Eason is a drummer and percussionist studying as a Year 11 student at Saint Kentigern College. Starting on the drums and piano from a young age, he has explored many different styles from Pipe Drumming to Jazz, finishing Grade 8 for both instruments and now participating in ensembles for both. Alongside playing big band...
Matthew Lee is currently in Year 13 and has been learning the French Horn under the teaching of Henry Close and then Simon Williams since the age of 13. He currently serves as the principal horn in the Kristin School Concert Band, and has participated in various Auckland Philharmonia programmes, such as the Orchestral...
Georgia has been playing the French Horn since age 11. She first started playing when her piano teacher suggested playing a more challenging instrument. Since then she has been involved in various orchestras in school and the community, and was also involved in the Christchurch Youth Orchestra in 2025. She recently completed her Trinity...
Daiki is starting his second year in University of Auckland and spent the first year in University of Otago in Dunedin, playing in Dunedin Youth Orchestra for a year in 2023. Daiki started playing the French Horn when he was 10 after discovering that the French Horn was in the Guinness Book of World...
Celine began playing the trumpet at the age of seven. Since then, she has won numerous regional and national brass and wind band solo competitions. In 2023, she earned first prize and the Judge’s Distinction Award at the American Protégé Woodwind and Brass Competition, which led to a performance at Carnegie Hall in New...
Nuku Atkinson-Hay is entering their 12th year of school and started playing horn four years ago at the age of eleven. They take horn lessons from Anita Austin and have played in their school band for three years. Nuku is new to AYO and hopes they will enjoy their first year playing in an...