School of Rock: Songwriting Competition
WINNER ANNOUNCED
The producers of School of Rock, the Broadway and West End blockbuster musical, are thrilled to announce the winner of the School of Rock - The Musical: Songwriting Competition.
The winner is “girl.” (aka Sophie Brown), a 15-year-old Auckland student who penned the winning song Lifeline, that has been sent to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber for review and will be performed live on stage by the international touring cast of School of Rock - The Musical.
girl.’s song beat hundreds of entries from school kids nationwide and was chosen by a judging panel made up of industry experts from the School of Rock production and Play It Strange – the foundation that fosters songwriting talent and has been the springboard for artists including Kimbra and Annah Mac.
Her prize includes the opportunity to perform Lifeline live on stage on 11 September as well as a day at Neil Finn’s recording studio, Roundhead, and representation by Play It Strange.
Celebrated songwriter and Play It Strange CEO, Mike Chunn CNZM of Split Enz and Citizen Band fame, says the School of Rock - The Musical: Songwriting Competition found a cool array of genres, genders and performance skills.
“The judging panel was truly impressed,” he says. “girl.’s song mirrors the power and unified attack that the School of Rock - The Musical is famous for. And with her track, Lifeline, she is poised to take the stage with the School of Rock band and put out a mesmerising, whirlwind performance.”
School of Rock’s producer Torben Brookman, of GWB Entertainment, says the development of young musicians and music in schools is close to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s heart.
“He will be thrilled to have a new generation of music stars part of School of Rock,” says Mr Brookman. The track has been sent to Mr Lloyd Webber’s office for the musical icon to review.
The Epsom Girls Grammar School student who discovered her calling for live performance at the Smokefreerockquest, says winning the competition means the world to her.
Having penned some 40 songs this year, she says the prize will lay the path for a future in the music industry. “I already know it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life!”
She says writing Lifeline came naturally and helped organise her mind.
“I wasn’t being true to myself about how I was feeling, and I was in a constant argument with my thoughts,” she says. “I wrote it after staring at the ceiling for God knows how long. I acknowledged both sides of my mind and made sure I wasn’t lying to myself. Writing that song really helped me.”
Like the kids attending the fictional school Horace Green in School of Rock, girl. says there’s a lot of focus on math at her school.
“I don’t enjoy it at all but walking into the music department after math class is always a relief.”