Westlake Girls’ choirs have once again achieved remarkable success, receiving three of the six Gold Awards presented at this year’s national choral competition, Big Sing. Out of 24 choirs nationwide, all six Golds went to Auckland schools — but only four directors were represented across the winners.
Our award-winning choirs were:
- Cantare – directed by Fiona Wilson
- Choralation – directed by Fiona Wilson
- Voicemale (WBHS) – directed by David Squire.
Adding to the celebrations, Choralation was presented with the prestigious Tour Time Trophy for Best Performance of a Choral Art Song. Their powerful and technically demanding performance of Rytmus by Ivan Hrušokský, a rapid one-and-a-half-minute work featuring complex Slovenian harmonies, impressed both audience and adjudicators.
This accolade is particularly special as it marks the fourth consecutive year that one of our choirs has received this trophy for artistic excellence — with Cantare having won the award for the previous three years.
Congratulations go to directors Fiona Wilson and David Squire, along with our talented choir leaders Annie Yang, Jamie Chee, Constantine Mata’afa, Othniel Dones, Matt Donaldson, Abi Mitchell, Mel Teulilo, and Elaine Zhou, who are pictured above left to right with Fiona and David.
These achievements highlight not only the extraordinary talent of our students, but also the dedication and artistry of their directors.