AUSCO’s first year as a performing club was 2019. Our first-ever opening rehearsal expected 43 people, their instruments, and a significant amount of pizza, in the old Pat Hanan room (207-501) in the Arts building. 

We held three charity concerts across three different programmes - still the most programmes AUSCO has ever tackled in a year. 

- The May Concert raised $1000 for The Child Cancer Foundation

- A Night of Classics raised over $600 for RSCPA Auckland

- From the New World raised over $800 for the victims of the Christchurch tragedy in March 2019. 

At a combined total of over $2400, AUSCO had an outsized impact - something we continue to do. Right from the start, every dollar raised from our concerts goes to charities.

Bounce back time? As NZ had a bit of reprieve from being stuck indoors, AUSCO came back with its first concert series in a year. Despite battling a few administrative issues at the start of the semester, an incredibly successful concert series was had! It featured works from Vaughan Williams, a horn concerto performed with Henry Close, and a notoriously difficult Janacek work which still haunts the memory of many who played in those concerts (though they all say it was thoroughly worth it). 

- Idyllic Countrysides raised over $2800 for the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation

Camp also made a return, where the orchestra spent time up north in Whangarei Heads, playing music, making memories, and maybe getting a bit tipsy too. 

The team also had some grand plans for semester 2, including our first symphony concert in a while as well. Unfortunately, before much of that happened, NZ descended back into lockdown for Delta. In response - we moved our events online, hosting online games and movie nights to keep morale up. 

Despite an ultimately difficult year with unpredictability around every single turn, AUSCO still managed to pump out a spectacular turnout for our charity of choice, exceeding the amount we raised in 2019 in just one concert series.

In the momentum of 2022’s success, our 2023 plans were big, ambitious, and exciting. Even before the year started, we were expanding and growing - upgrading our rehearsal rooms to the Old Library of the School of Music. In our first rehearsal of the year, a record-breaking 51 members filled this room with laughter and music. 

Our growth was not in isolation. Our collaboration with the Auckland University Student Choir for our first concert, was to be the first of many. With 55 performers from AUSCO alone, we raised over $4000 for Red Cross NZ. 

Semester 2 saw us bring together 8 music clubs of UoA, leading the organization of an interclub Pubquiz, creating a fun and social music community that has previously been absent from student life. 
And to complete our most ambitious and successful year yet, we brought to life the wishes of our members - a film-themed symphonic concert. Juggling a change in conductor to Esther Wu, the challenges of expensive film scores, limited funds, complex instrumentation needs, and a growing need for larger yet more costly venues - the long hours and endless problem solving mindset paid off. Around 300 audience members filled St Paul’s Church, raising $4726 for Youthline. This was our largest audience turnout yet, the most we had raised in a single concert, and most importantly - our members favourite concert yet. 

2023 saw us leading the music clubs community, creating events and achieving numbers never seen before in music groups - underpinned by the same resilience, passion, and commitment to serving our members, seen in AUSCO from the very beginning. 

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