A civic memorial service to commemorate the first anniversary of the February 22 Christchurch earthquake was held at North Hagley Park. VIPs in attendance included the Governor-General Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, The Rt Hon John Key Prime Minister, Government Ministers, Mayor Bob Parker, Ngāi Tūāhuriri Kaumātua Henare Rakiihia Tau, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch The Rt Revered Bishop Victoria Matthews, Catholic Bishop of Christchurch Bishop Barry Jones and members of the Diplomatic Corps. The service was broadcast live by the BBC.
I was the musical director and was responsible for the choice of musical ensembles and performances.
On 18 March 2011 a memorial service was held in Hagley Park to remember those who had died in the earthquake almost a month before. Several thousand attended. Attending were Prince William of Wales, the Australian Governor-General Ms Quentin Bryce, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Leader of the Australian Opposition Tony Abbott, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker, Governor-General Anand Satyanand, Prime Minister John Key and Leader of the Opposition Phil Goff. I was the musical director during the rehearsals, making sure rehearsals of all the music groups ran smoothly and being on hand to solve any musical issues.
