On Thursday 2 July, the Senior Treble Voices Festival was hosted at Westlake Girls for the fifth year. This festival, initiated by Fiona Wilson and Elise Bradley provides young singers with an opportunity to perform in community rather than in competition with each other.
The 2026 festival included a record number of treble choirs from high schools around Auckland, including: Aria and Voce Costello from Macleans College, The Nessies from Takapuna Grammar School, Capriccio from Carmel College, Serenata from Rangitoto College, Stella Voce from Long Bay College, Cigno Voce and Cantare from Westlake Girls High School.
The festival also welcomed special international guests the Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir from Australia, who performed a spectacular bracket of first nation songs with movement, indigenous instruments, audio and video. Throughout the afternoon, singers participated in valuable workshops, to learn from expert choral clinicians such as Dr Karen Grylls and Lyn Williams as well as teachers Margot Button and Sofia Onoshiko.
In all, there were approximately 450 singers participating, who came together to sing four pieces as a massive combined choir to close the final concert.
