Cashmere High School Music

Day 3 at Southern Jam

After two non stop hard working days we had a quieter day 3. So we took everyone for a round of ten pin bowling. Some impressive scores by the bass players of the bands. Then we had our first public gig for the big band in the evening at the Woodbourne Tavern.

We can also add to that the exciting phone call from the judges in the evening to say FIVE of our members made the All Star band.

Hugo Gozdzikowski - Trombone 1
Daisy Scurr - Trombone 4
Evie Dewar - Tenor 1
Francis Laurie - Guitar
Oscar Pitts - Drums

A huge achievement by all 5 members. Incredible.

Day 2 at Southern Jam.

Both bands performed to Richmond View School in the morning before the big main event. We went off to the theatre to present our competition pieces to the expert judging panel followed by some brilliant workshops, thanks to Vic Uni.

Then we capped off the night with another gig at The Fancy Cow with the Swing and a Miss Combo. A long hard working day but so much fun.

Our first full day of gigs at Southern Jam yesterday was a success. Hours of rehearsal putting the finishing touches on our set followed by two gigs in Picton. One for a local primary school and one for the locals at Le Picton Cafe.

Southern Jam for 2026 is underway! Here we are leaving in the snowiest of conditions but getting to enjoy a beautiful scenic drive all the way. We are all settled into our accom and looking forward to our first day of shows over the hill in picton.

This week thanks to the NZ Music Commission we were extremely lucky to have Laughton Kora visit Cashmere as a mentor for our students. Laughton spent time with our Music classes working on Songwriting, Composition and Performance as well as bringing his considerable acting experience to work with our Level 2 Drama Students.

It was such a pleasure to have him here and he was so generous with his time and talents. Our students and staff all loved having him visit the Arts Faculty and hope we can work with him again in the future.

Jazzquest 2026 - Day 2. Another morning of awesome Jazz from our last two combos “Pocket Jazz” and “Swing and a Miss”. The first ever Jazzquest for Pocket Jazz who did fantastically well and will be playing at the Gala at The Piano tomorrow night at 7:30pm. The rest of our combos are all involved with production so won’t be at the Gala but eager to hear the results. A big thanks to Ara Music again for hosting a great event.