that MHS students make with professional musicians are “such a great opportunity for them”.
She sums up the arts department’s busy schedule as “thriving”, saying it is clear that you can compete on a national level when coming from Motueka.
Year 13 student Aria Powell says that she is grabbing every experience that comes her way.
“I’m very grateful for all the opportunities,” the 17-year-old says.
She plans to study costume construction at New Zealand drama school Toi Whakaari in 2026, to combine her love of design, painting, textiles and drama, and continue on the path of creativity.
Fellow arts enthusiast Briony Wyatt, 18, says that she intends to study forensic science next year, “but alongside of that, I still have the passion for dance and performing arts” and will continue to seek out those opportunities.
“I’m not giving up on that.”
