Music tells the story of SUSO 2020

It was a challenging year for our young people but listening to the quality of the Stand Up Stand Out (SUSO) 2020 video submissions, it didn’t stop them making extraordinary music.

Some of the top video submissions from Auckland Council’s youth music platform, SUSO, saw secondary school talent delivering original retro rock, pop songs with a new Pacific vibe, and emotion-filled originals crafted in lockdown, among many other genres and styles.

Seventeen of the singer/songwriters of those original songs have been invited by the SUSO team and enabled by Auckland Council to record their music at the Ōtara Music Arts Centre (ŌMAC) Village Recording Studio before Christmas.

Their work will then be part of the SUSO 2020 Originals Compilation which will be released on the SUSOAKL SoundCloud page helping give this emerging talent well-deserved visibility.

In the recordings, six of the students will have string arrangements written and performed by Sistema Aotearoa, a programming synergy made possible as both SUSO and Sistema share ŌMAC as a home-base.

And twenty SUSO acts have been invited to perform live at Auckland Council’s 43^rd Music in Parks series this summer.

It’s the silver lining these young people hoped for but didn’t expect earlier this year when they saw their school shows and Polyfest cancelled, school balls postponed, other talent platforms closed and opportunities to perform roles in international shows dashed.

Councillor Alf Filipaina, Chair of the Parks, Arts, Community and Events Committee says: “In August we found we needed to pivot to a digital format at short notice after a second Auckland lockdown changed our plans again, but it has been awesome.

“Our top musical talent shone through regardless of the challenges they faced. We would like to congratulate all of the students who took part in SUSO this year, their teachers, whānau and schools. You have all shown immense resilience and an unwavering love of music.”

Councillor Filipaina encourages you to enjoy these video submissions from SUSO 2020.

First, Maretta Brown from St Mary’s College and Marianne Leigh from Baradene College of the Sacred Heart who will both record their original songs at ŌMAC with the backing of Sistema Aotearoa. Hear them sing here.

Listen to cool young voices from the school which spawned Spilt Enz – Sacred Heart College. Listen to Black, White and Brindle with a ‘50s rework and Eugene Odiaz with an original song.

Enjoy the extraordinary harmonies of Bernard Luaiva, Jeffrey Tuiaki and Sisilia Tauataina from Manurewa High School here. And for the next top rap artists, don’t miss YGB + Blind Prodigy and Fa'amanu Fuilala, also from the music stronghold of Manurewa High School.

Top original artists nurtured at the power-house music department of Papatoetoe High School are soloist Mayank Kumar and band Jam and Jelly.

Another stand-out SUSO star from Papatoetoe High School, Ozarius Tu’ua, performed with Team Dynamite at a recent occasion hosted by Ladi6.

These are the SUSO artists invited to record at ŌMAC:

 *Sistema Aotearoa opportunity

These are the students invited to perform at Music in Parks this summer:

Stand Up Stand Out is proudly brought to the region by Auckland Council. It is another way for Auckland to celebrate its status as a UNESCO City of Music, sharing the enjoyment of music with students, schools, their families and all Aucklanders.