Stairway to Heaven - performed by a high school group. At a concert?

I know I’ve been light on posts recently due to a VERY hectic schedule, but I recently stumbled on this incredible video that was posted by Duncan Ferguson, a music educator in New Zealand who does incredible things - including mixing the audio on this performance. The video is the finale from the 2023 Prizegiving ceremony for St. Andrews College - an independent high school in Christchurch - at the Wolfbrook Arena. This performance brings together the school orchestra, senior choir and rock musicians for an epic ending to the Prizegiving ceremony. Featuring Grace Burnett on vocals, Mia Fraser on lead guitar and James McIver on rhythm guitar. Conducted by Mark Hodgkinson with concertmaster Sea-am Thompson. Thanks to Duncan Ferguson for the audio mix and Paul Sparkes for the video editing. Special mention to Sean from The Light Site for the lighting design.

The video has gone viral, so Duncan and two of his students were invited to appear on morning TV in New Zealand.

I believe that performances like this one CLEARLY shows that a very high level of musicianship can be illustrated when performing music from the popular domain - rather than focusing solely on “academic” music. I’ve listened to this performance a few dozen times and I still can’t get over the level of musicianship and artistry on display. I hope you find it as inspiring as I do. Enjoy!