Orchestral success for student

Clarinettist Joshua White, a Year 13 student at Lindisfarne College, has won selection in the 2013 Secondary Schools' Orchestra.

It will meet for the first time at Middleton Grange School Performing Arts Centre, Christchurch, from April 7-13.

The repertoire for the course, which will be directed by James Tennant from the University of Waikato, will be challenging with the Beethoven Symphony No 7 in A included.

Although only 17, Joshua's music career belies his youth.

He gained Grade 8 Clarinet in 2011, has successfully competed in the national woodwind competitions in Auckland on two occasions, performed in the Rotorua Rhapsody Honours Orchestra and the Auckland Symphony Orchestra, played in quartets for weddings, is a regular competitor in the New Zealand Chamber Music Competition, and is fully involved in the music programme at Lindisfarne College, playing in the Concord Symphonic Band and the Bay Cities Symphonic Band.

He also plays the bagpipes, with numerous performances including solo piper at Anzac Day dawn parades, weddings, and birthdays, and has started learning the oboe.

The experience he will gain in the Secondary Schools' Orchestra is expected to enhance opportunities to further develop his music career.