Exceptional Success at The Big Sing
The Big Sing National Finale took place at the end of August, with 24 top secondary school choirs from around New Zealand competing over three days in the Auckland Town Hall. Each choir performed two recitals of five pieces to a panel of adjudicators from New Zealand and overseas. This year, with a change of rules relating to music choices, there was an abundance of songs in Te Reo Māori and other Pasefika languages.
Around 800 young singers brought huge passion to their performances and energetically supported other choirs. Westlake’s Premier choirs, Cantare, Choralation (directed by HOD Fiona Wilson) and Voicemale (directed by David Squire), all won gold for their recitals.
Cantare was joint winner of the Tour Time Trophy for Best Performance of a Choral Art Song for its performance of ‘She Weeps Over Rahoon’ by American Composer Eric Whitacre. This song featured cor anglais soloist Alison Dunlop and Cathy Bennett on piano.
Choralation won the Auahi Kore Award for Best Performance of an Item in Te Reo Māori for its performance of ‘I Te Timatanga’ by the Wehi Whānau. This action song was gifted to the choir by kaitiaki Elise Bradley, and it features poi and haka, led by kaitātaki Bella Allan-Moetaua and Aden Angelo.
During the Gala concert on the last evening, two Year 13 music students, Matilda Faamusili and Bella Allan-Moetaua, received their composition awards from New Zealand Choral Federation. Their pieces were performed by the Auckland Chamber Choir, directed by Jono Palmer. Matilda and Bella were thrilled to hear their pieces ‘Dover Beach’ and ‘Ko Tangi o rū poūa’ shared with such a supportive audience.
Join A Fabulous Westlake Choir in 2024
Choir auditions for 2024 will be on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th September. If you are interested in singing in one of our four auditioned choirs, please sign up for a 5-minute audition using this link. : https://form.jotform.com/232268001219851
2024 will be an exciting year for Westlake singers, with Cantare touring to Indonesia and Malaysia for a competition in Bali and Choralation competing at the World Choir Games in Auckland.