Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Loud praise for music man

By Liz Wylie
Whanganui Chronicle·
21 May, 2015 06:44 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

BIGGEST THRILL: Pride of New Zealand nominee Gavin Herdman enjoys teaching others to play the instruments he loves. PHOTO/ STUART MUNRO 200615WCSMBRASS1

BIGGEST THRILL: Pride of New Zealand nominee Gavin Herdman enjoys teaching others to play the instruments he loves. PHOTO/ STUART MUNRO 200615WCSMBRASS1

Gavin Herdman believes everyone can learn to play a musical instrument and he has helped many people in Wanganui find their perfect pitch.

"It doesn't matter what a person's age or background is - nobody is tone deaf and everyone has the ability to be musical.

"My oldest student was 86 when he picked up his first instrument and my youngest student was 6."

Mr Herdman's commitment to music in Wanganui has earned him a nomination for a Pride of New Zealand Community Spirit award.

"I know nothing about the awards but am pleased to be nominated. They sound like a good idea," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A tuba player with Wanganui Brass, Mr Herdman is also the conductor for Concert Brass and plays with the Jazz Club Brass Band and Damn Raucous Brass.

"My biggest thrill in life is watching other people learn to play. I started teaching when I was 17.

"My first instrument was a B-flat baritone that I got when I was 9.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I always loved brass but learned to play reed instruments because there was a shortage of brass instruments at the high school when I started teaching there."

Mr Herdman teaches recorder, reed and brass at Wanganui High School, works as a caregiver to people with disabilities, and provides out-of-school music lessons for just $5 per hour.

Born and bred in Wanganui, he said members of his family had been playing with Wanganui Brass for over 100 years.

Entries are still open for the Pride of New Zealand Awards, honouring extraordinary Kiwis making a significant difference in their communities.

Discover more

Pride of NZ: Helping others gives life purpose

29 May 09:00 PM

The Wanganui Chronicle is again supporting the awards and we are calling for local nominations of people who put others first and go out of their way to make this a better place to live.

If you know of an everyday hero, then put their name forward - award nominations are open until June 14, with regional award ceremonies in August and the national awards ceremony in September.

There are six award categories: Bravery & Heroism; Community Spirit; Fundraiser of the Year; Emergency Services; Environmental; and Lifetime Achievement.


The Pride of New Zealand Awards are proudly brought to you by The New Zealand Herald, The Hits and TSB Bank.
Nominations for the 2015 awards have now closed.
To see more stories of our wonderful nominees click here.
For more information on the awards go to the official website.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Council officers back deconstructing St George's buildings

Whanganui Chronicle

How Whanganui achieved lowest property rates rise in NZ

Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui-based AI service features on world stage


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Council officers back deconstructing St George's buildings
Whanganui Chronicle

Council officers back deconstructing St George's buildings

'We’ve got a site earning minimal income for ratepayers, so we need to do something.'

14 Jul 04:59 AM
How Whanganui achieved lowest property rates rise in NZ
Whanganui Chronicle

How Whanganui achieved lowest property rates rise in NZ

14 Jul 04:21 AM
Whanganui-based AI service features on world stage
Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui-based AI service features on world stage

14 Jul 01:25 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP