Linwood Orchestra Dreams Rise from the Ashes

Linwood Orchestra Dreams Rise from the Ashes

Linwood College Orchestra will be playing in Westminster Abbey on Anzac Day after all, thanks to two major sponsors -- Fletcher Building and the Freemasons -- and the generous spirit of people around the world who have risen to the challenge to get the students and support staff on the plane on April 9. Before they leave, the orchestra is hoping to be able to offer a final free concert to thank Christchurch and to acknowledge all those who have helped them achieve their dream.

The day the earthquake struck Christchurch was the same day the students learned of the Westminster Abbey invitation. With the Christchurch Cathedral in ruins, dreams of performing at the Abbey seemed impossibly distant, particularly as plans for final fund- raising were dropped immediately, as more urgent and tragic matters took precedence -- the school had lost a student in the quake, some families were homeless, all were shocked at the destruction in their home city.

The orchestra´s conductor, Tony Ryan, whose house and family were among the worst affected by the earthquake, had thought that the trip could not continue. But he began to sense the strong determination among the orchestra families and realised that he and the students needed to look to the future.

"We spent the first days in a state of shock and then a sense of coping day-by-day; we need to look beyond merely coping with this disaster, so the orchestra trip now seems vital in helping us to get our lives back on track - we have to believe that a future can emerge from this, whatever the challenges."

Instruments and music were rescued from the school, which has had to move from site due to building damage. A makeshift rehearsal venue was found through the generosity of a community clubroom, and rehearsals began in earnest.

"The rehearsals quickly proved to be ideal therapy for our feelings of vulnerability and grief" says Ryan. "Music and the arts are the soul of a community, and our music-making in preparation for the trip is proving to be just what everyone needed."

Yet there was still the matter of a substantial shortfall in funds to deal with. No Theatre Royal Gala Concert was possible now, and no amount of sausage sizzles was going to raise the required amount in the four weeks remaining.

Social networking sprang into action, with pleas being sent out to wider family contacts, ex-pats living in the UK, business acquaintances, sporting and cultural groups. Media coverage on National Radio´s Kim Hill programme, TV One News and Radio NZ Concert´s "Upbeat" programme saw the story spread.

"We started to get people asking if they could make a donation to get our kids on the way, a cruise ship that had been in Lyttelton at the time of the quake had a whip round, and then we had calls from the Freemasons and Fletchers offering substantial support. The generosity and goodwill of everyone has been overwhelming and very humbling," says Linwood College Principal Margaret Paiti.

Mark Binns, Chief Executive Infrastructure of Fletcher Building, said that his company was keen to support the effort. "Rebuilding the city is about more than bricks and mortar, it´s also about rebuilding the dreams of those who live there."

David Mace, Chairman of the Freemasons Roskill Foundation, says that the Freemasons are delighted to support this worthy cause. Mace points out that Mozart,Verdi and Sir Arthur Sullivan were all Freemasons, and supporting musical excellence comes naturally to the group.

"We believe it is vitally important to help these young people. They´re such a thoroughly professional group who can represent the spirit of Christchurch and its hopes for the future," he says.

The orchestra´s outstanding vitality and musicianship under the dynamic baton of conductor Tony Ryan is what originally attracted invitations for it to play in the likes of Paris, Salzburg and Venice, with the Abbey invitation the final endorsement of the years of hard practice and commitment.

As a school that serves Christchurch´s lowest socio-economic area, Linwood College has found fund-raising challenging. Raffles, concerts and stocking shelves saw them slowly accumulate nearly $130,000 - transporting and housing a 70-strong orchestra for a month is not a cheap undertaking. After the September earthquake, the students donated some proceeds from their fund-raising calendar sales to the initial earthquake fund. Some students had had to drop out when $50,000 more money was required from the families for airfares, and another $35,000 more needed to be gathered for accommodation and additional expenses.

"The big donations from the Freemasons and Fletchers mean we can cover those basic costs now. And the individual donations that are coming in are being put towards some of the other costs of the trip which we´d normally get the school community to cover - supporting the accompanying music teachers, copying the music, hiring replacement travel cases," says Board of Trustees chair, Tim Anderson. "It´s going to make a huge difference and take a lot of the pressure off so the students, their families and staff can concentrate on getting lives back to normal."

It´s not quite normal yet. The orchestra has been hunting rehearsal venues, as the school remains closed. The Woolston Club has come to the rescue there, and the strains of the Radetzky March rings out where horse-racing commentators are normally heard.

One student has proposed that the trip be dubbed the Linwood College Orchestra Phoenix Tour - their repertoire includes a piece from Stravinsky´s Firebird Suite after all -- as the phoenix is the symbol of hope arising from the ashes of despair.

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