Tironui Concert Band Receives NZCBA Festival Awards
- Jun 29
- 3 min read
Tironui Music Trust is delighted to share that it has received the Spirit Of The Festival Award at the New Zealand Concert Band Association (NZCBA) Festival held on the 27 -28 June 2026 at St Peter's School, Cambridge.
The band is made up of 20 of our band students from across the Tironui Music Trust, and has only been together for one term. They performed with commitment, skill and style in the Festival, which was their debut public performance. 🎺
We were so proud of every one of them, and it was great to see the progress they have made and the great group spirit they have developed recognised by the adjudicators at the festival. They also received a Bronze award for their spirited performance. 👏
Tironui Concert Band:
Flutes: Himanshu, Kiana, Elenoa
Clarinets: Va'asiva, Willow, Heneli
Saxophones: Richitha, Mycah, Shekinah
Trumpets: Atchayaa, Gideon, Rain, James
Trombones: Tomasi, Talavou, Jerome, Connor
Percussion: Angela, Kasen, Kobe
Conductor: Richar Marin Hidalgo
Huge thanks to Richar Marin Hidalgo for his excellent musical leadership of the ensemble and repertoire choices that allowed the band to develop and grow. And thanks to all our Tironui tutors past and present for helping to nurture these wonderful young musicians.
It was wonderful to see so many of our whānau make the trip own to Cambridge to support their young musicians. The pride on their faces as they took family photographs after the performance was wonderful to see, and we are grateful to all oour families for the support that they give their talented young musicians.
General Manager of the Tironui Music Trust Rod Skipp says “It was an incredible occasion and achievement for the band which has only been together a few short weeks. To see the spirit and joy with which they play, their commitment and concentration, and their fast developing musicianship and ensemble skills is tremendously exciting. We can't wait to see what the future holds for this band and these highly capable young musicians."
As well as performing, the band had the opportunity to see and hear other amazing concert bands from around the country. And they were also treated to an inspiring performance from the Aotearoa Wind Ensemble, conducted by former Tironui Music Trust tutor Tom Chester. It was fantastic for the students to see a concert band of this calibre perform, and with many of their current and former tutors as part of the band, including Richar Marin Hidalgo and Tavite Tonga.
Our friends at the Manukau Concert Band (conducted by Richar Marin Hidalgo) also excelled at the Festival, receiving a Gold Award, the David Chaulk Memorial Award for Best Performance of a New Zealand Work for their performance of Tears of Light by Camryn Nel, and the Royal New Zealand Navy Band Trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Band. We will be performing with them at our Whānau Concert in September at Puhinui School.
Huge thanks to our generous funders, donors and supporters, without whom none of this would be possible. We are hugely appreciative of your support and continuing to create opportunities for our students to thrive. ⭐️
If you would like to hear the Tironui Concert Band (and other amazing young musicians) perform, the next opportunity is at our Orchestral Holiday Programme performance next week - 2pm Thursday 9th July at Papatoetoe High School. For more information and to RSVP please click the link below:
📆 Save the Date(s): Many of the players will also be performing as part of the Tironui Youth Orchestra performance at the KBB Music Festival at 6:30pm on Monday 10th August, and then again as the Tironui Concert Band at 6:30pm on Tuesday 11th August. Both performances are at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell.
And if you would like to support the work of the amazing young musicians of the Tironui Music Trust, please consider donating here:
Comments