Ten-year-old Trumpet Prodigy: ‘The Wind Just Took My Trumpet Sound Far Away'
Article – RNZ
RNZ Online
Ten-year-old trumpet prodigy Celine Wu has a busy day as a musician on Anzac Day.
The award-winning musician, who has graced the stage of New York's Carnegie Hall, wants to use her talent to bring comfort to descendants, whānau and friends of soldiers who died while serving.
Playing at local commemorative services, for a third year, Wu says she got up early to go to the Browns Bay dawn service on the North Shore.
'It's much more special because it was by the beach and the wind just took my trumpet sound far away, telling the soldiers who couldn't come back, 'we hadn't forgotten you'.'
Speaking to Anzac Morning with Susana Lei'ataua, Wu said she wished to gift an excerpt of La Califfa and Gabriel's Oboe by Ennio Morricone. She described the music as 'soft and warm like a big hug'.
'I hope it brings comfort to the people who miss someone today.'
Her journey with the trumpet began three years ago.
'I started playing piano and flute. They all sound small and we had a trumpet at home, and I tried it, I made a sound. It sounded big and bold and that was my instrument.
'You can tell that flute and piano are tiny, like the sound is tiny, and trumpet [sound] can expand if you like so I picked it.'
Wu also recently came back from Japan where she met with international trumpet soloist André Henry.
'He showed me many new things and helped me with the piece I'm preparing for a competition. I watched a lot of people play this piece on YouTube, but it just doesn't sound actually good … so he played it and it sounded beautiful.'
The Sunnynook School student will also be playing at an Anzac service at Devonport and a concert at Takapuna Normal School today.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
18-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Well-attended show special end to Anzac Day
RSA Choir Anzac Revue St Paul's Cathedral Friday, April 25 The Dunedin RSA Choir's concert in St Paul's Cathedral on Friday made a special ending to Dunedin's Anzac Day, including their traditional "Ceremony of Remembrance". Against a backdrop of soft red lighting, military ensigns and a large red poppy, the opening number was a commanding organ performance (David Burchell) with trumpet (Ralph Miller) of La Majeste, by Telemann. The choir (directed by Karen Knudson with accompanist Sandra Crawshaw) followed, with Anthem from Chess. Choir items were all enhanced by adding a guest soloist (with microphone) and choir scholar tenor Teddy Finney-Waters lifted and consolidated this popular number and also in Alwyn Humphreys' arrangement of The Wonder of You. He also sang three contrasting solos — Der Neugierige by Schubert, Mozart aria Vedrommi Intorno and Life Laughs Onward, by Finzi. A fine young tenor voice which resonated with excellence in the cathedral. Tessa Romano (mezzo-soprano) also complemented the 40-member choir in I Dreamed a Dream. Her solo items were Oracion de Las Madres, by de Falla, Weeping Angel, and E Whiti e te Ra, a contemporary Māori number by Thomas Aerepo-Morgan. Dunedin Harmony Choir (director Robyn Abernethy) guest contribution included a harmonised arrangement of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and also joined the choir in Let There Be Peace on Earth and Take Me Home. A highlight was Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, arranged by Diego Marani, for trumpet and piano. Miller's virtuosic glissandi were incredible and Crawshaw was in overdrive. The "Ceremony of Remembrance" segment began with a strong delivery of Charge from The Armed Man (Jenkins), with organ, trumpet and soprano. Finney-Waters contributed Prayer of the Children and the choir sang Midnight. Anzac sentiment was reinforced with The Ode, Last Post and Reveille. The well-attended concert (compered by Kevin Tansley) ended with a strong rendition by all in a choral arrangement (Knudson) of If I Had Words by Saint-Saens. Review by Elizabeth Bouman
Otago Daily Times
03-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Bugle player honoured for long service
Oamaru Garrison Band member Andrew Hayes (centre) with family and friends at the Hakataramea War Memorial on Anzac Day. PHOTO: SUPPLIED An Oamaru man who has played the bugle at Oamaru Anzac commemorations for 60 years and at Hakataramea for 37 years, has been honoured this year. Andrew Hayes received a special presentation at the dawn service at Hakataramea, attended by family and friends. Mr Hayes said he was "surprised" his family were there to support his achievement — but it was not the first time. "They also came to support me on my 50th anniversary, too," he said. Two of his sons, his grandson and three out of four Hayes siblings were at Hakataramea to celebrate the occasion. He also acknowledged Neville Cowles for his 65 years of bugle playing at Anzac services. His brother Vernon Hayes said Andrew was "very pleased and blown away" with the tribute. "I'm very proud of him. The presentation was rightfully deserved." Mr Hayes' first memory of Anzac Day was attending a parade in Hampden at the age of 9 with his father and grandfather. "My father served in the Pacific and Italy in World War 2, and my grandfather served in World War 2 in Sinai and Egypt." It remained important to turn out on Anzac Day to honour their service overseas, and he was happy to see commemoration attendance numbers increase in recent years. Mr Hayes has been in the Oamaru Garrison band since 1963. A euphonium player, he also practises the bugle for up to two months to play The Last Post and Reveille for Anzac Day. His son Colin also plays in the band.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Changing seasons, turning over pages
