Stephen has been a staple of the New Zealand jazz scene since his return to NZ in 2000 after spending a few years performing and studying music in Europe and the USA.
As an alto and soprano saxophone specialist, hehas performed and recorded regularly with many of Auckland's leading jazz musicians. Stephen has performed at many national festivals and has been part of the headline acts several times at the annual Tauranga Jazz and Blues Festival.
A passionate educator, Stephen has managed music programmes and conducted a large range of ensembles at prestigious Auckland schools before joining the team at St Peter's.
He has a passion for musical theatre. Underpinning his educational philosophy is the belief that involvement in the arts is of great value to every student.
Michael is the Head of the Performing Arts academic programmes at St Peter’s. With strengths as a multi-instrumentalist and specialising in percussion and music technologies, Michael believes that now is an excellent time and opportunity to prepare students with a future focus in Music.
He has had extensive band experience in musical theatre, and enjoys the variety and challenge of this diverse genre.
Leading groups such as our senior and junior percussion ensembles, as well as Petra Musica (orchestra) allows him the opportunity to take students in new directions, using both traditional and emerging technologies.
With more than 25 years’ experience in the Performing Arts and 10 years teaching it, Ashleigh Gibson is passionate about Dance and what it can provide for students. Growing up in Auckland, Ashleigh completed her AJDA (American Jazz Dance Association) and BTDA (British Theatre Dance Association) alongside classes in contemporary, ballet and competition ballroom dance. Upon leaving school she attended Auckland University of Technology where she completed her Bachelor of Dance and comprised a thesis around injury support in Dance. Secondary to this, after teaching at Neverland Studio’s she decided to foster her love of teaching through completion of her Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching.
Alongside leading the Dance department at Rangitoto College for 6 years, she also performed and choreographed numerous Musical’s through Amici and Auckland Music theatre some which have been staged at The Civic Theatre. As HOD of Dance at St Peter’s, Ashleigh is passionate about students using Dance as a vehicle for self-expression as well as obtaining social and emotional skills which add to the well roundedness of her students.
Jaimy is the Head of Drama at St Peter’s with a passion for teaching and learning through performance. As a Broadway enthusiast, Jaimy studied Musical Theatre through Whitereia performance centre (Formerly Wellington Performing Arts) before returning to the Waikato in 2011 to complete a bachelor’s degree in Education, and a bachelor of Arts majoring in both Theatre studies and English literature.
Jason's involvement in music education has stretched over twenty-five years, having gained a Bachelor of Musical Arts, and a Diploma in Teaching from the Christchurch College of Education. As a guitarist and singer, he has a diverse range of performance credits including, musical theatre, orchestral shows, jazz performances, cruise ship performance work and a vast array of live work for private and corporate functions.
Accomplished singer, pianist, composer, and accompanist, with more than 20 years' teaching experience, Sam is passionate about helping students to unlock their musical potential.
Sam has been hooked on Musical Theatre since playing the title role in Lionel Bart’s Oliver! at age 10. He has been involved in more than 30 musical productions in New Zealand, and his first experience as Musical Director was at age 19 for the Hamilton Operatic Society.
Sam's piano compositions have been featured in the Trinity College (London) exam syllabus since 2015. Other career highlights to date include touring New Zealand as support act for the band 10cc, leading music tours to the Pacific Islands, and touring Australasia in a professional tribute show.
Through Estill Voice International, Sam currently holds a certificate in Figure Proficiency, and is in the process of completing his Master Trainer certification. With more than a decade of experience working with the Estill Voice Model, Sam is passionate about voice science and vocal health, and he enjoys helping singers to master a wide range of musical styles.
Sam's role as Head of Voice at St Peter’s School involves a full-time teaching schedule plus leading cultural groups The Voice Collective and Prep Glee Club, and in an advisory support role for the Musical Theatre Academy.
Georgia grew up in Tauranga dancing throughout her childhood before moving to Sydney, Australia to complete her schooling at the prestigious McDonald College of Performing Arts. From Sydney, she made the move to Melbourne to attain her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the Victorian College of the Arts. Following this, Georgia made the move back to New Zealand to study a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching through the University of Waikato and teach junior curriculum dance at Tauranga Girls College, where she confirmed her passion for teaching.
Whilst studying, Georgia has been involved in the Musical Theatre industry, choreographing multiple shows including Little Mermaid Jr, Spring Awakening, 13, and Legally Blonde, for which she received a Zony Award nomination for Best Choreography. She also took onstage roles in The Wizard of Oz, Fiddler on the Roof and Wicked, which won Best Musical in the 2020 Zony Awards. Georgia has taught a range of dance styles in a number of dance schools in the Bay of Plenty. Coupled with her training and experience, she is passionate about passing this knowledge onto the students through curriculum dance and facilitating their growth to wherever the discipline of dance may take them.
Marg is a longstanding member of the St Peter’s staff who has worked for the past fourteen years in the Performing Arts Faculty as Coordinator. She is extremely passionate about performing arts and provides faculty support for academic staff, itinerant teachers, cultural tutors, students and families. In this role she works closely with the Director of Performing Arts and Head of Faculty Performing Arts. Her main role is the co-ordination of the many major performance events that appear on the school calendar. She manages two administrators who oversee the Performing Arts Specialist Tuition programme of 28 tutors and more than 40 cultural/enrichment groups . Marg and her team are the first port of call for many performing arts families and interested community members at St Peter’s.
Marg’s focus in her role as Performing Arts coordinator is to support St Peter’s students and staff in whatever they are passionate about.
Christy joined the Performing Arts team as Administrator in February 2020 and has quickly been bought up to speed up in all of the many exciting things that take part in the Performing Arts department at St Peter’s. The main focus in her role is to co-ordinate and administer the Itinerant Music and Speech & Drama programme across 25 tutors and over 500 lessons a week. The culmination of these lessons are two big celebration days – Speech & Drama Cup and the longest standing competition at St Peter’s the Bevan Cup. Christy is the smiling face in the Auditorium office and is passionate about supporting students, parents and staff alike in all of their interactions with the Performing Arts Department.
Ash is a St Peters Alumni and was heavily involved in the performing arts during his time as a St Peter’s student. On completion of his Bachelor of Media Arts from the Waikato Institute of Technology with excellence in music production, he has worked on numerous studio projects as a sound engineer for contemporary bands as well as composing for film and video games. An award winning sound designer for his work in Musical Theatre, Ash’s goal is to enhance student’s performances with the use of lighting and sound and to realize their creative vision into a final product of industry standard.
Ash leads an Audio Visual Club, where students take part in backstage technical roles in school events, learning skills in operating theatre technology and developing professionalism in a real world theatre environment.
To learn more about Performing Arts at St Peter's, email us here.