200 Tuned Percussionists!
During our 2025 New Zealand tour, we had the opportunity to collaborate with Alison Caldwell from Music Education Otago to lead the Dunedin Marimba Festival at Tahuna Intermediate School. Bringing together around 200 young musicians from 10 schools across Dunedin, the workshop was an incredible example of what can happen when a whole community of young musicians comes together. Before we arrived, students had spent weeks preparing 'Sail Away' on marimbas, xylophones, chime bars and glockenspiels alongside trumpet, clarinet and saxophone. Our role was to bring those individual parts together and transform the rehearsal process into a shared performance, focusing on groove, dynamics, ensemble awareness and, importantly for us, the energy and connection that exists between the musician and their audience.
There was something particularly special about hearing the sound of 200 students playing together and watching their confidence grow as the workshop progressed. The day culminated not only in the collaborative performance, but also in an opportunity for us to perform a short concert for the students, giving them the chance to experience many of the same ideas we'd explored in the workshop. For us, the collaboration with Music Education Otago was a fantastic opportunity to share our approach to performance with the next generation of New Zealand musicians and to experience first-hand the strength of music education and community music-making in Ōtepoti Dunedin. Big shout out to Ali Caldwell for championing this workshop!
