But they were not.
They were at the Otago District Round of the Chamber Music Contest at the University of Otago’s Marama Hall on Saturday.
The ensembles were among about a dozen from Logan Park High School, Columba College, Otago Boys’ High School, Otago Girls’ High School, Bayfield High School, Kavanagh College and Taieri College, performing music ranging from Handel, Haydn and Mozart, to Shostakovich, Farr and Gershwin.
Adjudicator for the day was cellist and former New Zealand Symphony Orchestra member Robert Ibell.
The ensembles were competing for a place to represent Otago in the Southern (South Island) regional final on June 26, in Christchurch.
Eccentrioties, comprised of Skyla Murray, Boudewijn Keenan and Alexander Sun, won the best overall group award and the award for best performance of a New Zealand work.
The adjudicator award went to The Real McCoy, and the KBB award went to The Big Bad Big Band Reversing Truck Memorial Jam Schack.
At the conclusion of the Northern, Central and Southern regional finals, the adjudicators will meet to select up to 12 groups from any of the 36 regional finalists, to compete in the national final on August 6-7.
