Getting to grips with the joy of musical expression

Sheriff Collier, of Wymondley Rd School in Otara, gets to grips with a cello during the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Sistema Aotearoa school holiday programme. Ninety students aged between 5 and 8 from the Otara region took part in a four-day workshop at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate, where Sistema programme director Dr Joe Harrop, APO music director Eckehard Stier and violinist Natalia Lomeiko led the students in sessions to introduce them to the instruments and a new style of music: classical.

The Sistema programme, based on a Venezuelan system, aims to give children new role models and skills, while it engages the wider community.

The holiday workshop culminated in a concert for family, friends and supporters. The programme continues through the year with two music sessions a week at seven schools, with demand so high the APO is asking for members of the public to sponsor or donate instruments.