Play It Strange

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We're excited to invite our young musicians and artists to enter competitions through Play It Strange each year.

The organisation exists to support and encourage young New Zealand songwriters to write, record and perform their own songs, and they run various competitions throughout the year which our students can enter:

Junior Songwriting Competition 2025

Years 9-11

The theme is "Threads of Who We Are," encouraging young songwriters to explore identity, connection, and the experiences that shape them.

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of the competition judges and a $500 Rockshop gift card.

ALL finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 Junior Songwriting Competition digital album.

This competition is now open until 30 April.

Peace Song Competition 2025

Years 9-13

The theme of peace and non-violence is open to broad interpretation—from personal inner peace, peace at home, to unity among people around the world. We invite young songwriters to explore what peace means to them. The lyrics are the heart of each entry, and there’s no need for the song title to be 'The Peace Song.'

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of our competition judges and a $1,000 gift card from the Rockshop.

All finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 Peace Song digital album.

This competition is now open until 30 June.

National Songwriting Competition 2025

Years 9-13

Write a song on any theme and in any language. Open to New Zealand secondary students Years 9-13, this flagship competition encourages creativity across genres and styles.

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of our competition judges and a $1,000 gift card from the Rockshop.

The prize for all finalist songs chosen is a day in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 National Songwriting Competition digital album plus a $50 Rockshop voucher.

Waiata Māori Competition 2025

Years 9-13

Bring your reo rangatira to life through waiata. This competition is open to all secondary school-aged students (Years 9-13) to celebrate and share your kōrero with the world. The waiata must incorporate te reo Māori—whether it’s a few kupu (words) or the entire waiata.

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of the competition judges and a $500 Rockshop gift card

ALL winners will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 Waiata Māori Competition digital album.

This competition is open now until 31 July.

With the excellent facilities available in the John McGlashan Music Department, we're able to help with recording and producing their songs! Get in touch with us at artscoordinator@mcglashan.co.nz to get recording.

And for the visual artists and designers - keep an eye out later in the year for the Strange Art Competition 2025 for anyone aged 13-19. Winning artworks for each song competition above will be published as the front cover for the compilation. We'll be advertising this competition further when it opens on 1st June.

For more information, check out the full competition details at https://www.playitstrange.org.nz/competitions