KEY POINTS:
Can I get an Amen?
Soulful tunes with a pinch of island flavour will ring loud and clear tomorrow at the annual Voices Pasefika Youth Gospel Choir Challenge in Manukau.
Singing original pieces inspired by traditional gospel and Pasifika music, up to 700 singers from around the Auckland region and one choir from Wellington will battle it out at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre.
Hosted by the Harvest Group Trust, the competition is now in its fourth year and has attracted widespread interest, with organisers being forced to limit the number of choirs competing to 15 as a result.
Trust community liaison officer Lapi Mariner said: "The day is really to empower our young people.
"We only hear of the negative things happening in South Auckland and other places in Auckland - this is something to show off their real talents."
Mr Mariner, also a long-time member of the popular island band Jamoa Jam, said there were many benefits to using music to reach out to young people and to get them interested in any given topic or idea.
"It is a gospel event - not hip hop - but we've had a lot of good feedback from young people.
"A lot of the pastors and ministers have thanked us for this because it's brought a lot of kids back to church. There are different ways of preaching and this is a different way," he said.
The youth choir from Mangere East Congregational Christian Church of Samoa - who have dubbed themselves You Alone Chorus - are first-time participants this year.
With around 30 members aged between 18 and 23, the group has been rehearsing, fundraising for uniforms and perfecting its sound for the past four months - with hidden talents emerging during the process, choir manager Euini Lale said.
"We gave one of our young members - a piano player - a song to mix with. It's a traditional solo piece, but he came back with a full choral piece - the sound is awesome.
"It's shown us his talent, what he's capable of and others too. If anything, it's brought them together."
Pacific food stalls and a careers market will also be at the event.
Choirs will compete for prizes totalling up to $10,000.
However, the bigger prize is not in the money, Mr Lale acknowledged.
"Yeah it's true - it's a competition - but when it's a gospel thing, you don't do it for yourself.
"We told the kids: 'You know, if you're going to go for the prize, then you're going to come away with nothing'."
