On Saturday night, a packed out Aurora Centre was treated to an amazing concert to celebrate 30 Years of our Specialist Music Programme.
Founded in 1996 the Specialist Music Programme (SMP) is a unique collaboration between Te Kura o Waimairi-iri Burnside High School, Westburn Te Kura o Hereora and the University of Canterbury. SMP is a one of a kind opportunity within New Zealand for hundreds of talented young musicians to achieve their musical potential. A small number of students are accepted into the programme, via audition, each year and undertake an intensive musical education alongside their academic studies.
This year, there are 115 Specialist Music Students, 86 at Burnside High School and 29 at Westburn Primary School.
Alumni have gone on to perform on the global stage and take up prestigious positions at musical institutions such as the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Our students are known for taking out local, national and international competitions and assessments – most recently the Mount Gambier, Generations of Jazz Competition in Australia, Smokefreerockquest and academic results reaching “Top in the World” honours.
On Saturday night, current students performed alongside alumni, to a full audience in the Aurora Centre.
In addition to the anniversary concert, a number of smaller concerts will be held in 2026 under the banner of SMP30, so please add these to your diary:
Thursday 27 August at 6.00pm in The Aurora Centre (Combined Westburn and Burnside SMP Orchestra performing Patrick Shepherd’s “Ancestral Voices” at The Aurora Festival).
Tuesday 1 September at 1.10pm in The Great Hall, Christchurch Arts Centre (SMP Showcase – soloist recital) https://www.artscentre.org.nz/whats-on/burnside-high-school-specialist-music-programme-showcase/
Friday 18 September at 1.00pm and 3.00pm in The Chamber at The Piano, Armagh Street – Year 11 and 12 SMP students present their solo recitals.
Thursday 19 November at 11.00am, 1.00pm and 3.00pm – Year 9 and 10 SMP students soloist concerts at The Chamber at The Piano.
If you would like to support our SMP students, you can also provide a donation via our Givealittle page using the QR code below.
