Burnside High School Junior Jazz Band

Directed by Chris Petch, the Burnside High School Junior Jazz Ensemble is one of the many ensembles that run within its Junior Performance Music course. This is a “mini big band”, essentially a training band for year 9 and 10 students only, and many students progress to membership of the senior big band in later years, with whom they share their performance slot in this appearance at the Christchurch Big Band Festival. The band has regularly won Gold Awards at the ARA Jazz Quest competition.

Several of the band are members of Burnside’s Specialist Music Programme, a unique programme in New Zealand that provides high level music education for especially talented young musicians.