Two east Auckland schools placed in a record year for the Council’s secondary schools competition
Sancta Maria College punk band Chopstix has been named Best Artist at the finals of Stand Up Stand Out, Auckland Council’s music and dance competition for secondary schools.
Ormiston Senior College student Aayush Sharma also won an award, taking the Creative Vision Award in the electronic music section for a track called Leave No Trace.
The winners were announced at Auckland Town Hall on Saturday night.
“The calibre of this year’s finalists has been exceptional, and we’re excited to see where their journeys take them next,” said Gene Rivers, the Council’s arts and culture programmer.
More than 2,000 students entered this year’s heats, up from 1,500 last year and a record for the competition.
Chopstix was formed at Sancta Maria in February 2024 by Kaizer Wong, Tristan Gray, Alejandro Hernandez and Jakob Yang.
Wong sings lead and plays guitar, with Gray on guitar, Hernandez on bass and Yang on drums.
Best Artist is a step up for the band, which finished runner-up in the original composition category at last year’s finals.
It reached the semi-finals this year for the third time.
Sharma’s award recognises the strongest overall artistic expression among the electronic entries.
It is one of three electronic music awards, with the other two going to students from Avondale College and St Mary’s College.
In June Sharma won an excellence award for original composition at Showquest Auckland, as part of his school’s entry.
“Auckland should be incredibly proud of the creative talent coming through our schools,” said Councillor Julie Fairey, who chairs the Council’s Community Committee.
The competition has run for more than three decades, and the Council says it gives young performers mentoring from people working in the industry.
One of Chopstix’s own songs, debuted at last year’s semi-finals, is called You’re the Reason I’m Miserable.
