Sweet sounds to fill halls of Aratoi

SWEET MUSIC: The Wairarapa Singers will be performing a blend of movie themes, show tunes and negro spiritual music at their upcoming concert at Aratoi's main exhibition hall.

Aratoi is usually filled with great New Zealand works of art - and will shortly be filled with movie theme tunes and the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The Wairarapa Singers will be holding their end-of-year concert this week, featuring two performances: at the main exhibition hall at Aratoi tomorrow evening, and at Carterton Events Centre the following afternoon.

This will be the first time a choir has sung in Aratoi's main hall, and Wairarapa Singers president Graeme Burnard said he and his fellow choralists are delighted to perform at an art gallery.

"It's quite exciting," said Mr Burnard, a tenor who has been a member of the choir for 16 years. "I'm not sure what we'll sound like in the space, but we'll wait and see."

The choir will be performing a mix of movie themes, show tunes and negro spirituals, including songs from Cats, Les Miserables and Westside Story, and from the films Platoon and Excalibur.

"It's a beautiful programme - really nice, easy listening music," said Mr Burnard. "We'll also be doing some quite unusual arrangements of well-know negro spiritual songs, which we're really pleased with."

The Wairarapa Singers has been active for 18 years, and has about 70 members, some of whom have been performing with the choir since the very beginning. The choir is non-auditioned, and members range from secondary students to people in their eighties.

Mr Burnard said the choir, which has delivered some complicated and intricate vocal pieces, including Handel's Messiah, has evolved considerably over the years, taking on more contemporary material and performing at a variety of locations.

"At the start we were seen as being more of a church choir, as all our performances were at St Luke's [Union Church, in Masterton]," he said. "But, eventually we realised we had to get out of the church, as there were people who would never set foot inside a church building, even if it were just to listen to some music.

"Since then, we've performed all over the place."

The group is currently led by musical director Angie Cook, a teacher at Rathkeale College, who Mr Burnard describes as "extraordinary".

"There's been a new dimension to the choir since she came on board, there's a depth to our singing that I've never noticed before."

The Wairarapa Singers will be performing at Aratoi tomorrow at 7.30pm, and Saturday at Carterton Events Centre at 4pm.

Tickets are $20 from www.dashtickets.co.nz. For more info contact Graeme Burnard on 027 270 5666.