Air Force band member looking forward to ‘concert of the year’
“It’s the concert of the year,” says Royal New Zealand Air Force Band French horn player Jane Rendall.
The Air Force In Concert, which will be staged at Wellington’s St James Theatre at the end of October, is an annual event in which the acclaimed Air Force Band takes the audience on an offbeat ride through diverse musical styles, from popular show tunes to military classics, with some smart choreography to cap it off.
For Rendall, who lives in Island Bay, it’s a case of having fun playing music people want to hear.
“We’ll be playing most musical genres,” she says. “It’ll be challenging, as well as hugely rewarding, because we know people are really going to enjoy the music.”
Rendall, who has played previously with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra National Youth Orchestra, combines her participation in the Air Force Band with a busy job as a geotechnical engineer, working on the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway among other things.
“I joined the Air Force Band because it is New Zealand’s premier concert band,” she says. “It has given me the opportunity to advance my musical skills in a professional capacity.
“The New Zealand Defence Force military bands are of exceptionally high quality and they provide fantastic playing and learning experiences for musicians.”
Nevertheless, juggling the competing demands of her full-time job with music can be demanding.
There can be early starts, for example, when getting ready to welcome a foreign dignitary. When the band is on the road it can also mean impromptu performances in public places before the main event that evening.
“I love it, so I make the time,” she says.
“I have so many fantastic memories of tours and concerts that we have done. I’ve made some great and, hopefully, life-long friends from being in the band.”
The Air Force In Concert will be held at the St James Theatre in Wellington on Sunday, October 29, at 2.30pm.
