I had an absolute blast yesterday at the Otara Music Centre yesterday performing to the kids of the Sistema Aotearoa program. We listened to them rehearse for their upcoming concert on the next day and they sounded absolutely wonderful. I was blown away by the atmosphere of the rehearsal, the room was filled with happiness and enthusiasm coming from the kids - I was instantly sure that great music was made in this room.

Following their rehearsal, i played a happy birthday tune to one of the kids and then performed a few pieces as a string trio along with my dear friends Julie and Jesbery. The performance consisted of music that we chose that we thought they would love including Pirates of the Caibbean, Harry Potter, Eine Kleine, New york New york, don't mean a thing and an extra - Schon Rosmarin to finish off the performance.

The students were completely engrossed and silent throughout the concert and asked some interesting questions in the Q&Q sections ranging from “ how old is your instrument” “ where do you like to play your violin” “ why did you change from violin to viola” …to the more exploratory “what’s your favourite food” and “ what is your best song”. At the end of the rehearsal, the kids sang us a waiata.