Artist In Residence - Maryrose Crook
Maryrose is a figurative painter. Her work is highly detailed, minutely considered and exacting. The imagery for the work she produced during the residency has particularly concerned meat, flora and fauna, birds, fabric and jewels. The combination of these elements is Maryrose's particular vision and the students have been fortunate enough to observe this vision unfolding.

One strength of the residency programme is the calibre of the artists involved. It has been particularly good for the students to have been able to observe in the last two years, two artists whose approaches are as diverse as those of Maryrose Crook and Phillipa Blair.

Compare Phillipa's physical, abstract and gestural approach with Maryrose's painstaking, meticulous, layered approach and the vibrancy and value of the Artist in Residence Programme at Rangi for the students is obvious.
    

Students from all levels have visited Maryrose in the studio and watched her work. This has enabled them to see the application of the skills they learn in the Visual Arts Programme in the context of a “real” working artist.

Research, thinking, drawing, more research, lots more thinking, painting … the process is right there in front of them, making sense. This programme is special. It provides Rangi students with a superb opportunity to work alongside an artist. It allows them to see the hard work involved in being successful. It enables them to see the application of a working and learning process for themselves.

Musician in Residence – Roanna Cooper
The Music Faculty has been very fortunate to have percussionist Roanna Cooper as its Artist in Residence for 2006. Roanna is a teacher and performer of percussion, who is in high demand throughout Christchurch and the rest of New Zealand . She has an Honours Degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Canterbury , and is a founding member of the highly acclaimed percussion group ‘Pandemonium'. She also performs regularly with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Woolston Brass Band, National Youth Orchestra and the National Band of New Zealand. A specialist in marimba playing, she has performed as a soloist with many of these groups, and has travelled to the United States to take part in various marimba seminars.

Roanna's main focus for her residency was to work with Sandra Gray, Head of Dance, on the major school production ‘Quintessence'. The first part of this show involved live percussion and dance and took the performers and listeners on a vibrant musical journey.
   

The music was challenging to learn and perform, and given that most of the 30 plus percussionists had never played percussion in their lives before, was quite an amazing achievement. Instruments included marimbas, vibraphone, congas, log drums, taiko drumming, drum kit, ‘junk' and a wide assortment of shakers and other percussion instruments. Roanna's ability to inspire, lead and develop the talent of these young players was quite outstanding.

As well Roanna has worked in the classroom. Year 9 Performance Music students were given the opportunity to play a variety of percussion styles from around the world. They then went on to compose and perform their own percussion pieces based on what they had learnt. Year 12 students have composed music specifically for percussion instruments, and Year 13 students completed an in depth study of two pieces of music for percussion – ‘Kembang Suling' by Gareth Farr and ‘Drum Dances' by John Psathas. Two highlights of this study was a visit by Gareth Farr to Rangi, arranged by Roanna, to talk to music students about his work and a performance of ‘Kembang Suling' by three Year 13 students. These students were coached by Roanna and were recalled to the finals of the Regional Secondary Schools' Chamber Music Contest. Two of these students had never played the marimba before and the music was technically challenging. These students could never have achieved this without the opportunity to work with Roanna.

Percussion is now thriving at Rangi – Roanna has joined the itinerant music staff, and already has a number of students, as well as three percussion ensembles. She is an outstanding role model and mentor – her persistence in persuading the University of Canterbury to allow her to pursue a degree in percussion performance aligns so well with Rangi's Habits of Mind focus. Her quiet and patient manner inspires all who work with her to think outside their immediate musical world and then to achieve in areas they never thought would be possible.