One thousand plus school students (mostly primary & intermediate) gathered on Wed 16 June 2021 for an exhilarating Strum Strike & Blow day-long experience. For weeks beforehand and now on the day they rehearsed chosen pieces for the many kinds of drums, marimbas & xylophones, and recorders (ranging from contra bass – as tall as a grown adult – to a sopranino – as small as an icecream on a stick). It was the eighth year in a row that this spectacular event has been organised at the Christchurch Arena in Addington. RSCM Canterbury Branch (with some of its younger members swapping their usual vocal skills for instrumental ones) is an Affiliate of the Christchurch Civic Music Council (CCMC). CCMC president (and past Minister of Arts and Culture) Margaret Austin, combines with Music Education Canterbury (led by Celia Stewart, Director of CSM, with Judith Bell and the MEC team together with the numerous classroom teachers from schools all over the Province) to mount the event. The day culminates in an evening concert for the enjoyment of the instrumentalists themselves and an audience that fills the stadium.
