Counting down to Big Sing battle

Young Wairarapa choristers are honing their voices for two regional Big Sing festivals next month.

The Wellington regional festival runs at the Wellington Town Hall on June 5 and 6 next week.

Among the participants will be the Viva Camerata choir made up of students from Rathkeale College and St Matthew's Collegiate, says choir director Kiewiet van Deventer.

Wairarapa College will be sending four choral groups on the first day of the Wellington event next week, while three choirs from St Matthew's Collegiate and the Rathkeale College boys' choir will join voices at The Big Sing Regional Festival in Palmerston North on June 12.

Mrs van Deventer said the Masterton contingent heading to the Manawatu festival will include a Year 11 fun choir from St Matthew's Collegiate School under Mrs Marguerite Taite-Jamieson, a junior choir from the Collegiate, a student-directed senior girls' choir from the Collegiate called Jabulani, and a student-directed boys' choir from Rathkeale College.

"It is amazing that so many choirs from Masterton will be taking part. From the regionals, usually 18 choirs from across the whole country are selected and four guest choirs. In 2012, Viva Camerata was one of those four guest choirs."

The Manawatu event will be run at the Regent on Broadway, where 15 choirs comprising close to 500 students will join battle.

Stanley Barnes, Big Sing Manawatu regional co-ordinator, said nine secondary schools will feature at the event including Palmerston North Boys' and Girls' High, St Peter's College, Nga Tawa Diocesan, Freyberg, Feilding and Dannevirke High School.

He said students from secondary schools throughout New Zealand also will be taking part in 11 regional festivals organised by the New Zealand Choral Federation and each choir was to present a varied 10-minute programme, which includes at least one New Zealand composition as part of its regional festival repertoire.

"The choral pieces are wide-ranging in styles which will give the audience much enjoyment at the competitive sessions throughout the day and at the Gala Concert."

The sessions start at 10.30am and run through to 4.30pm, and a selection of pieces will be presented at a gala concert in the Regent on Wednesday evening with the curtain rising at 7pm and closing at 8.30pm.

Nick Richardson from Auckland is the adjudicator for the regional festival and will be judging similar events at Wellington, New Plymouth and Napier, Mr Barnes said.

Mr Richardson is deputy director of Bach Musica Auckland and from 1998 to 2011 was the director of Euphony, an award-winning girls' choir from Kristin School in Auckland.

Adult admission to The Big Sing is $12. Tickets for the festival are available from TicketDirect outlets and the Regent Ticket Office. Admission is free for students.