High school students help keep love of choral music alive

Five months’ worth of practice paid off for 30 students in Nayland College choir, Sotto Voce, in this year’s regional phase of choral competition, the Big Sing.

The Nelson high school’s all-girls choir was “highly commended” by judges at the event at the ASB Theatre in Blenheim, attended by seven choirs from five high schools across the top of the South Island on June 6.

Sotto Voce won the choral art category with their rendition of late English composer, Benjamin Britten’s Christmas carol “This Little Babe”, and the New Zealand Composition category with Karakia of the Moon by David Hamilton; a song in te reo Māori.

The choir came second in the open choice category, with a choral adaptation of the three-part song, Make him Mine, from the musical, The Witches of Eastwick.

READ MORE:
* Top of the South secondary schools sing out hearts at Big Sing
* Choir director finds rhythm to lead her former intermediate school to glory
* Success for Nelson-Tasman schools at The Big Sing regional competition

Adjudicators praised the students for their energy, fidelity to the score and attention to diction and balance.

The choir’s music director, Zoe Dee was also director for Nelson College for Girls choir, Bel Canto, which was “commended”, won the open choice category and came second in the New Zealand composition category.

Sotto Voce members, Amy Wilson (17), Pippa Sussex (18) and Ruth Buckland (16) said Dee encouraged them to think about the meaning of the story-rich songs.

Karakia of the Moon was a haunting song – with “really soft” parts and “beautiful” harmonies, which felt darker at the end as the moon went away, Wilson said.

This Little Babe was more “intense” and “fun to sing”, with overlapping and echoing sections, and rapidly changing lyrics, Sussex said.

It was exciting for Sotto Voce to be highly commended for the first time, said the students, who had participated in the high school competition with the choir between one to three times previously.

Being in a choir was fun and rewarding, with a lot to learn technically, Sussex said.

It was important for young people to join choirs to help keep choral music alive, she said.

“I feel like teenagers don’t really listen to choral music very much, and I think it’s so beautiful.

“You’re not going to get the same dedication into that form of music, if you don’t get new people interested in it.”

There was a “great community feel” being in a choir, and singing together, Wilson said.

Buckland said taking part in a massed choir festival while at primary school made her want to keep singing as part of a choir.

Events like the Big Sing – run by New Zealand Choral Federation – were similarly inspiring, she said.

“With Big Sing, we all work together, years 9 to 13, leading up to it.

“And then when you get there, you’re able to see everyone else perform, which is really cool to kind of see the larger scale.”

New Zealand Choral Federation chair Nelson/Marlborough, Lucy Rainey, said joining a choir helped children develop a love of music, that often stayed with them throughout their lives.

She encouraged primary schools to get choirs together for the primary school choral festival, the “Kids Sing”, at the Motueka Memorial Hall on August 24.