There's something familiar and comforting about autumn — a season captured, loved and preserved in art, music and film. From the nostalgia of movies like Dead Poets Society to Taylor Swift's 2012 album Red , autumn invites reflection. As the leaves turn and the air cools, students' mid-semester break offers a shift in the rhythms of study and the mood of our city itself. I am sure that mid-semester break is a misleading name for many students. The reality for most, however, is far from restful. Assignment due dates beckon, exams loom, time is spent catching up on readings and lectures, and the guilt of unfinished work creeps in. The break often feels like a balancing act between appreciating the need to rest and battling the sense that you could and should be doing more. It becomes hard to escape the productivity guilt that seems stitched into the fabric of student life. Dwelling on this feeling only worsens as winter creeps closer, days shorten and light fades earlier. It becomes easy to feel as though time is slipping away ... I have found that the best practice is to acknowledge this feeling. Perhaps there is something to be said for viewing the break not as a sprint to productivity, but also as a chance to rest. A true break — even a small one — can offer a precious reset, an opportunity to check in with yourself, form new habits and spend time on forgotten hobbies. Picking up your instrument again, reading something not on the prescribed reading list. For some, leaving the student bubble aids this reset. Many students escape Dunedin altogether — heading home despite the airfares, or travelling elsewhere with family or friends. Mid-semester break coincided nicely with one of the two weeks of school holidays; hopefully, those students who did return home got to spend time with their younger siblings. The change was palpable for those who stayed in Dunedin during the mid-semester break. The usually buzzing streets in north Dunedin quietened. The competition for the best library seats vanished, and the best spots were there for the taking. For those remaining, spending even a few days off campus or exploring new parts of the city that are usually overlooked provides refreshment. Mid-semester breaks at the hall in the first year were also nice. The place emptied, and one got a chance to spend more time with those who stayed around. At Knox, my friends and I felt we had most of a castle for a week. How lucky we were. This year the slower rhythm of the break felt particularly fitting as Anzac Day and Pope Francis' death fell during our break, thus providing moments for reflection and remembrance. Not everyone can afford a proper break. For some students, mid-semester break is when fulltime university pauses and fulltime work kicks in. Picking up extra shifts becomes necessary in the never-ending struggle to afford rent, groceries and heating bills. It is important to remember that students' experiences of what a break entails vary widely. Breaks change as you move through university years, too. First years' semester one mid-semester break might have felt like an actual holiday, with no classes and no real understanding of the academic mountain ahead. In later years, the break can feel heavier — a strategic time to get ahead, to finish assignments and lay down some groundwork for exams. Many brains work on, humming on keyboards, scribbling notes and committing to determined learning while also enjoying breaks together, laughing, talking, catching up in the patches of sun. Alas, ever lurking in the background is the quiet drumbeat of exams. The timetable has been out for a few weeks, and the countdown has begun. The university itself is gearing up for an important time, too. This coming Sunday and Monday, prospective students and their parents will flood the campus, city and hotels, attending academic information sessions and touring the halls. I am looking forward to having my cousin from Melbourne stay to attend these days as a prospective student. Sunday's itinerary is smaller; hands-on activities and tours of the hostels. Each hostel will be memorable and appealing to these high school students for different reasons and leave them with exciting decisions to make. Monday is the biggest day with full programmes of course introductions, expos and walking tours. Open day is a chance for future students to glean what life here could be like. As a year 13 student, this was a glimpse into what the next year held for me. As Dunedin edges into winter, our city transforms. The beauty of the orange and red leaves of late autumn remind us that while the seasons shift and pressures build, there is a charm in change. Electric blankets emerge from cupboards; heaters and heat pumps stand ready for winter's chill. The walk to uni gets darker and the season mirrors the academic year as we draw inwards and focus on endurance and perseverance. F. Scott Fitzgerald puts it more poetically than I can in The Great Gatsby : "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." Kind regards, Grace. • Dunedin resident Grace Togneri is a fourth-year law student.
