The Big Sing

The Big Sing regional competition took place at the Michael Fowler Centre on 6 June. Teal and Ngā Korimako started early with a warm up session at Wellington College before spending the entire day at the MFC, including an evening Gala Concert. Both choirs performed beautifully, and Ngā Korimako was awarded a certificate for the NZ Song category (for their performance of Pokarekare Ana) while Year 12 student Laura Cookson won best student accompanist.

On 24 June the results of the regional competition were announced and we learned that Ngā Korimako was selected for the Big SIng Finale, which will be held in Wellington at the end of August. Congratulations!

Please enjoy these thoughts from Year 13 students Ella Clements, Lilly Davis, and Elsie Beaglehole on their last Big Sing regional competition:

For me, the Big Sing has been a highlight each year. I’ve been in the choir singing at this event for four years. By your fourth year, you know all the songs, you know the choirs singing them, and you feel completely immersed and a part of the community.  That’s what I think is so great about the Big Sing: it’s the epitome of supporting others and lifting each other up. Singing on stage is far from easy, putting your work up for others to judge and critique is extremely hard. However, the excitement that the event creates overrules the nerves and you just enjoy creating music around a bunch of people who love it similarly. 

At the end of the concert, it’s always the best singing of the national anthem you’ll ever hear. 

• Ella Clements

I personally love Big Sing as it is a chance for all schools to come together and appreciate the music that each choir put heaps of work into. I have made many special connections over the past 4 years at Big Sing and the festival always comes with a very vibrant energy full of excitement, support, and competition that I will miss very much.

• Lilly Davis

I really look forward to the Big Sing as I love seeing choirs from all over the Wellington region – there were even quite a few from the Wairarapa this year – in their different stages of development. Some of the choirs have been around for much longer than others, but everyone there shares the love for singing and for music, and therefore Big Sing is a really supportive environment. This year, Teal’s (WGC’s all-comers choir) Laura Cookson won best student accompanist on the piano, which was a really exciting moment for us all to see her get some amazing recognition. I was Teal co-leader this year and was so pleased and proud of everyone – especially the huge number of junior students in the choir – for our actual performance during the competition, as well as all the hours of hard mahi that were put in since Term 1. 

And a huge thank you from Teal to our amazing conductor Nicola Sutherland – we couldn’t have done it without her knowledge, support, organisation, and dedication to WGC’s music scene. 

• Elsie Beaglehole