The right note: An orchestra nurturing rural youth

By Felicity Connell for Shepherdess Magazine

Cellist, composer and teacher Caitlin Morris, along with her husband, Andrew Atkins, a pianist, conductor and teacher, found Kahutara in the South Wairarapa to be the perfect place to call home. Now, as co-founders of the Wairarapa Youth Orchestra, they are nurturing a new generation of musicians. Caitlin spoke to Felicity Connell and photographer Sarah Tansy for [www.shepherdess.co.nz Shepherdess magazine].

Walk past St David's Church in Carterton on a Monday afternoon and you'll hear a joyful sound - percussion, strings, woodwinds and brass.

It might be the dramatic Star Wars theme or a catchy ABBA tune, and while the notes aren't always perfect, the energy and enthusiasm are unmistakable - it's the sound of the Wairarapa Youth Orchestra.

Co-founding the orchestra in 2021 was Caitlin Morris' way of giving back.

"When I lived in Blenheim, there was this tiny little youth orchestra. It was the best day of my week as a teenager.

"I just wanted to give that experience to students in the Wairarapa."

Growing up, Caitlin, 30, learned piano and dabbled with guitar, but at 15, she fell in love with the cello. That passion came with its own challenges, teaching her perseverance early on.

"When I did my first cello lessons, I had to walk from one side of town to the other with my cello, because my parents were always very busy.

"I got to know the struggles of being a cellist - it's a big instrument - carrying it around from a young age."

Caitlin's talent and dedication led her to study at Te Kōkī - the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington - where she completed a Master of Fine Arts in Music. She also met now-husband Andrew, 32, a fellow student there.

After music school, an overseas experience working in London as a live-in nanny saw Caitlin take a temporary break from music, wanting to do something completely different, but music had a way of finding her.

"The girls I looked after played Suzuki violin, and I got to observe all these amazing violin lessons and workshops by this incredible Suzuki violin teacher. It inspired me, just seeing how she commanded the room of students - all these tiny little tots - it was just amazing what she got them to do."

While Caitlin enjoyed her time in London, love lured her home.

"We were doing long distance, but we just couldn't live apart any longer. Andrew actually came over and proposed to me, so I said, 'Oh well, that's it. I've got to go back to New Zealand now'."

After a short stint in Te Upoko o te ika a Māui - Wellington - they moved to Wairarapa ki te Tonga - south Wairarapa.

"We were looking for a place to rent and Andrew's second cousin had a place in Kahutara. We went over there and we just ended up really loving the rural lifestyle."

Here, alongside their musical pursuits, they can indulge their shared passion for gardening and preserving.

"Because both Andrew and I grew up in rural areas, we really love gardening and growing vegetables, and living off the land. We are very happy in the garden together, as that is a bit of an outlet for us as well.

"We try and grow a bit of everything. We do a lot of preserving - just anything we have in the garden, we always just try and utilise it."

In Wellington, Caitlin and Andrew had both worked with Te Paemanu Korihi - Virtuoso Strings, a charitable trust based in Porirua - Andrew as a conductor and Caitlin as a tutor. Inspired by the programme's vision of making string instruments more accessible to young people, they drew on that experience when establishing the Wairarapa Youth Orchestra.

"I always knew I wanted to work with music," Caitlin said. "I've always wanted to work with children and to use music to help the community.

"We had seen a bit how a non-profit organisation worked and we thought, 'Well, if we've seen them do it, we may as well try it ourselves'."

However, it wasn't a matter of replicating what Virtuoso Strings had done in Porirua. Caitlin knows from her own experience that living rurally presents unique difficulties.

"I think one of the biggest challenges in the Wairarapa is travel. The travel times between towns are huge, especially for families who are working and doing all these other things after school.

"Since we started the orchestra, we've been helping with transport. As a teenager, I got to the stage where I had to travel from Blenheim to Nelson, which is about 120 kilometres each way, every fortnight for cello lessons.

"I was very lucky that my parents were able to do that for me, but there are so many families now with this different financial climate, both parents working all the time, and I guess we just wanted to do something to help."

The 50-strong orchestra and an accompanying scholarship lesson programme are supported by the local councils, Creative New Zealand, and Lions and Rotary Clubs around the Wairarapa.

"It just makes learning more affordable for the children," Caitlin said. "We've also been very lucky - we've been gifted instruments by community members and orchestras in Wairarapa, Wellington and Palmerston North, and funding to buy others.

"It's meant we can have instruments that perhaps aren't as common, like French horn and trombone, alongside clarinet, flute, violin, cello and double bass. As a result, we currently have eight students who probably, without that funding, wouldn't have picked up an instrument - and we aim to introduce more students."

For Caitlin, the benefits of not only learning an instrument, but playing together in an orchestra are clear.

"It's very special, because not only do they develop their skills on their instruments, but they learn how to play together as a team and work together to craft a large ensemble sound, which is actually quite difficult to do. I think the biggest thing that the students are actually getting out of it is the social aspect, developing new friendships.

"We've seen children who have been quite isolated at school, because they don't fit into the norm stereotype that many New Zealand schools have, which is, 'I must be really great at sports to be a cool kid'."

The crucial role music plays in fostering well-being is something Caitlin has experienced herself.

"I know that, as a young person, learning music definitely helped my mental health struggles and has been a part of my life getting through difficult times. Also, that social part of it, as well as assisting with their well-being, is important.

"Our orchestra's become more of a whānau with a lot of tuakana teina* relationships, with the older students mentoring the younger ones, so it's become that kind of community feel now."

The impact of the orchestra isn't just visible in performances - Caitlin gets direct feedback from the children, offering glimpses into what the orchestra experience means to them.

"We've had some gorgeous letters written to us from the kids. They say things like, 'When you join the orchestra, you are friends with everyone, so it's that safe space' and 'I love orchestra, because there's no bullies here'.

"They've also loved how the orchestra has helped them grow confidence in their own playing and that they have more confidence as a performer getting up in front of others, and how it's changed their lives and they've made lifelong friends."

Knowing that her work with the orchestra is making a difference is motivation for Caitlin to keep going.

"I do get a lot out of it, because as a teacher, me doing something for them gives my life more enjoyment. I feel like I'm doing something meaningful - seeing them come into their own and their personalities develop - they become brighter and more open.

"I've heard feedback from parents like, 'When my child goes to orchestra, they come home happy'. I think that's why I keep doing it.

"It's a lot of work - wrangling children, sorting out the music, the venue, the this and that. There are always challenges to work out and overcome.

"Luckily, now we've got an administrator, along with a great committee. When we first started, we were quite tiny, with only a couple of parents, so now that support network is growing as well."

Caitlin is determined that kids growing up rurally should have access to the same opportunities as their urban counterparts.

"At the end of the day, it's about participation in the arts - giving students that opportunity to participate and see what it's like to play an instrument, to work as a team, to lead and help others, and share music with the community.

"Our biggest goal is that the youth orchestra remains a sustainable organisation. A lot of what we are doing is trying to find ways to fund it, make it accessible for the students, and to have it be sustainable, always, for the community, because there are so many kids for whom music is their thing and that's their safe place."

* Glossary:

Tuakana teina - an older person and younger person learning and sharing knowledge in a reciprocal way.

Whānau - family.

This story [www.shepherdess.co.nz appears in] the Takurua Winter Edition 2025 of Shepherdess magazine.

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