On Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd of June, our four choirs represented Westlake at the Auckland Regional Competition. There were 68 choirs competing this year from the Auckland and Northland region and a diverse and enjoyable range of music was shared over the three day Festival in the Auckland Town Hall.

Our choirs achieved outstanding results this year with all four of our WGHS choirs receiving award recognition for their performance programmes.

• Cantare (directed by HOD Fiona Wilson) were awarded Best Festival Recital Programme for Upper Voice choir and the A Capella Award for the best unaccompanied work (Malagueña by Rautavaara).
• Choralation (directed by HOD Fiona Wilson) were awarded Best Festival recital Programme for Mixed Voices and the Adjudicators Award for the most outstanding performance of a single work (I Te Timatanga by the Wehi Whānau).
• Nota Bella Junior Choir (directed by Elise Bradley) were awarded Best Festival Recital Programme for Junior Choir and the award for Best Performance of NZ or Pasifika work from a non-Finale choir (A Dragon is in my Computer by David Hamilton).
• Cigno Voce Senior Choir (directed by Rachel Carson) received the Award for Best Performance of a Choral Art Composition from a non-Finale choir (Exultate) and Nota Bella were runners up.
• Our brother school choir Voicemale (directed by David Squire) were awarded Best Festival Recital Programme for Lower Voices.

National selection has been announced this week and our Premier choirs Cantare and Choralation have been selected as two of the 24 top choirs in the country to compete in the National Finale, held in Auckland in August.

Our junior choir Nota Bella has been selected as one of the 24 choirs in the North Island region to compete in the Cadenza Festival, held in Rotorua in August. Cigno Voce were also named as a reserve choir.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this fantastic event – singers, directors, singing teachers, support staff and parents.